Thin Air radio’s Stephen Pitters brings poetry, soul to Spokane area

If you tune into Spokane’s local radio at the right time, it’s not news, talk radio or classical music you’ll find. It’s poetry.

The KYRS Thin Air Community Radio, based on the third floor of the Central Library, hosts an abundance of volunteer-led community radio stations. One of these, Stephen Pitters’ Spokane Open Poetry program – which he has hosted since 2004 – aims to bring voices to artists who might otherwise be underrepresented or unheard.

The program airs 11 a.m. Saturdays on KYRS Thin Air Community Radio stations 88.1 and 92.3 FM.

The show is a blend of music, poetry and commentary with a local focus.

Pitters’ poetry program is one of the longest-standing programs at KYRS.

Pitters emigrated from Panama to the U.S., where he grew up and went to school in New York City.

Throughout his studies, he found he was endlessly fascinated by “the rhythmical quality of words.”

These words have carried him through the good, the bad and everything in between. He was the only Black student on an all-white campus in the southern state of Louisiana back in the 1960s. One of his 32 books holds a collection called “Tales from the South,” which narrates his experiences during that time in his life.

Pitters is also a clinical psychotherapist with a master’s in clinical social work. He believes poetry provides a way for the writer to be able to sift through their thoughts and feelings in order to better understand themselves.

Pitters writes one to two poems every day.

Frankie Ghee, a local poet and musician, who participated in the radio program around five years ago said that “there are so many things that need to be said and there’s so many people who become offended if you just come out and say it.”

She views music as an alternative form of communication, something that will resonate long after it’s been said.

Poetry can talk “about things from emotional expression and healing or oftentimes poetry can focus on advocacy and working on social change,” said KYRS station manager Michael Moon Bear.

“Whatever it is that you’re feeling, you can write about, if you’re feeling joy If you’re feeling love, sorrow, pain, whatever, you could write a story about,” Pitters said.

“One of the great things about I think the lasting power of this program is: It’s not the same static situation every week because poetry has this massive range and Stephen focuses on bringing all of those elements to his listeners,” Moon Bear said.

At the heart of it, the Spokane open poetry program just wants to bring voice to the community. Anyone is welcome to come share their art.

“We have a wide array of individuals, cultures here and not everybody is heard, but Thin Air provides that opportunity,” Pitters said.

“Everybody that you’re listening to on Stephen’s show this is from your community, this is genuine Spokane,” said Moon Bear.

Talent that might get overlooked in other places get a chance to share their art with the Spokane community and beyond.

In most of the venues Ghee plays, “people want to hear the things that they already know and love,” she said. “I don’t have a lot of places where people are expecting or encouraging me to play original music.”

But at the program, she has been encouraged to do her “own creations and that has been a gift.”

Ghee has presented music and poetry at Pitters’ fourth annual Poetry Rising event at the public libraries.

Becky Mace, a librarian at the South Hill branch responsible for scheduling the program, said Pitters is good at bringing local artists and the community together.

She’s seen a variety of local artists present at these events and what surprised her most was how open they were.

“I’ve definitely been to some where there is some powerful stuff that people are willing to share. It’s so vulnerable. Startling in such a good way,” Mace said.

She thinks that vulnerability has laid the groundwork for community connection.

“We’re in such a lonely society in ways, and I think the library programming, especially this particular one, is just really good at bringing people together to have conversations with each other,” Mace said.

The next Poetry Rising event will be at the South Hill Library on Aug. 22 and will feature poet Ken Nesbitt, author of “Women Who Don’t Blush” Trishanna Marie and blues musician Dwight Emerson.