Telling Atlanta’s Story: Jon Goode on Change, Culture, and Community

By P. Faith Carmichael

Publish Date: September 23, 2025

Jon Goode didn’t want to go.

An open-mic night at the Ying Yang Café wasn’t on his list of things to do—not for an economics graduate working a steady accounting job, not for someone who had never imagined himself standing on a stage. But a friend insisted, and Goode finally gave in.

That night changed everything.

“It was the most transformative evening of my life,” he remembers. “I watched people take the same 26 letters we all have access to and bend them into something magical. And I thought: if I try hard enough, maybe I can do this too.”

So he went home, wrote his first poem, and stepped into a world that would eventually carry him across continents and creative mediums and onto some of the world’s most celebrated stages.

Becoming a Storyteller

Goode didn’t just find his voice—he became one of Atlanta’s most distinctive. Room by room, stage by stage, he sharpened his craft in the city’s vibrant spoken-word scene of the late 90s, performing alongside poets who challenged him to stretch further and dig deeper.

“Back then, it wasn’t about money or polish,” he says. “It was about showing up, sharing your truth, and growing in front of a room that wanted to see you succeed.”

That persistence – and a natural gift for language – would eventually earn him national recognition as a U.S. Slam Poet Champion, an Emmy-nominated artist, and a proud NEXT Literary Artist alum . It also brought him to The Moth Atlanta, where he became the longtime host of the nationally acclaimed storytelling series at Dad’s Garage in the Old Fourth Ward. It was there Goode discovered storytelling’s deeper power: it could bridge gaps between people who may initially believe they have nothing in common.

The Old Fourth Ward as Muse

Born in Richmond, Virginia, now rooted in College Park, and deeply connected to Atlanta’s cultural heartbeat, Goode has found one of his artistic homes in the Old Fourth Ward. At Dad’s Garage, he’s seen audiences as diverse as the city itself—Black, brown, and white; young and old—come together for one night, one story, one shared experience.

“Every night in that room, someone laughed, someone cried, someone gasped,” he says. “And strangers walked out realizing they had something in common. That’s the power of this neighborhood—it brings people together who would never meet otherwise.”

For Goode, the Old Fourth Ward also mirrors Atlanta’s spirit: resilient, restless, and always willing to reinvent itself. “The thing about Atlanta is it’s always transforming. It’s a city of rebirth,” he says. “It re-imagines itself over and over again.”

Art and Development: Telling the Full Story

As the city continues to evolve, Goode believes storytelling and art must play a central role in shaping how neighborhoods like the Old Fourth Ward move forward.

“When development happens without culture, people lose their sense of belonging,” he says. “But when you weave art into the change, you give people a mirror. You remind them they’re still part of the story.”

He views efforts like BLVDNEXT as opportunities to rethink what community transformation looks like. “Developers have a chance to set the tone,” Goode says. “When you make artists part of the process, what gets built doesn’t just look new—it feels like home.”

Looking Ahead, Reaching Back

For Goode, his own story continues to be one of expansion and elevation. He’s recently authored a #1 bestselling novel and a collection of short stories, was just named the co-host of WABE’s City Lights Collective, and now also helms Show & Tell—a live storytelling series at Seven Stages. His voice carries well beyond his adopted hometown, with performances all across the country and around the globe, from Berlin to London, New York to Copenhagen.

Yet through it all, his commitment to Atlanta – and to mentoring the next generation – remains unshaken.

“At Ying Yang, the poets who came before us always reached back,” he says. “That’s the duty of an artist—you lift as you climb.”

And much like the city he calls home, Jon Goode is in a constant state of becoming—reshaping, redefining, finding new ways to tell our stories. “I’m always honored when someone says, ‘you wrote something that captured exactly how I felt,” he says. “And yet, I’m never satisfied sitting still. I celebrate those moments, but my mind’s always on what’s ahead. I’m always thinking, ‘I can’t wait to see what I get to do… next.’ ”