Poez is back in New York!

Five years ago Jackie Sheeler was remembering street poet Poez performing in Washington Square in the 1970s, inspiration for her own journey to poethood, and she had us all asking “What ever happened to him?” Now she’s back, with word that Poez has resurfaced for his first performance in New York City in 20 years: Friday, December 16th, 6 pm at the Cornelia Street Café.

This is what the press has said about Poez:

• The Village Voice: “Skillfully chants and wails his poem… breaks up words, displaces the emphasis, then settles down to a driving rhythmic chant on two notes… sound on a collision course.”
• The New York Times: “A sonic fantasia… rhymed verbal extravaganza on an apocalyptic theme.”
• NY Daily News: “A voice musician… a flow of words like a river… like a jazz instrument.”

And this is what Jackie says about him: “In the late 70s and early 80s, Poez performed to sold-out houses all over the world: everywhere from London to Paris to Germany — and of course, constantly, in NYC. He has not performed here since! This is a reading not to be missed! He will be performing with Ishle Park, current poet laureate of Queens. Talk about a dynamic duo!”

If you can’t get to New York next week, you’ll have to settle for Jackie’s memoir of Poez here at About Poetry & the sound file we posted from her recording of his 1978 performance. But if you’re in the vicinity, you ought to be there to hear him live in 2005.