Upscale Restaurant's 'Return to the Mic' turned out to be refreshing as many poets, people who call themselves poets and those who just know how to read a poem supported the revival of poetry night on Tuesday.

For over two hours the usual tranquillity that envelops the Upscale was disrupted and the sizeable audience was treated instead to soothing and stimulating poetry verses. Sometimes the readings invoked strong emotions and other times you just sat there wondering when the reader was going to be through.

But if we were to rate the evening, a fair assessment would be that it was enjoyable. But that was expected given all the hype that surrounded the revival. Once seated you had a feel that something good was about to hit you and that is just what happened. When the readings started the atmosphere was mostly electric.

The expressions of the readers showed they were pleased to be back at a place where poetry is appreciated, however small. Some of them openly thanked Upscale's owner, Osafa George for resuscitating poetry night.

Osafa is deserving of every word of appreciation directed his way.

When he first introduced poetry night he was the 'new kid on the block' but he has led the way and continues to do so. The night the restaurant opened, a poetry reading packed with excitement was the highlight of the proceedings.

But poetry night was on hiatus for almost a year. During that time Osafa was out of the country and no one else attempted to revive it. This year Osafa managed to get Scotia Bank on board in an effort to sustain the readings.

Perhaps he will go down in history as the man who understood and gave a place to local poets; he can certainly be credited right now as being the man who revived live poetry. On Tuesday night, Osafa was present but you had to search the faces in the crowd to find him for he was hidden all the way to the back.

He could have claimed the night as a personal achievement but he did not. He could have sat where people could see him and point him out to others who wanted to see the 'Upscale' man but he did not.

He was humble and extremely polite to the poets who took to the mic and performed. The first Tuesday of every month has been dedicated poetry night at Upscale. If you are interested in poetry or just want a place to escape to, we recommend a night of readings at Upscale.

If Osafa could keep it going at the same pace and the local poets show up then the night should be interesting.

Poets the likes of Petamber Persaud, Bobby Fernandes, Stanley Jones, Lorraine Harris, De Son of Anancy and others took to the mic and exploded. The readings were soft, raucous, deep, funny and entertaining among other things. A couple of new faces at the mic shook things up with their pieces.

Sherod Duncan and news reporter, Shonnet Moore were co-host for the night. Sherod who is seasoned handled himself pretty well. Shonnet could get a bit more involved in the art form to execute at a higher level. But together they made a great team.