“The Human Micropoem” is a call-and-response choral form utilizing the human microphone at the Occupy movements to amplify the speaker’s words. The speaker says a line, then everyone who can hear repeats it. Stemming from the international 100 Thousand Poets for Change events in September 2011, a deep desire emerged to join our sisters and brothers in the Occupy movements. We were also encouraged by the massive labor union marches that had been occurring in Chicago, so we reached out to all of our friends and colleagues to join us for “The Human Micropoem” in front of the Federal Reserve. We plan to continue in 2012 with at least one performance per month.

How do we use our own best tools to support the Occupy movements while being mindful of the people, sounds, and space around us? What will our relationship be with the other Occupy activists? How will passersby react? Are we contributing to the movement by raising awareness? How will this work be perceived by those around us? Will our involvement be judged based on our poetry and what it does in the world? These problems, posed as questions, remain appropriately unanswered, reflecting the open-ended, evolving approach of both the Occupy movements and The Human Micropoem actions.