3 Days Biting Poetry in the Hands That Feed You:
Larry Jaffe reports from The Spirit in the Words
Poetry's ethereal slog to societal midsection's the most delightful contradiction! Brute saint Larry Jaffe, one of the purveyors of the PoeticLicense scene in LA and member of our crack Museletter team, herewith gives the po-news as sponsored by Mercedes Benz.
--Bob Holman
Prologue__________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DaimlerChrysler's The Spirit in the Words poetry program showcases poets throughout the United States. I was recently invited to participate in the final reading for 1999 in New York City after reading in their Los Angeles showcase as part of a five-city tour. They have published and distributed over 10,000 copies of The Spirit in the Words poetry book that includes the works of more than 50 aspiring U.S. poets and writers. The company's poetry program was started during February Black History Month 1994 in Detroit, Michigan with 47 journalist-poets, and has grown to over 200 participants including DaimlerChrysler senior management, poets and city officials.
So here I am getting ready to enter the world of corporate poetry. It's difficult to imagine poetry flourishing in a corporate culture. But after 3 days with the DC team, I have to tell you. . . well read for yourself. This is my diary of the poetic adventure. I now gloriously think that I'm part of the DaimlerChrysler Poetry Dream Team!
The Poetic Opus Begins:
P-Day Minus 1__________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Flying in a day early. Gotta see the family/folks for the day then get on to the business of poetry. Chrysler's travel specialist Rhonda (works for American Express) is most helpful in putting the flights together. We take off from LAX with a minimum of problems, parking the truck in long-term parking and a van shoots us out to the Frontier Airlines terminal. No food, only snacks are in store for the 3000-mile air trek. I am prepared, having gobbled two Egg McMuffins at Mickey D's before I head out. That should keep me full for sure. This airline don't just serve peanuts -- they've got muffins leftover from some refugee camp or pucks from the NHL, I'm not sure which. Good flight, all in all, though the attendants remind me of escapees from a gothic horror film, the one where the heroine is constantly caught mid-scream (I am heroine). We touch down briefly in Denver, then on to LaGuardia, where we land oh so prettily with nary a bump nor grind.
Day 1 The Theatre!__________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
DaimlerChrysler has put us up at the more-than-artist's-hovel Midtown elegant Marriott Eastside Hotel. I am part of a poetry contingent joining poets from all over the United States including San Francisco, Philadelphia, Detroit, and of course New York City. I am perched and ensconced on the 31st floor of said hostelry. The view of Lexington Avenue is harmonious; I cannot hear the sounds of horns honking. We are given a three-day agenda of the Spirit in the Words festivities. First stop is to meet in the lobby where we shake hands and even hug some of the folks I already know. I'm surprised DC folks remember me, and secretly pleased. From there they have a wonderful magical mystery tour as we are shepherded on Chrysler-powered vehicles, i.e., vans, to New Brunswick, New Jersey and the Crossroads Theatre, our destiny for the evening. The folks at Crossroads are very jazzed: not only is their show Play On getting rave reviews (starring Leslie Uggams and Stephanie Mills), but they are the first African-American owned and operated theatre to receive a Tony. They are jazzed and the night is all jazz as this musical featuring the heroic musical works of the Duke (Ellington, that is) just takes us apart. We have great seats (front row, which could be a disadvantage but the seats are right at stage level and as the performers dance and sing, you feel like they are doing their works just for you). The Duke's rhythm's rifle the air and everyone is tap tap tapping and we be breathing that jazz stuff right into our lungs. What a treat! Of course, before the show they stuff us up on hot and cold appetizers (these prove to be ubiquitous throughout the schedule -- when in doubt serve appetizers, they offer variety and are easy to eat) and believe it or not they have a dinner ready for us when we get back to the Apple.
Day 2 The Poetry Jones Comes a Scratchin'_________ _ _ _ _ _ _
After being up to the wee hours talking poetry with new found friends and of course sleeping in 'till the hosted breakfast is over, I need to make my way over to the Grill for a walkthrough. Again DC comes to the rescue, vanning us across town, and we are ushered into the beautiful high-tech upper floor of the restaurant. The room is cavernous and they are setting things up as we get there. Surprisingly it is not a loud room, i.e., sound does not reverberate like crazy. I find this interesting with the bare floors and huge windows at one end. Alan Miller, the founder of Spirit in the Words, is there as well as Vikki Hardy, Ramona, Vannesse, Randye Bullock and much of the DC crew. I am finding it a pleasure to be around these folks. They truly believe in this program and it shows every step of the way. And please don't think I am writing this from just some self-serving or DC-serving viewpoint. These people really believe in Spirit in the Words and they have somehow convinced the almighty corporation to go along with it and spend a great deal of money. The winners and guest-feature poets include: Sandra Songbird, Roni Walter, Kimmika Williams, Lolita Standifer, Latitia McCree and very importantly Brenda Perryman, who serves as spokespoet for the program and has proven to be a dear friend.
Aside: All right, so I am starting to feel pretty nervous at this point. Here I am the only guy in this crew and despite my heritage I am truly the minority. Now, honestly, I don't feel at all uncomfortable. In truth I feel most comfortable. I guess what it is, is that I am very pleased that my words just speak for themselves. I know this might sound silly, but this is my life and it does make me feel good to have emerged as a poet in this program.
We go back to the hotel; I grab a quick lunch and lie down for a bit. The excitement is building. There promises to be a huge crowd tonight -- well, about 200 or so folks from the media and social organizations. The way it's gonna work is that Frank Fountain, the Senior V.P. at DC will make some opening remarks about the importance of the program, etc., etc. This is the man at the corporate level that has made Spirit in the Words happen. He okays the funding and budget. Then we get five minutes each and then the New York contest begins. Things are running behind schedule; the hot and cold running appetizers are incredible, but I cannot eat. I really have trouble eating before I read and tend not to do more than nibble. Alan will introduce the guest-featured poets, Brenda, Sandra and me. Then they have a celebrity actress host (Sherry Hardy) to MC the rest of the night including the winners from the other cities. Sherry has starred in variety television shows and is also a poet and she is excited about this gig. You can tell that like the rest of us, she is catching SITW (Spirit in the Words) fever.
Brenda leads it off with a total embracing of the audience as only she can do. She rises up out of the crowd laying down her words one-on-one as she makes her way to the stage. We are each getting our four minutes of fame. Sandra is next and reveals herself as one of the most beautiful souls I know. Her poetry screams, cries and tears from the heart of her Native American heritage. Jeez, I know I am starting to sound rather Pollyanna-like but I cannot help it. Right now this is becoming one of those spiritual poetic experiences. And now it's almost my turn.
I have this ritual I do before I read. It is not so much a prayer or a meditation but it is a ritual in which I basically look at the stage, look at the room and own the space, own the audience, own my words. Ever since I started doing this I have noticed that I relax much more in front of the microphone and feel more natural. I let the words take me wherever they are supposed to take me. I don't feel forced or too “performy.” Wow, aren't you glad I told you that? I guess I was more nervous than I thought. Anyway, it is my turn and I walk up to the microphone and say hi to the folks and briefly introduce myself and do my two poems. Phew, I get my four minutes of fame and I feel great. I am sweating and bleeding up there. It feels good. The audience is lovin' my words, I feel like I am in a zone, I can see every face and my words seem to hit just right. . . swoosh! nothin' but net!
Sherry comes up next and introduces the winning poets from Philadelphia (Kimmika Williams), Los Angeles (Roni Walter) and Detroit (Latitia McCree). Kimmika is one of the most dynamic poets I have ever witnessed. Her content is relevant and she just digs so deep from her heart that you cannot help but be moved. Roni digs into her cultural poetic bag of tricks and talks about emerging into today's society with icons of music and movies as her stepping-stones. I have read many times with Roni and her Bakstreet Poetz and I know she was ready to let New York hear her voice. Latitia is simply a word sweetheart. She makes love to every word coming out of her bones.
The audience is pumped and then it is time for the contest itself. The eventual winner Nadine Mozon leads off first and she is truly the best of the lot. Part of the purpose of Spirit in the Words is to showcase new poets and perhaps this is the only place the program falls down. The screening process for these poets could be improved. If Spirit in the Words was looking for the top emerging poets in New York City they should have looked a little deeper, because after Nadine, the standard took a sudden drop like the blizzard of 1890.
The best part was that over 200 people got to hear some pretty damn good poetry and some, well, not so good. There were media people from radio, television and print. They were there for poetry.
We went back to the hotel and for a couple more hours read poetry to each other. Sometimes what happens after the reading is the best part.
Day 3 Poets & Writers Magazine Dinner___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
This trip was full of highlights, appetizers, camaraderie and poetry. The P&W dinner was incredible. I got to meet Stanley Kunitz and talk to him for a few minutes. I talked with Elliot Figman, the P&W Executive Director, for a while about the West coast poetry scene and what P&W can do to help support it. It was a great night and a real treat to see Waiting To Exhale author Terry McMillan as well. Poets & Writers presented DaimlerChrysler with their President's Award for The Spirit in the Words program.
At the end of the night our poetically tired travelers retired to the hotel and said our goodbyes. There was much fondness within the group and we owe a great deal to the vision of Alan Miller, who was instrumental in bringing this program together. I did not want to write this as a puff piece. But there is no getting around the positive impact of The Spirit in the Words, both personally and to the poetry community and the world community. I will not debate that the readings themselves can be better conducted, the selection process improved, etc. Most important, however, is that a major corporation made a substantial contribution to poetry in American life 6 years ago, and they continue to do so to this day. I appreciate that.
--Larry Jaffe
Follow on to Part II of this feature: a sampling of poems by Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon, Sandra Abena Songbird Naylor & Larry Jaffe from the Spirit in the Words performance.
Larry Jaffe is a mainstay on the Los Angeles poetry scene & has travelled the world giving readings of his work. He is our Los Angeles correspondent for the Ab.c Poetry Museletter. You can read, hear & download his poetry in many places on the Net:
- A large collection of his poems is posted at his own site, lgjaffe.com, listed in alphabetical order or sorted into “lato, romantico, socio, mojo, artistico & religio” categories for browsing.
- His new book, Jewish Soulfood, can be purchased online in downloadable electronic form at Dead End Street Productions.
- “Unprotected poetry” & “Miles showed me his trumpet” are posted as audio files for listening or downloading on Larry's page at MP3.com.
- His “Jew Boy Blues” is on top of the poetry page of the online edition of Tattoo Jew.
- “Shadowplayer” is featured with reader comments at David Barnes' Poetry Down Under.
- “Bombs Away Over LA” was his contribution to Brett Axel's Will Work For Peace anthology of political poems. (Scroll down the page or search for Larry's poem.)
- Poetic Voices e-zine did a round-up of reviews of his summer 1999 cross-country “unprotected poetry tour.”
- Check the Poetic License email newsletter for info about the PoeticLicense reading series Jaffe emcees, with Donn Deedon, in LA. A couple of those readings have been Webcast live & one is still available in the RealAudio/Video archives at Green Cafe LA.
