MUSELETTER #15
1/22/2000
Hello everyone,
We've got a special essay this week from our very first Museletter correspondent, Jason Pettus, on how the group “I Was Born with 2 Tongues” has revitalized the Chicago performance poetry scene, plus a report from Ayodele on Atlanta's Slam City.
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Women's History Guide Jone Johnson Lewis includes a number of poets among the notable women on whom she has gathered links & written biographies. Her site is a magnificently rich resource of information about women writers who should be better known, like these:
MIDWEST
SPECIAL REPORT:
“I Was Born With 2 Tongues” and the Rebirth of the Chicago Poetry Scene
“I have seen the future of poetry, and its name is I Was Born With 2 Tongues.”
--some drunk guy at Guild Complex
They have sold 1500 CDs in three months. They have toured across the nation and have received press worldwide. And their most recent Chicago show set a new attendance record for a venue that has hosted Gwendolyn Brooks and the National Poetry Slam. I'm talking of course of “I Was Born With 2 Tongues,” the Pan-Asian-American poetry troupe that has revitalized and set fire to our local poetry community here in Chicago.
Comprised of Emily Chang, Anida Esguerra, Marlon Esguerra and Dennis Kim, 2Tongues was formed a few years ago as an experiment in Asian-American solidarity and as an attempt to combine the similar trip-hop performance styles of the four. As the years have progressed, the reputation of the group has blossomed into a legitimate phenomenon, and they stand now as one of the most well-known groups of poets in this city, their aura rapidly expanding nationwide. There are lessons that we as poets can learn from 2Tongues' success, and I thought this week (since I haven't received any Midwestern poetry updates from elsewhere) I would go into the reasons that 2Tongues have become such a huge success and how the rest of the poetry community can emulate them.
Firstly, and the most important fundamental layer of their entire story, 2Tongues is good. Very good. Fusing politics, Asian-American concerns, a well-defined sense of humor, and the hip-hop cadence of their backgrounds, the group is always ready any time they step on a stage. Their memorized and rehearsed performances remind us that they do not take their audience for granted. There is always an inherent feeling from 2Tongues that they consider a large, quiet, enthusiastic audience as always a privilege, never a right. And it's a privilege that they must prove each time they go up on stage.
Secondly, 2Tongues has the discipline to stick out the boring, nitpicking, horrific details. A thousand poets have talked about their “upcoming spoken-word CD” that they'll get around to doing someday (myself included). But 2Tongues not only went out and raised the money one donor at a time, they hired some of the best people in the industry to help them put it together. They followed through with printing and duplication, got on the ball when it came time for distribution, and never performed anywhere without a stack of CDs by their side. When people wrote, they sent albums out. When people emailed, they didn't ignore them. Result? 1500 units sold in a quarter of a year, second printing in the works.
Thirdly: 2Tongues does not make enemies. This can be summarized by a quote from fellow Chicago poet Shappy, who made this comment during the Tongues' recent 300-person show at the Guild Complex: “See, they're always hugging. Look at them. I should go around and hug everyone. Then maybe I'LL get 300 people to my show.” All kidding aside, one of the crucial elements in the group's success is their enthusiasm and sincere appreciation of all different types of poetry, all over the city. Too many of us (again, myself included) get settled into our particular niche of the poetry world, unable or unwilling to poke out our heads and see the other types of work being produced around us. Wonderful things can happen, not only as performers but as people, when we take the time to appreciate the things that we don't necessarily do ourselves.
Fourth: 2Tongues is not afraid to put themselves at the right place at the right time. It's a well-known fact that many of us touring poets squander the opportunities we are given on a regular basis. We fuck around with our jobs or we blow the money on new comic books or for a thousand other reasons we never seem to have the cash or time when that cool festival halfway across the country happens. 2Tongues teaches us that these events are important. If not for the National Poetry Slam this year (Dennis and Marlon were on the Chicago-Mad Bar team) the group would never have made the national connections they did. If not for that, they would've had a much harder time getting on the road. Without getting on the road, they wouldn't now have a sold-out album and offers to perform in dozens of cities. And, almost most important, they would never have been inspired by the hundreds of writers and performers they've seen while on tour.
I Was Born With 2 Tongues has been a shot in the arm to the Chicago poetry scene. Record numbers of people are showing up at the open mics these days, many of them bringing a much-needed sense of youth, optimism and formal rhythm to the proceedings. Most of us old-timers have curiously felt the need to schedule featured performances once again. The open mics here have again become rowdy, fun, inspiring places, full of good poetry and respect back and forth between the stage and the audience. I'm not only happy but proud to say that 2Tongues is my friend. They have done something that has needed to be done for a while here -- they have shown us once again how vital, important and entertaining poetry can be in our lives.
Check out 2Tongues for yourself: www.2Tongues.com
P.S. On a personal note,
I will be performing at the Phoenix Poetry Festival February 17 through 20. If you live in Phoenix and get this, please drop me a line and tell me about some of the cooler bars, record shops and bands I should check out. And hey, Eirean Bradley, get ahold of me, you motherf___er!
ATLANTA
SLAM CITY! 2000
On Thursday, January 6, SLAM CITY! dove into the future head-first with a mind-blowing feature performance by the 1998 National Poetry Slam Champion/Love Jones poet, Chi-town's Reggie Gibson. In a sneak preview of his debut book-length collection Storms beneath the Skin (nappyhead press), Gibson set the mood for a blues/jazz/funk excursion fantastic with his mantric “Invocation.” Then, fluidly, flawlessly, he moved from mind-blowing poem to mind-altering poem, each building on the energy of the first, culminating in a fiery blue climax as only Gibson could deliver. . . . After the capacity crowd (110+) had about all they could take, after they'd already given him a standing ovation, Reggie returned to deliver “Eulogy for Jimi Christ.”
If you've ever seen him perform the poem, you know the sensation. Approaching the rhythmic climax--“die young, die high, die free, die young, die high, die free. . .” Gibson chanted the audience into a psychedelic euphoria. Then, when he broke into his trademark stratospheric air guitar solo, the people went wild--screaming, howling, rising to their feet like it was a rock concert--as if Jimi Hendrix himself had risen from the grave for one final show. Unbelievable. He is truly an American treasure.
As for the slam, SLAM CITY! welcomed perhaps its most eclectic group of performers to date, seeing Newark, Chicago, Athens, GA, and a Midtown homeless poet joining our usual local favorites. Highlights of the 1st round were Jersey's Faraji Salim (from 1999 Team Nuyorican), Mr. Boom with his insanely creative “Mission to Mars”, and Cola Rum with his fable on evil. For the first time this slam season, all 6 poets advancing to the 2nd round were men. (Come on, ladies!)
In the 3rd round, local music man/spoken word artist, Kodac Harrison (28.5)inspired us with a piece for peace recounting his travels to the new Berlin. Then Faraji Salim, winning all sorts of new fans, rocked the house with his poetic second coming--“Jesus Christ Ghetto Superstar,” earning 10's from all but one of the judges and, with a time penalty, a 29.5. Then, first-time slammer Tesauro flipped phrases fantastic as he threw an “Eviction Conniption” that got the judges spastic.
Because Faraji is organizing New Jersey's first-ever slam team, he declined his spot in the April SLAM CITY! Semifinals. So the SLAM CITY! Semifinalists from January are Tesauro and Kodac Harrison, joining Karen Wurl, Spinxx, Al Letson, and Jay Cole from November and December. Entering the second half of our slam season, only 6 semifinal spots remain. Congratulations to our winners.
Once again, SLAM CITY! rises the first Thursday of every month at 8 p.m. at bluemilk's ultralovely Paradigm Artspace (13th & Spring, Midtown Atlanta). The 1st twelve poets to sign up will slam (the sign-up list filled up at 7:20 in January). 3 rounds, $25 cash prize to the winner.
