Free coffee!

That's the deal at a nearby coffee shop -- but only good during the month of April. To get your coffee, you need to 'pay' with a poem. A nice promo for National Poetry Month, and a great way to encourage customers who might not otherwise visit. The wall above shows some of the poems people have brought in as exchange for their hot drink.

I'm not sure what it is about poetry and coffee shops -- or, as they were once more commonly called, 'coffee houses' -- whatever their name, they come with a long history.

It seems they always appealed to a certain brand of people, often those with strong political views. Strong viewpoints, strong coffee. Who knows.

Then, in the middle of the 20th century, the term began to apply to a new kind of coffee house, one that was more of a celebratory event, often taking place in a church basement or other free or low-cost venue. These attracted musicians and writers, especially poets.

The coffee house as venue was strongly associated with Beatniks, themselves a kind of social phenomenon that grew out of the Beat Movement -- Kerouac, Ginsberg and company -- a movement that branched out into music (especially the lyrics) of groups like Jim Morrison and the Doors.  Today there's even a publishing house based on encouraging writers who work in coffee shops.

A simple cup of coffee. A poem on a page. Sometimes, a world opened.