On the last Tuesday evening of each month, OPWC presents a featured reader and open mike. Our guest poets comprise local, regional and national artists, from Miller Williams and Mohja Kahf to Dannye Romine Powell and Naomi Shihab Nye. Admission is free -- not that we mind modest donations. Each featured performance, which usually starts around 7:30 p.m., is preceded at 7:00 by an open mic session and is followed by one as well. Each open mic performer gets up to four minutes to read original works or verse written by others. Our audiences famously encourage open mic readers. The main feature as well as the open mikers perform censorship free; strong language is sometimes used.

After the guest reader, a hat is passed to provide the guest a small stipend and to help fund future readings.