South Florida poets Denise Duhamel, Maureen Seaton and Julie Marie Wade gave  brave, cut-to-the-bone, laugh-out-loud, tear-jerking performances from their latest works of poetry at Books & Books last Sunday as part of the O, Miami Poetry Festival. I haven’t been to a reading with such an enthusiastic crowd and cadre of poets.

O, Miami. Photo by Neil de la Flor

But, it began as a quiet affair. The poets circulated among a diverse crowd gathering in the courtyard exchanging hugs and kisses. Dressed in jeans and dresses, shorts and skirts, flip flops and high heels, the crowd consisted of a mix of hardcore literary types, former and current students of the poets, family members and colleagues and, of course, those poetry agent provocateurs dressed in black lingering in the corners.

By the time the reading began, the space was so packed, half of the audience members had to stand. I received two texts from friends (which I did not read during the readings), who arrived late and had to listen the reading from the register 50 feet away.

Julie Marie Wade. Photo by Neil de la Flor

First up, Julie Marie Wade, assistant professor of English at Florida International University, read from her first full-length book of poetry, “Postage Due.” Wade was extraordinarily excited to read. This was the first reading from “Postage Due,” and she spoke and read with such sincerity, I wanted to digitize and put her in my iPhone so that I could listen to her 24/7.

Maureen Seaton. Photo by Neil de la Flor

Maureen Seaton, who teaches poetry at the University of Miami, read from her latest book, “Fibonacci Batman,” a collection of new and selected poems. (Full disclosure: I’ve collaborated with Seaton on two books of poetry.) When one hears Seaton read, the unexpected emerges. What comes out is sparkly and humorous, dead-serious and kind, cunning and alluring. She makes us laugh and makes us cry in the same breath. A fun excerpt from the title poem:

Batman, you are bigger than a palm tree. You are Egyptian with your ears and your pretty gold belt. The sea laps your thighs, Batman. Look how long your gloves are. You could lick a cloud you’re so tall. No one is scared of you, Batman.

—from the poem “Fibonacci Batman,” which is constructed using the Fibonacci sequence.

Mitchell Kaplan & Denise Duhamel. Photo by Neil de la Flor

Last but gloriously sharp, witty and brave, poet and and teacher Denise Duhamel read work from her latest collection of poems, “Blowout.” “Blowout” faces the miraculous and the horrors of love, of relationships that work and those that implode. In the end, Duhamel’s poetry reached beyond the self and casts a net of words around us. She made us feel part of the poem, part and parcel of the poem, using a narrative and language technique that is straight-forward and brutally honest.

O, Miami Festival runs through the entire month of April. For a list of upcoming events, visit www.omiami.org.