Bumbershoot, “A Word Bath”
SUNDAY Janine Pommy Vega (NY) read from her extensive body of work, which spans from the Beat community to now, particularly from her own work in prisons.
Bumberslam ended the night when Piece (from Seattle) and Sini Anderson tied with perfect 30's. Piece writes amazingly dense hip hop and breathless poems, and Sini gets you in the gut with her unapologetic narratives. They were both stunning. But since there was only one prize ($100), what to do? The audience decided to contribute a second $100 prize, and for a couple minutes it was literally raining money on the stage. Ones, fives, even a twenty. When all was said and done, the crowd had kicked in another $350, and all the poets got paid. Who said communism is dead?
By now we're feeling it. The day goes by in a blur, punctuated by standout readings by June Melby and Matthew Niblock, up from LA, and Bumberslam. John Crawford celebrated 25 years of publishing at West End Press with his new authors Ken Waldman, “Alaska's fiddling poet,” and Bill Witherup, from Seattle. Robert Gordon read with two former students and prison inmates from The Funhouse Mirror: Reflections on Prison, an amazing book that was the top seller at the book concession. The reading was grim and hilarious in turn.
from the Beat community to now
all the poets got paid
