Readings during the "Poetry Salon" organized every Tuesday evening at Tota, a bar in the Mar Mikhael neighborhood of Beirut. (Credit: Rayanne Tawil/L'Orient Today)
The door of Tota Beirut, nestled in a narrow Mar Mikhael alley, opens onto a place that looks more like a living room than a bar.Entering is like crossing the threshold of a home where you are expected. The atmosphere is gentle, almost familiar. People greet each other with a quick embrace, a knowing smile; first names drift from table to table, carried by a soft murmur. Over the main area, a disco ball catches the dim light and scatters it across the weathered walls. To the side, a small wooden stage: the microphone is waiting, already set. More from the author Jean Sarkissyan: a Lebanese-Armenian voice turns four chairs on ‘The Voice’ Gradually, the room fills. Small groups gather around tables. Some have brought notebooks, others simply listen. Conversations slip from one corner of the room to another, talk of writing, tough...
The door of Tota Beirut, nestled in a narrow Mar Mikhael alley, opens onto a place that looks more like a living room than a bar.Entering is like crossing the threshold of a home where you are expected. The atmosphere is gentle, almost familiar. People greet each other with a quick embrace, a knowing smile; first names drift from table to table, carried by a soft murmur. Over the main area, a disco ball catches the dim light and scatters it across the weathered walls. To the side, a small wooden stage: the microphone is waiting, already set. More from the author Jean Sarkissyan: a Lebanese-Armenian voice turns four chairs on ‘The Voice’ Gradually, the room fills. Small groups gather around tables. Some have brought notebooks, others simply listen. Conversations slip from one corner of the room to another, talk of writing,...
