130. Philip Tran vol. 2

In this episode recent guest Philip Tran returns for a part 2 of the long goodbye to the Mercury Cafe. Last time, we announced Waning Mercury, Waxing Pearl, a live recorded send off for the legendary venue. That event can be listened to in its 3+ hour entirety on episodes 125-127. On this episode, Philip returns to discuss moving forward now that the Mercury Cafe has been re-christened as The Pearl with new ownership. I'm deeply appreciative to Philip for coming on the show and giving the Merc as good a send-off as we were able to.

Hope you all enjoy the episode. I am looking forward to whatever comes next—the good and the bad.

In this episode Philip and I also discuss many other topics around poetry—what we look for in a poem, attachment, how to read poetry, how to "fix" poetry, appetites, and much much more.

Philip Tran is a poet of many mediums—words, collage, and the ephemeral art of live performance. Hailing from Denver, he is a passport-wielding wanderer, a florist with an eye for beauty, a handyman with a poet’s touch, a roller skater chasing rhythm, and an emcee who curates spaces where voices rise and resonate.

As the longtime host of Denver’s beloved 4th Friday poetry open mic—formerly at The Mercury Cafe, soon to be The Pearl—Philip fosters a stage where vulnerability meets applause. His podcast, From My Open Mic, captures the raw electricity of live poetry, available on Spotify.

In 2023, he launched Bound By The Beat, an event weaving together Denver’s rope bondage and jazz communities, an experiment in trust, tension, and improvisation. The next Bound By The Beat is on May 31st, which we discuss in the episode.

With a choose-your-own-adventure poetry book in the works and a hunger for new stages, Philip may soon be performing near you. When asked what superpower he’d choose, he answered: To awaken the superpowers in those unaware of their own.

@invader_4 & (NSFW) @invader__4