Help Keep Poetry on Main Open!
Donation protected
Hi, my name is Michaëlle Martial, a Poet & Spoken Word Artist originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I am best known as the Caribbean Nightingale. I started Poetry on Main in the spring of 2023 with only passion and a prayer in my heart. Having raised 3 children in Utah (my 4th one passed away as an infant) mostly as a single mother, I felt the need to preserve Afro-Caribbean culture for their sake. I also saw the need for a safe space for women, underserved communities, and domestic survivors like me to share their crafts with the Salt Lake City community and surrounding areas.
Poetry on Main is where I welcome you to my classroom, living room, and Caribbean kitchen. It was coined a spa for the mind. As such, I hold quarterly Poetry & Wellness Retreats (Le Rossignol), along with monthly classes and events centered around creative expression. I encourage you to sign up for the best Membership that best fits your goals whether you would like to save or unlock your own creativity by learning a new skill from me or from a guest artist.
I later partnered with two phenomenal women at Poetry on Main, Yovonne Nsabimana, and Wynter Storm. They each started their own Utah nonprofits some years ago: Ngma y'Africa Cultural Center, and Utah Black Artists Collective (UBLAC), respectively. They bring their expertise to our social enterprise with dedication and poise.
Poetry on Main is home to Taste the Culture, our developing Pop-up/Food Truck platform for Black women, including immigrants, to earn an income as they showcase their culture through African, and Afro-Caribbean culinary arts and dance.
Poetry on Main houses Gladys Boutiques, a consignment shop named after my late mother and powered by women as well as minorities in Utah and Haiti. It offers wellness products (i.e. organic immune boosting supplements especially beneficial to women, essential oils, natural hair products), handmade clothing and accessories, inspiring poetry collections and books.
I am creating this fundraiser because I need your help to keep Poetry on Main open this Holiday season. So far, I have depleted all of my personal resources to embark on this very much needed venture, which has been in the works for over a decade. I am coming to you because I have nowhere else to turn. It would've been easier for me to walk away from this venture if it wasn't such a labor of love. I have poured all my energy and my heart into this project since its inception all while raising my 3 children alone and coping with depression, anxiety, and other effects of trauma from surviving the death of one of my children as well as domestic abuse. I have kept going this far because I see the need in our community to raise awareness about domestic violence, mental health, along with the healing benefits of the arts.
I've learned through the years that there's no such thing as the "strong Black woman" or a "strong woman" for that matter. I am on a personal mission to dismantle the stigma of equating silence to strength or putting women's mental health needs last. So, I am coming to you as a first step to recognizing that I myself cannot do it all. I cannot make a difference if I keep internalizing the strong Black woman stigma. I realize that I cannot do it alone. No one can, and no one should.
If I am creating a space for the community, I need to involve the community. I am asking you to join me in this cause, in the spirit of Ubuntu, an African concept meaning "I am because we are." Being a child of Haiti, whose flag motto is "men anpil, chay pa lou", or "l'union fait la force," I call on each of you to help create community at Poetry on Main, if not for you, do it for the purpose of uniting future generations in Utah.
Here are the ways you can help:
- Donate here!
- Share, Share, Share! (this link, our website, our social media channels)
- Attend Events this month and EVERY month! (Caribbean Nights Dance Experience, Just Add Poetry: Dinner with the Caribbean Nightingale, Le Rossignol Retreats, Sip & Rhyme Open Mics, Taste the Culture, Relaxation Through Verse Poetry Salon)
- Attend Workshops weekly or monthly (Natural Haircare, Cooking classes, Taichi & Tea, Pilates Please, Souls Sisters Dream Boards Making and Sis Chat)
- Book the Venue! (for intimate social or professional gatherings, engagement parties, cooking classes, filming YouTube channels, photoshoots, Bed & Breakfast experience, and more)
- Partner with me! (Get on our Vendors Preferred List so we can refer you to our clients for their catering, personal chef, photography needs and more)
- Become an instructor! (Teach your craft such as Piano, Guitar, Jewelry Making, etc.)
- Sign up for Membership today! (Save on events, retreats, and store. Get free dinners, classes, and B&B stays. Your membership ensures we pay staff and artists.)
- Shop at my Store! (books, wellness products, unique gifts)
- Tip Me on Venmo: @caribbean-nightingale
Here is a breakdown of where the funds will be going:
- $8,000 will go towards monthly lease.
- $2,000 for marketing and advertising.
Remember, many hands make light work! Thank you and see you soon at Poetry on Main!
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou
POETRY ON MAIN: You Belong Here!
Organizer
Michaëlle Martial
Organizer
Salt Lake City, UT
