Pouring Out Their Hearts : * Grounds Zero coffeehouse gives poets great leeway in expressing their ‘intensity and authenticity.’

Compared to some of its hip but grimy rivals in the coffeehouse world, Burbank’s Grounds Zero is a pal ace--which makes it a popular spot on poetry nights. Every Thursday by 8:30 p.m., all its velvet sofas, armchairs and cafe tables are usually spoken for, and the crowd is spilling around the coffee bar. Which brings up one of the dis advantages of the place: noise.

As the poets--mostly Burbank locals--take the mike, the espresso maker sputters away; chatty customers enter and leave, and cars rumble by on North San Fernando Boulevard. From time to time poetry host Jennifer Ross screams, “Shut up!” at the talkers, but otherwise the racket is accepted as part of the evening’s high-octane gestalt.

“I like people to feel free--to clap, to shout, to make their point with as much feeling as they need to,” said Ross, 22, who started the poetry nights a year ago, shortly after the cafe opened. She described herself as “a confrontational poet: I stand up there and yell and get in people’s faces. I think it’s opened it up a lot for others.”

George Simay, 41, of Burbank, a regular Grounds Zero reader, confirmed her speculation and added, “The crowd tends to be younger--and less inhibited in their presentation of poetry.”

Many of the writers are also less experienced at reading aloud than their counterparts at other coffee bars--and even less experienced at writing.

“You don’t have to be good to read here,” observed Karene Stapleton, who has been coming to the coffeehouse for a year. “You’re not judged on how technically capable you are, but more on your intensity and authenticity.”

Ross, who estimated the age of most Grounds Zero readers to be between 16 and 27, said she has seen “a lot of poets grow--people who started out not thinking they could write.” This pleases her, she said, because “we’re here to give the public a place to speak. It’s not a contest. What you say--anything you say--is important.”

One result of such tolerance is that rhymed verse--of the sort frowned on by performance poets elsewhere--abounds at Grounds Zero, as do gut-wrenching confessionals full of misery and Angst .

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“You hear amazing things,” said Stapleton. “About the death of parents. About not being accepted by others. It’s phenomenal, the amount of pain these kids have.”

Rather than feeling alienated by the work of writers decades younger than herself, Stapleton, 47, described “a commonality of experience” enabling readers of all ages to enjoy each other’s poems. By the same token, having her work applauded by the youthful crowd “made me realize I had more to say than I thought--that my stuff had value across the generations.”

A recent visit to Grounds Zero on a Thursday night made this point for several poets, among them 63-year-old Mona Lethbridge, who charmed her audience with a work called “The Making of a Mother.” William McLain, 83, went a step further, getting the crowd to join in on the chorus of his poem, “You’re a Dirty Old Man.”

The rest of the work--largely by twentysomething poets--ran the gamut of subject, tone and accomplishment. Jason Yaeger read poems critical of consumerist culture and modern relationships. Jason Rutberg’s work explored identity against the backdrop of contemporary life. George Mihalopoulos broke into song for the refrain of a love poem.

Jennifer Ross shouted angry, humorous commentaries on women’s rights and breast implants, while other poets examined politics, world conflicts and the desperation of Lorena Bobbitt.

“This is a kind of testing ground,” said Lethbridge, just before her moment came. “If you can make it here, you have the confidence to go elsewhere. Exposure. That’s what this is all about.”

Where and When Location: Grounds Zero, 124 N. San Fernando Blvd., Burbank.

Hours: Open poetry night, 8:30 to 10 p.m. Thursday, with open-mike sign-ups at 8 p.m.

Price: Free.

Call: (818) 567-4257.