Poetry Channel #55
3/18/99
IN THIS EPISODE: National Poetry Month, Slam Nation, People’s Poetry Gathering, Coop’s UK Show, Bukowski Contest, Sic Vice & Verse, Andrei Codrescu, Pot Pride Day, Stephen Spyrit, SXSW, Nutroll, More Book Fairs.Howdy!
How’s tricks? Over here things are moving along -- the world of poetry is spinning toward National Poetry Month, which was probably one of the better gimmicks thought up in the name of poetry. Hey, if that’s what it takes. Plus, it allows those who never participate on a regular basis an opportunity to jump on the bandwagon for a while. There is room for everyone.
With all the free publicity Leaves of Grass* has been getting for the past year, I predict Walt Whitman will be the bestseller for April. Would you be surprised if I told you that poetry sales actually do jump up during National Poetry Month? Partly, I’m sure it has to do with the attention that booksellers (and big house publishers) lavish on poetry, if only for that month. Floor and window displays, in-store poetry events, famous poet appearances, poetry open mikes and theme-reading series all add up to increased sales. Book publishers now time the release of poetry books to coincide with National Poetry Month. Staffs of alternative weeklies and news supplements are featuring poetry in their literary sections and having poetry contests because, well, you know, it’s National Poetry Month.
I finally saw Paul Devlin’s documentary SlamNation. He was nice enough to send me a copy. My roommates watched it with me and recognized many of the players as former houseguests, including Sean Shea, Wammo and Phil West. The documentary captures personal conflicts and questionable behaviors that were highly amusing, hardly scandalous, somewhat petty. There was all sorts of drama missed, but I’m thankful that Paul was able to catch a fat glimmer. Saturday slam masters meetings are always built for drama, it seems, at least the four I’ve seen. A copy of that film should be put into a time capsule and opened 20 years from now so we can play “Where Are They Now?”
I read “Might is Right” recently. It explained that humans are compelled to make themselves top dog, even and sometimes especially at the cost of others. Some people believe that Jack London wrote “MIR” or at least transcribed it. It would certainly explain Call of the Wild.* It really helped me to understand some of the behavior I witnessed and heard about in the slam scene leading up to the National competition, the most vicious territorial battles in the local scenes. Then I watch certain poets go on stage and open their hearts and win audiences with their poetry and I’m standing on the sidelines in admiration and think, “Now, THAT’s showmanship!” And that’s what important, isn’t it? I only watch from the sidelines; some people I can’t bear to watch at all. That’s a personal problem for me; it gets difficult to separate people’s motives and actions from their poetry. I need to work on that.
People’s Poetry Gathering is creating a stir -- it’s such an ambitious program. Let’s see, there’s a head-to-head haiku competition, a midnight graveyard reading of Edgar Allan Poe, cowboy poet picnics, pub crawls and open mikes galore. They must be funded from here to eternity because the lineup includes Quincy Troupe, Ntozake Shange, Jayne Cortez, Robert Bly, Robert Pinsky, Sherman Alexie, Patricia Smith, Ani DiFranco, Bob Holman, Miguel Algarin. . . the list goes on. It’s quite stunning, actually. It happens in New York April 9-11. Passes run $80, but I’m sure they’ll need volunteers if you’d rather work instead. Inquire at their Web site.
Plans to see the Nuyorican Poets Café are on my itinerary. I’ll be sitting at Steve Cannon’s table so gadfly and heckler can finally meet in person. His first novel Groove, Bang and Jive Around* was just reprinted by the Carol Publishing Group after a 30-year absence. When I got a copy, I thought “how nice” and started reading it on the bus home. Zing-zang-zoom! Steve Cannon certainly has a way with words. I caught a searing blush the second page in.
Rock poster artist Coop is having his first show in the UK. Before Isabel Samaras came along, he drew the best devil girls (though I know R. Crumb fans would have a big problem with that assertion). Coop’s devil girls and posters will be on display at the Last Chance Saloon in London from April 1 to June 30. SF rock poster artists Chuck Sperry and Ron Donovan had a huge show in Los Angeles last month. “Stalker.com” attracted a room overflowing with hipsters and beautiful people. Chuck Sperry even garnered special treatment from the LAPD when they had him face down on the asphalt, hands cuffed behind his back, down the street from his own reception. His crime? Jaywalking. Not even OJ Simpson was treated in such a manner. Last Gasp is publishing Art of Coop hopefully sometime this year.
Black Sparrow Press is hosting a Bukowski poetry contest. Fun! Deadline is April 9. Rules are: Poem length no longer than 350 words, poem must have a title, one poem per entry, one entry per person. Please mail all entries to Black Sparrow Press, attn: Michele Filshie, 24 Tenth St., Santa Rosa, CA 95401. Or you can fax your poem to (707) 579-0567. Bukowski editor and Black Sparrow publisher John Martin is the judge picking the five poems “which capture the spirit of Bukowski’s writing.” Winners must be present to receive their prize and read their poem at Copperfield’s Books in Santa Rosa on April 30. Oh yeah, first prize is $300.
The new issue of Sic Vice & Verse is out. Look for it at your local indie bookstore, and if you don’t see it, contact the editors and they’ll send you a copy and probably try to sell you an ad. Eight poets came up from Los Angeles for the reading at Vesuvio’s in North Beach a couple weeks back, including S.A. Griffin, Rafael Alvarado, Scott Wannberg, Dafydd McKaharay, Jay Alamares, Jen Brooks and Mark W. They stayed on floor space split between our house and Bucky Sinister's. Jen is a new pal; if you live in California you might have seen her in the anti-smoking waitresses commercial. She told me this as she was smoking a cigarette, which endeared her to me immediately.
Andrei Codrescu was hanging out in Vesuvio’s when we walked in. He was prepping for his reading next door at City Lights. The guys played fanboys while Codrescu deliberately got up to introduce himself to Daphne Gottlieb, who was at the bar. “I just had to meet you,” he purred to her. (One of the worst poet pickup lines since, “I can tell from your bookshelf you are a very sensual and introspective woman. . .”) Man, I thought, does beauty drive us or what? Evidently. I think he was mistaking Daphne for one of his starry-eyed undergraduates from Baton Rouge, but she was tough and didn’t even go to the clever-clever’s reading. And if you ever get a chance, put the Sic people up as houseguests. They’re just delightful. It was obvious they read the Sofasurfing Handbook.*
Pot smokers are asked to stand up and take a puff on May 1 when marijuana smokers will unite worldwide to stand up for their rights. Here in San Francisco, there will be a rally and drum circle at the Civic Center starting at “High Noon” and finishing with a Pot Pride parade. The organizers are looking for artists, poets and performance artists to assist in the celebration. To get involved locally, maybe start your own Pot Pride parade, contact the folks at http://www.drugpeace.org/mmm/.
Portland pal Stephen Spyrit came through town on a whirlwind on his way to South by Southwest in Austin. I nearly got in the car with him, except I have a job now. He’s in the spoken word showcase and hosting the K Records showcase. His new book/cd just came out -- Love Poems for the Millennium (email: helixlifemedia@usa.net). Stephen says to look out for Fernando, he’ll be this year’s Nashville Pussy. I love SXSW. It’s a rock'n'roll reunion. It happens next weekend, and is definitely worth the experience. No money? That’s easy. They’re always looking for volunteers.
Who else is in the SXSW spoken word showcase? Here’s the schedule in the order of appearance:
THURSDAY: Stephen Spyrit, Zei Miller, J. Elliot, David Jewell, Branford Redd and his Amazing Pencillina, the SXSW Slam and Ordained in Lyrics (Gno’s project from Dallas)
FRIDAY: Diane Fleming, The Nutroll Girls (Jena and Kirsten from Dallas, remember them?), Karina McGlynn, Ellyn Maybe, Ray McNiece and Roger ManningHave you seen Nutroll? It’s absolutely kick-ass and unpretentious. I recommend catching a ride on their rocket; it’s too much fun. Send your poems to Kirsten or Jena at Stinki Pen, POB 720188, Dallas, TX 75372. I adore those girls.
If you’re in Austin for SXSW stop by Fringeware, my favorite bookstore in town, and give the guys a big kiss for me. Tammy Gomez is organizing an all-girl reading during the week, so check with the Fringeware folks for info on that and be sure not to miss it.
They have a film festival incorporated into SXSW. I wish they would include a book fair as well. Since that’s still a few years off, there are still plenty of book fairs you can attend and participate in. Well, it’s too late for the book fairs in Cairo and Calcutta but here’s a partial list as posted in Publisher’s Weekly:
- London International Book Fair, March 28-30
- Bologna Children’s Book Fair, April 8-11
- Bogota Feria Internacional de Libro, April 8-11
- Buenos Aires Feria Internacional Del Libro, April 12-16
- Sao Paulo National Book Fair, April 21-May 2
That’s it for me. Please write me with comments or newsy bits at sofasurf@usa.net. Thanks! Poetry Channel & Information Network wouldn’t be possible without the support of its readers. Please know that anything you send me may be posted in a subsequent issue of PCIN. If you’d care to unsubscribe, please do so at http://poetry.about.com. (Thanks again, Margery!).
xox Juliette Torrez
Our recent feature articles:
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- Poetry Spots: A Roundup of Brief Reviews -- books by Luis Rodriguez, Koon Woon, Thylias Moss & June Jordan, CDs from David Vanadia & Tim Koberstein.
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And our newest library of Net links:
*As a result of a commercial relationship between About.com, its Guides and Amazon.com online booksellers, these titles can be purchased directly from Amazon.com by following the link above. (Note: Amazon.com is solely responsible for fulfillment of book orders placed through these links.)
