THREE MONTHS AFTER 9.11
It has been quite a while since my last Museletter. I have tried to write this column a dozen times and for some reason writing about poetry has just not been easy. Somehow the attack and memory of 11 September got in the way of my life, like so many other lives. In the end, after the anxiety of that week tracking down family and friends, I was personally most fortunate. The morning of 11 September 2001 is not something I ever want to forget, yet it is oh so painful to remember. As I begin writing this column, it is December 11, three months to the day, and two months exactly from when the October Museletter column I never was able to finish was originally due. (A section from that October column appears below.)

Our weekly PoeticLicense reading was to be that Tuesday evening in September and two of my favorite poets were to perform, Ellyn Maybe and Mathew Niblock. I had been looking forward to this particular reading for months, but in one vile act all those lives were taken away, and it felt like “the day the poetry died,” to paraphrase Don McLean. I hesitate even now to write about that feeling of being kicked in the stomach, for fear of sounding clichéd, or failing to convey the strength of emotion that grips me still. In the last few months I have seen poetry readings fall and attendance drop, when I would have thought this would be a time for the greatest desire for community, and it makes me wonder. Our own beloved PoeticLicense (recently renamed Rhythmz) has also fallen. After six years, it breathed its last gasp Sunday, December 16. Other reading series have fallen by the wayside as well. Those of you who know me will know how difficult the decision to close down has been. Sometimes it is just time to walk the dawg, I said after we lost the Moondog to a sushi bar.

EXCERPT FROM MY UNFINISHED OCTOBER COLUMN
Many of us have seen not only the tragedy of twin towers collapsing and unapproachable loss of life, but also a change in values and thoughts and ideals. I know for me personally, having been born in New York and now living in Los Angeles, the attack struck very hard, as did the following 72 hours or so spent accounting for family and friends. The distance did not make it any easier, with phone lines jammed, etc. I reached my friend Ram on his Blackberry wireless email -- within moments I got an OK sign & the relief was enormous. This experience was repeated many many times over the ensuing days. Suddenly, our poetry host network was being used in ways I had never anticipated. Inquiries were made, answers given and I do think that poets felt a little bit closer thanks to these mutual efforts.

As the show must go on... 50 poetry readings were created across the country to benefit WTC relief efforts (see the list at poets4peace.com). In these ensuing months with the world at war, poets are needed more than ever. Where shall they speak? In January I will start my appointment as poet/host at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage. It will include a monthly reading at the museum.

WORDS “N” THA MIX
Art.Us Mansoir returns with his wordly collaboration consisting of open mic poetry, song, verse, storytelling and spoken word done to the rhythms of Cloud 9 Productions. Every Tuesday night at the Sunny Spot jazz and coffee house, 3349 W. 43rd. Street & Leimert Blvd. (Leimert Park Village). Showtime 9 pm to midnight. For more info call 213.325.3410.

MONDAY NIGHT POETRY HAS MOVED TO A NEW LOCATION!
Now every Monday is poetry night in the San Gabriel Valley, between 8 and 10 pm at the Santa Catalina Branch of the Pasadena Public Library, 999 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena (2 blocks east of Lake & Washington). Featured + open reading hosted by Jack Bowman & Don “Kingfisher” Campbell. For more information call 626.281.3605 or check out the Monday Night Poetry Web site.

SAN LUIS OBISPO POETRY FESTIVAL
I had the privilege of being invited to the festival this year by founder Kevin Patrick Sullivan. If there is a man on this planet that deserves the title of Poetry Host it is this gentleman, who has hosted at Café Linnea for some 17 years and produced the festival for a similar time period. What a treat to come to a festival, read to reasonable crowds of poetically sound people and actually sell some books! Kevin does an incredible job.

BIG BAD POETRY SLAM KEEPS ON SLAMMIN’
One might have thought with the migration of OC Victor Infante to points east that this reading might have suffered. Dare I say it? But not with the remarkable hosting combination of Cruisin’ Paul Suntup and Mindy Nettifee. The Big Damn Poetry Slam: Sign-ups at 3 pm, reading begins at 3:30 pm, Sundays upstairs in the Blue Room at the Blue Café, 210 The Promenade, Long Beach, 562.983.7111.

TEBOT BACH REFINES THE ART AND APPROACH OF POETRY
Tebot Bach (Welsh for “little teapot”) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to strengthen community, promote literacy, and broaden the audience through community outreach programs and publishing and to demonstrate the power of poetry to transform one's life experiences.

POETRY BY THE SEASHORE
Every Tuesday night at 8 at the very first coffeehouse in Redondo Beach, the Redondo Poets come to force, presided over by Larry Colker and Jim Doane. I had the privilege to read there last month as their featured poet Leslie Maryann Neal (on her cross country tour) got to lay down her words. This reading has an eclectic mix of older and younger poets; somehow these hosts have retained their core group and expanded into a great diversity of age and gender.

TWO IDIOTS CONTINUE TO PEDDLE
I have been going to a lot of readings lately; having been very concerned about the poetic attrition we've been experiencing, I've been making it my business to get around. Plus my friend Leslie has been featured in several SoCal venues so I've had the great excuse of accompanying her around. She lit up the Ugly Mug (261 North Glassell in Orange), where these two most wonderful “idiots” peddle their words from the back of a coffeehouse (okay, it's actually the front and side). Ben Trigg and Steve Ramirez continue to amaze me with their good humor and poetic care.

TRACKING DOWN NATE GREEN
Many folks have asked me what has happened to Nate Green, one of our fave poets here in SoCal. I just heard from Nate today and he is doing great. He is living in New Mexico at the Iron Knot Ranch, and will soon be going to Brazil to study. He plans on making a short visit back to la la land sometime in the spring.

CHRISTMAS WRAP AT RAPP SALOON
Pete Justus and Gary Justice (twins but not brothers) co-host this series at the International Youth Hostel, 1436 2nd Street (just above Broadway) in Santa Monica every Friday night at 7:30. Pete used to host the series at the Midnight Special Bookstore 'till one day his buzzer got stuck... (at this bookstore a buzzer goes off to alert poets when their five minutes are up) … oops I'm not supposed to be sarcastic... Sorry, I forgot.

A PERFORMANCE POETRY MANIFESTO
From one of our fave poets, John Schofield:

1. There are no great performances without great audiences. A great performance is collaboration between the speaker and the listener. Performers should view the attention, silence, and appreciation of the audience as valuable gifts that should not be squandered.
   
   
2. Only perform works that you like. It doesn’t have to be finished; it doesn’t have to be perfect; you don’t have to love it – but at least like it. Make sure there’s something about it you’re proud of before you share it with us. If you think it’s boring, why should we think any different?
   
   
3. Don’t be afraid to fail. A good reading is a place where it’s safe to fail once in a while. If we don’t fail sometimes, we aren’t being daring enough.
   
   
4. Know your tools. As a poet, your tools are your words, your voice, and your microphone. You should know your words well enough that it doesn’t sound like you’re reading someone else’s scribbled handwriting. Rehearse. This is a performance. Pay attention to how you sound, especially if you’re using a microphone.
   
   
5. Reach the audience. If you’re sweating, you’re doing good. If the audience is sweating, you’re doing great. If your work does not reach the audience, never blame them. Instead, change your material or your approach. While we all write to please ourselves, we must also consider how other people will perceive our work. If we truly wrote just for ourselves, we would simply put our work in a drawer when it was done. There is no shame in sincere applause, and popularity does not necessarily imply mediocrity.

THE SCOOP ON PL AND THE WORLD OF ZEN
December 16 was our last Sunday at Zen. We shuttered the weekly PoeticLicense reading after some 6 years of poetic service for a variety of reasons and I will not bore you with them. Suffice to say the reading had lost its fervor and was just not fun anymore. With my appointment at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage my time is severely limited and a weekly reading just was not in the cards. But after the difficult decision to close down, Providence suddenly smiled upon us: We will be serving up Poetix hot words on a monthly basis on the Sunset Strip starting January 30, at the legendary Rainbow Bar & Grill’s Rainbow Room. This room is so full of history and rocking with tradition, it will be a blast to put spoken word and poetry on its legendary stage. Since 1972, some of the biggest names in music have raised the roof at this dingy but legendary bar and eatery. And now we are about to do the same with poetry. Two of SoCal’s poet legends will open the room for us, namely Ellyn Maybe and Mathew Niblock. There will be an open mic of about 10-12 poets before the features. From time to time we will also spotlight visiting poets. Brandon and I are extremely jazzed about this opportunity, to say the least. Come see us, Poetix serving hot words at the Rainbow Room beginning January 30.

That’s it till next time, and remember... Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!

Larry Jaffe