John Patrick Acevedo introduced Maryland to his theme of “give and take” (book of Job, Old Testament) while a regular at poetry open mics, among them The Mariposa Center for Creative Expression (February, 2003), where he was first featured with his book entitled Everlasting Chemistry. He remembers the event rather fondly, explaining his need to engage the audience by listening to an audio cassette in his car while driving so as to know his poem selections like the back of his hand, laughing as he recounts quickly praying to God for balance even as he stood up at the very end of his delivery as the podium his work rested upon was on a wooden floor sprucing a microphone cord and a crowded stool. “My poetry had initially bookended many Facebook texts to a friend from 2010 to 2012. Bad Technology and Poor Weather: The Outsider Stories of the Poetry of John Patrick Acevedo seemed to simply complement the physical stress of my getting numbers for Best Buy, especially on the last days of every month. These were the happiest days of my life. I really got a rush from beating my own number 1s that won me two Brad Anderson Legacy Stock Awards from the retail giant” (John Patrick Acevedo, poet, November 2, 2018, 10:10 p.m., Columbia, Maryland).