Poetry Channel #46
6/15/98
IN THIS EPISODE: The World Heavyweight Poetry Bout, Ntozake Shange & Jimmy Baca versus Patricia Smith & Sou MacMillan, Sherman Alexie, Jim Carroll, Patricia Smith, Circus Slams, On the Road to Austin.
Hey y'all. I'm not quite home yet but I figured I'd get this special edition of Poetry Channel out before catching Greyhound. It's quieter around the place now; all the poets have gone and even the chihuahuas are more subdued. I spent some time chasing loose rabbits and runaway peacocks. The menagerie had gotten bigger since I got here -- the back yard has become a petting zoo of lambs, goats, chickens and a very molty turkey.
So I suppose you want to know the outcome of the bout between Sherman Alexie and Jimmy Santiago Baca. Sherman came out swinging from the first round, endearing himself to the audience with his humor and honesty, grown women giggling like schoolgirls at his poem about a red-ribbon shirt. (What a romantic! Sigh.) His poems about the slaughter of wild ponies, how to write the great American Indian novel, his family, their fires, basketball. . . well, let me just tell you, it was great. (Please keep in mind: I've been looking forward to seeing Sherman read at Taos for a couple of years now. I recommend Reservation Blues* and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.*
Jimmy Santiago Baca, of course, had a large, loud and loyal following and he did not disappoint. He knows this place and its people; his work strikes a chord in our hearts. He said early in the Bout that win or lose, he would not be returning to Taos -- he's planning on living on an island with his sons. An early concession? I don't know; he was still in better spirits than last year. (The sound system robbed everyone's voice of bass, but the recording got them crystal clear.)
I'm happy to announce that Sherman Alexie won the World Heavyweight Poetry Bout in a 95-95, 96-94, 96-94 decision. After a two-year reign, Baca can now step down and move to that island paradise of which he dreams.
For those of you who haven't been to a Poetry Bout before, it goes ten rounds, five minutes per poet per round; three judges mark the score card following each round. The tenth round is improv, where the poets pull words out of a hat and construct a poem around it. (Sherman got 'chaos.' Jimmy got 'snapbeans.') The judging is silent and the scores are compiled at the end. It makes the show faster, with more room for poetry.
What is it about competitive poetry events that people love and love to hate? Events like the Bout and the Slam pack the house and pull in audience to poetry events that they might not otherwise attend. Maybe the operative word here is 'competitive.' As American audiences, you love it, you want it and then you holler to the skies when it doesn't go the way you think it's supposed to. Even I growl and boo. I have to remember this mantra: poetry wins, poetry wins. . . .
Which brings me to the Tag Team competition, a new event at the Circus. (In the past four years, the Circus has added three competitive poetry events). Once again at the Taos Poetry Circus, there was controversy (believe me, they're used to it): Was the Tag Team event a bout or slam? Ringmaster Anne MacNaughton says it was a bout. Ntozake Shange and Jimmy Baca versus Patricia Smith and Sou MacMillan in an 8-round, 3-judge event.
The contrast was striking. The audience was awed by the two-voice collaborative pieces by Patricia and Sou. They were like avenging angels and the audience sat up with anticipation each time they approached the microphones. When they went solo, the audience had a chance to fall in love with each of them even more. Former Bout champs Jimmy and Ntozake, in all their finery, came at the Tag Team competition as if it were a bout: Not too much collaborative effort. In fact, it was non-existent. But the judges loved their work, loved them and gave the Tag Team to Jimmy and Ntozake.
The audience booed. They clearly thought it was wrong, and the outcome even prompted some goers to vow passionately never to attend competitive poetry events ever again. I wonder if the judges were more comforted by poets on paper. Sou and Patricia completely memorized their work. (Stunning! Buy the tape for the textbook study on duo-voice pieces.) Ntozake looked a little under the weather. She was ill for much of the Circus. (If anyone knows how to get hold of her, please tell her I still have that Love and Rockets book and her deposit.) Patricia and Sou were very gracious -- it was their fans who were tweaked, including of course Danny Solis, who featured in the New Mexico Invitational reading with Robert Masterson and Mary McGiness. (Danny complaining? What else is new! We're peas in a pod, that way.)
Speaking of graciousness, did I tell you what Sherman Alexie did? After the Bout, when he was declared the champion, he not only gave Jimmy props but check this -- he returned his $1,000 prize to the festival organizers. He just handed the check back to them. I was blown away when I heard that. I mean, how often does that happen?
Sherman also gave props to Jim Carroll after winning the Bout. He said he read Basketball Diaries* as a youngster, and that it had taught him that his life was worth writing about. Unfortunately Carroll wasn't there to hear it; he had already left earlier in the Bout.
Jim Carroll's reading was a personal highlight for me. He was on and funny, totally engaging. He started out with a piece about crab infestation, setting the pace for a very raucous reading. He featured Victor Hernandez Cruz, whose first poem hurt my ears, the way he read it. I beat a retreat but when I got back, Victor was as hot as the places he writes about.
Patricia Smith became one of those people I can only admire from afar. Her feature with Nila Northsun was thick and deep and emotionally intense. She read new fiction work, which made everyone swoon. It was the first time I've seen her in a non-competitive setting, where she was able to present a large body of work unbroken. And though Nila Northsun says that she's intimidated by the slam, her material would work well in that realm. Her poetry was honest and humble and powerful. She's also beautiful; a lot of guys were trying to hit on her. She runs a youth crisis center in Reno.
The slam at the Circus was a monster affair. All in all, it lasted seven hours. We took a dinner break and continued into the evening at the Alley Cantina. Thirty-six poets participated this year (yes, it's always this large), including Victor Infante, Leah Deschanes, Bill MacMillan, Danny Solis, Sonya Feher (Sonya, I lost your #), Kirsten Jacobsen, Esther Ruskin, Paul Bullock, Aaron Yanaguchi, David Moore, Debbie Middleton, Eirean Bradley, Michael Crumb, Virginia Mariposa, Dale Harris, Esther Griego and many more. We split the poets into two groups and took the top six scorers out of each.
Sonya, Paul and Eirean went into the final round. Eirean Bradley won, Paul took second and Sonya third, the latter two kicking themselves for their poem selection. It was a fun night regardless, and I can say that all the past and present winners of the slam at the Circus are on the Albuquerque team heading to Nationals.
Margarita Griego won the youth slam. She was wonderful. I think it stunned her, the winning. She said she was saving the $50 as spending money for her trip to Europe. Erin Badhand and Paul Rueckhaus (whom I've met through this event) are also planning on heading in that direction this summer and I have to admit a little jealousy and well wishes for a safe trip.
Special thanks to Anne MacNaughton and Peter Rabbit for their hospitality, and to Suzanne Frost. It was great to see everyone, including Danika Dinsmore (pls send me that poem!), David Huang, Elmo Martin, Phillip Osbourne, Sean Shea, Patrick Lincoln, Mike Hall, Sean Veitch, Charles Tortecelli and many more. I think it was, overall, another great Circus. It's been going on for 17 years now, a testimonial to sheer force of will.
Teams heading to the National Poetry Slam Championships (Austin, Texas, August 19-22):
- Albuquerque: Kenn Rodriguez, Danny Solis, Matthew John Conley, Eirean Bradley
- San Francisco: Tarin Towers, Omolara, Eirik Ott, Russell Gonzaga (alternate: Cas McGee)
- Portland: Jeff Myers, John Dooley, Frank D'Andrea, Robert Hibberd
- Montreal: Alexis O'Hara, Johnny Cheesecake, Dayna McLeod, Debbie Young
- Ann Arbor: Kim Webb, Steve Marsh, Dan Jacobs, Lyn Coffin
- Nuyorican: Kayo, Stephen Colman, Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Alix Olson
- Worchester: Kyria Abrahams, Dave Eye, Ed Fuqua, Bill McMillan
Keep your lineups coming and I'll post them as I get them. Subscribe or unsubscribe at the Mining Company (use the Poetry Channel link on the lower right of the front page). Send me stuff you think I'd like (my address is sofasurf@usa.net). Please be nice. If you can't be nice, be careful. I was never much of a people pleaser. I'm at Last Gasp for the next month or so. Don't forget the ComicCon, the granddaddy of the comic conventions, happens in San Diego on August 12-13.
xox
juliette torrez
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