Held space,
not just a stage.

LOV3 Always is a deliberate safe space — for the trauma-content poet, for the first-timer who’s never read out loud, for the queer voice, the Black voice, the recovering voice, the religious voice, the secular voice, the voice that doesn’t fit in any of those boxes.

The room only works if the room is held. That responsibility is shared by the host, the audience, and you. We tell you what to expect; you tell us what you need; together we make Saturday afternoon belong to the work.

• No harassment. Hate speech, slurs, threats, intimidation — racial, gender, sexual identity, disability, religion, or otherwise — get you removed for the day. Repeat: removed for the season.
• No heckling. Snap during, applaud after. Silence between lines is not your cue to fill it. The mic is loud enough.
• No unsolicited critique. The room is not a workshop unless we tell you it is. Hold your feedback unless the performer asked for it.
• No physical contact with a performer without consent — before, during, or after their set. That includes the “you were so good” hug.

Poets can request the room be warned before they take the mic. Sample warnings we routinely hold space for: sexual violence, suicide and self-harm, racial violence, intimate-partner violence, eating disorders, addiction, child loss, religious trauma.

On your sign-up form, tell us what you need warned. The host reads the warning before your name. Anyone in the room can step outside for the duration of your piece without judgment.

• One piece, under 4 minutes. Read from a phone, a page, a memorized line — we don’t care which.
• Mic check on request before your set. We’ll dial the levels for you.
• A water glass at the front, hot tea on request. Voice care is part of the room.
• Right of refusal on filming. If you’d rather not be recorded, tell the host before your set and we’ll ask the room to put phones down.
• You can decline applause at the end of your piece — sometimes the right move after a heavy poem is silence and a snap-fade.

• Snap during, applaud after. The whole-room snap is the room saying “we heard that line.” Hold the applause for the end.
• Don’t film without asking. The default is off. If you want a clip, ask the performer between sets. Many poets are protective of how their work circulates.
• Tip the host, feed the bucket. There’s no cover. The donation bucket at the door pays the feature poet, keeps the lights on, and funds the annual anthology.
• Kids welcome until 6 PM. Bring the family — the daytime slot was built for that.

If someone in the room breaks the conduct code, tell any LOV3 staff, the host on the mic, or text the venue at (346) 833-6892. You won’t be questioned about whether what happened was “big enough.” We will believe you.

Follow-up reporting (post-show, anonymous) can be sent to safe-space@lov3htx.com. We read everything; we respond within 48 hours; we keep your name out of any action we take unless you ask us not to.