MUSELETTER #42
7/30/2000
The newest news in American poetry: Tomorrow, Stanley Kunitz will be named Poet Laureate to succeed Robert Pinsky [see the Washington Post story for details]. . . Performance poets are gathering in our smallest state, Rhode Island, where 56 (!) teams will compete & they plan to set the river afire for the 2000 National Poetry Slam next week. . .
This week's Museletter takes you to the corners of the country: Robyn Su Millerz reports great places to hear poetry all over New England & Victor Infante covers Southern California from a non-slam poetry duel to ComicCon. As always, we'll be back next week with more po-news.
Margy Snyder & Bob Holman
Poetry Guides
POETRY IS EVERYWHERE AT ABOUT
Some of About's local city guides have begun to list poets & readings in their areas:
- Mobile, Alabama Guide Joseph Sackett has a directory of poets & poetry groups around Mobile Bay.
- East Village (NYC) Guide Eric Wiener lists his local poetry groups & venues for poetry readings.
- Santa Cruz, California Guide Bonnie Hamre has gathered links to the authors of Monterey Bay.
- Las Vegas, Nevada Guide Robert Romano lists links to Vegas poets & poetry journals.
BOSTON/NEW ENGLAND
Where? When? What?
The what is poetry -- the when is every Sunday at 2 pm -- the where? Well, on the streets. The Guerrilla Poets meet every Sunday, somewhere in Boston, and read poetry anywhere there are no walls. They've read to the Red Sox crowd near Fenway Park, and to the tall ships crowd in Boston Harbor. No passing of hats. The Guerrilla Poets bring the spoken word to the people for the liberty, glory and honor of it all. Just don't ask Matt Levy (a GP cofounder along with Janaka Stucky) to read his “duck poem” or he will have to charge you. I mean physically. Hie thee to their appealing Web page to learn what they are all about and see if you, too, could become a Guerrilla Poet in the very near future. And you can. To quote James Leon Suffern in last December's Spare Change, “They're an army that will recruit anyone. Sign on the spoken line.”
G-Literary Party
96 Inc, a literary magazine and artists' collaborative, will celebrate its 10th issue on Monday, July 31, at 7:00 pm, at the Karma Club, 9 Lansdowne Street, Boston. This issue of 96 Inc magazine (which has a national distribution in bookstores, so look for one near you) features more than 30 local poets, writers and visual artists. Six of those writers -- poets Peter Desmond (a lowkey occasional powerslammer who has been missed in the local scene while he has been tearing up the Netwaves), Barbara Field, Lew Howe and Annie Scott and fiction writers Harlyn Aizley and Rose Moss (my first writing teacher!) -- will be featured in the hour-long reading. I am sorry to report that “the traditional homemade breads will add flavor to this annual event,” because I love bread far too much.
Admission is free but everyone is encouraged to buy a copy of the magazine. For information, call (617) 267-0543.
Boston Slammaster Retires!
That must be what Michael Brown meant when he told this correspondent that he would be “happy never to see you again.” Since I go about.everywhere -- oh, wait. . . Maybe he's made up his mind not to be happy. . . Well, hell, what kind of poet does a happy person make, anyway? I adore my mentor and teacher and can only aspire to the day when my verbal slaps progress from the pettiness of calling a waitress an “idiot” to his instructive show of a huge and humble nature in telling a long-time student. . . you get the idea. Apologies all around.
The Happenin' Slene at People's Republic of Vermont
You read it right -- “slene.” Cohost of the Burlington, VT slam-scene (say it fast: slene) Seth Jarvis has set out to revolutionize our language. Ask ter about the long-overdue task of gender-neutralizing our pronouns.
I will get everywhere, eventually, and in this case one has to wonder why eventually took so long. Burlington, VT (home of Kim Jordan) boasts a poetry scene so vibrant it rivals the awesome scenery there. Against a backdrop of mountain-rimmed lake is an embarrassment of riches: pubs, coffeehouses and bookstores (choose your poison). Getting there takes approximately 5 hours from Boston. . . 4 hours returning (downhill), but it is a worthwhile trip. Plan to stay a day or two; you'll understand why everyone looks so happy there.
The poetry events at Rhombus Gallery/Artspace at 186 College Street (2nd floor) in downtown Burlington (1st and 3rd Fridays at 8 pm) have been standing room only every time I've been, so arrive early. In fact, people patiently wait in the halls to take any vacated seat in the bare-bones, folding-chair performance space. Whether it's for the chance to listen to a consistently high level of entertaining and evocative poetry, or simply to moon over the divine cohosts, Kim Jordan and Seth Jarvis -- it's a toss-up. They keep the evening rolling there by alternating the featured reader with their slam. There is no open mic. Upcoming theme slams and features include:
- August 4:
A regular slam, feature the Vermont Slam Team 2000 - August 18:
A cover slam (a chance to relax after Nationals; read somone else's poem!) - September 1:
A regular slam, feature by Big Poppa E - September 15:
Battle of the Sexes Slam
For directions to the venue and info on their other poetry ventures, such as the Breathing Poetry Project for schools, see the Vermont Slams Web site. Highly recommended is their fun and informative email newsletter.
Open Mike Poetry Series in Leominster, MA
I plan to drive to Leominster to see this poetry series, I really do, because cohosts Lex and Eric Thomas “strive to feature the best poets from both the 'performance' and 'literary' arenas” and from the looks of the listings for past and future features, they have done a bang-up job. Some of the poets they've featured recently include Jack McCarthy, Eitan Kadosh, Richard Moore and Thomas Lux.
The readings happen on the 1st Tuesday of the month at R&B Bagel Café in Twin City Plaza, 865 Merriam Avenue, (978) 534-1999, and on the 3rd Tuesdays of the month at Barnes & Noble 289 N. Main Street, (978) 537-6009.
Ambiance? B&N is a well-known chain, so we can skip that. I have been told, told, told (by Jose de Gouveia) to picture the R&B Bagel Cafe as a defunct Dunkin' Donuts, with a plywood sign outside reading “coffee and donuts” and an arrow pointing the way. So far, so good. Gouveia described the audience at his reading as “young but most attentive.” Even better. Both venues are smoke-free and wheelchair accessible. The readings begin at 6:30, with the feature at 7 pm. Upcoming schedule:
- August 1 at R&B Bagel Café
“Wonderbard” Adam Stone, Spoken Word Poet Laureate of Cape Cod and member of the Boston Slam Team 2000. - August 29 at R&B Bagel Café
“They might have been giants” of slam in days of yore, but you can bet they are still mighty contenders: a Head-to-Head Slam between Michael Brown and Bill MacMillan; the founding fathers of slam poetry in Boston and Worcester face off in a war of words. - September 19 at Barnes & Noble
Corey Cokes, a 1996 Poetry Slam Team Champion, who has since earned his Master's Degree in English and “sworn off slams.”
As part of a service they provide to the poetic community, Lex and Eric have produced an awesome online site, easy to navigate, with links to the poets they've featured. Photos, poems, including audio versions, feature write-ups, directions to the venues, etc. -- it's all there. An event in and of itself.
Everyone Is Invited To the Last Stop Slam
You could say the festivities for the Slam Nationals in Providence this year begin the weekend before the event, in Boston.
SlamAmerica is a national bus tour sponsored by Grand Marnier and Poetry Slam Incorporated™ & organized by Gary Mex Glazner. The poets who have been slamming their way across the nation will be parked outside the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge, MA on Sunday, August 6 and Monday August 7 for a 2-stage, 2-evening “Last Stop (before the end of the line in Providence) Slam” featuring as many teams as show up. Admission will be $5 per person for everyone each night. High-scoring teams win cash prizes.
Teams Already Committed:
- SlamAmerica (3)
- Albuquerque
- Boston
- Burlington, VT (Sunday)
- Cape Cod
- Dallas
- Grand Rapids
- Guerrilla Poets
- Pacific Ocean Team
- Providence
- Texans (Monday)
- San Francisco
- St. Louis
- Worcester (Monday)
The Cantab Lounge is at 738 Massachusetts Ave, Central Square, Cambridge, Mass, near the Red Line, (617) 354-2685. The normal schedule there occurs on Wednesday nights: 8 pm open mike; 9:30 pm feature; 10:30 pm slam, $3 unless noted. Hosted by Michael Brown & Tommy Mendez. Upcoming events include:
- August 2
Following the usual open mic, Boston slam master Michael Brown takes on the entire Boston team for a bloody two rounds, already being billed as “The Boston Massacre” or “FAMOV” (Featuring At My Own Venue), depending on whom you talk to. All in (down and dirty) fun. - August 9
A Ron Goba Production, hosted by Nate Connors & Keith Nystrom. Open mike starts at 7:30 (half an hour early) and sports a five-minute time limit. (That's nearly a 70% increase in time allotment, for those in the know!) The featured poets, Charles Ozug and Moira Linehan, start at 9. Open mike continues after the features! - August 23
Big Poppa E on his national tour. And the open slam in the 8 X 8 Slam series resumes, to determine who will win spots in the second half of the semi-finals. - September 6
Ken Cormier, of the Ann Arbor slam scene, kicks off a six-week tour.
For the latest, check out Slam News Service.
Hot Sundays at Lizard Lounge
I'm running out of steam and space for this edition of the NE calendar of events, but I never run out of energy for hitting the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge (1667 Mass Ave between Harvard and Porter Squares) Sunday evenings at 9 pm. A sizzling line-up more than stacks up to all the team bouts that have been going on surrounding the Nationals in Providence. Here's what's in store from the magnificent hosts, Jeff Robinson Trio:
- August 30
The Boston Slam Team -- imo, even better as a feature than as competitors (in which arena they are formidable) - August 6
Emily Dahmen - August 13
Reggie Gibson, the man, the legend, the voice - August 20
Blackout (New York & Boston) -- look for a write-up in Poetry Currents next time, since Blackout has a regular venue in Boston. I am still quoting work I heard the first time I went and saw them there. - August 27
Juliette Monestime
For more, go to the Lizard Lounge Poetry Jam Web site.
ORANGE COUNTY/SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Why I Disappeared
Hi everybody! Before I begin plugging all the cool stuff that’s coming up, I have to apologize for not making either my reading with Amelie Frank at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art or the West Coast Regional Poetry Slam in Big Sur. My car died and I ended up sitting at an ARCO station for four hours. I’m praying that this means that all of my bad travel karma is out of the way for my trip to Rhode Island for the National Poetry Slam Finals.
Lummox Lumbers On
This in from our old friend, Raindog:On Sunday, broadcast over NPR (check your local NPR station for time & listing), on The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor, a poem by Gerald Locklin will be read. This poem is from the recent LRB (Little Red Books series) by Professor Locklin, entitled The Iceberg Theory and Other Poems (published by Lummox Press in January of this year). Please listen in and, if you’re of a mind to, let your local NPR station know how much you appreciate their continued interest in the small press.Also, the next issue of Lummox is out and it looks great! Not only is it the 70th issue and the last issue devoted to the memory of Charles Bukowski, but it is also the biggest issue to date. Special thanks go out to my Art Director, Yazoota, for his excellent layout; and also to all the contributors who made this issue something we can all be proud of. You can get a copy for $4 (it being a special issue and all). Or, if you subscribe before 8/31, you’ll get this issue and I’ll throw in a bonus of the A.D. Winans book, Remembering Bukowski, as well. 12 issues for $20. . . how can you lose?Geez, Raindog. Sounds like you’re doing enough for the both of us. And you forgot to mention that you’re reading for the five penny poets series on Friday, August 25, at the Fidelity Federal Bank, 19900 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach, CA, (714) 968-0905. 8 pm. Free. With Donna Hilbert, no less.
Duelling Poets
Actually, things are a little quiet around here, as people are gearing up to go to the National Poetry Slam Finals or maybe just because they’re soaking in summer rays or something. One person who isn't quiet is Lee Mallory, who’ll be hosting his 9th annual Factory Performance Poetry Contest at the Gypsy Den Grand-Central, with special guest judges Jana and Donato Martinez. As Mallory is quick to point out, this isn’t a slam. Slams have five judges pulled from the audience, who hold their scores up for everyone to see. Lee has two “professional” judges, who score secretly. Really, the differences end about there. It’s a pretty good show, though, and tends to pull a lot of new poets who haven’t shown their faces much around the coffeehouse/slam circuit.Friday, August 25, 8 pm
Gypsy Den-Grand Central
125 N. Broadway
Santa Ana, CA
(714) 835-8840
Slam Books
Anybody seen Poetry Slam: The Competitive Art of Performance Poetry (Manic D Press, 2000), edited by Gary Mex Glazner? How about Burning Down the House, the anthology of the 1998 Slam winners from the Nuyorican Poets Café? Or how about the tiny anthology of the Laguna Beach Slam Team (yes, everybody’s favorite beach bum poets pulled it together long enough to release a chapbook, but only because Carole at FarStarFire had it together enough to make them do it. You can read my take on all of ‘em at Orange County Weekly.
Tidbits From a Comic Convention
My wife and I made it to the San Diego Comic Convention, where I got to meet the artist on my favorite comic book, Transmetropolitan. We met a number of other cool people, too, including fantasy artist Charles Vess, whom we overheard may be contributing artwork to a forthcoming book of poems and art by comic book pros. Science fiction novelist David Brin led a fascinating discussion on “Are Superheroes Fascist?” (Answer: maybe) Lastly, we got to see a preview of the new Tick live action TV show, and it looks awesome! Fox will kill it in minutes flat.
We also heard Poetry Channels originator Juliette Torrez was around, but we never saw her. If you don’t know Juliette, you’re missing out on one of the coolest people in poetry. She’s the only woman I know who can look at all credible in sparkly, gold combat boots, and she used to do this newsletter thing all by herself. (Intimating here that it takes, like, 15 of us to make one of her.) We hear she’s gonna be at Nationals, so we hope to see her then.
Of course, it’s nearly 2:00 am, and I’m leaving for New England at noon tomorrow, so I should get some sleep. Hope to see some of you out there.
READER-SUBMITTED POETRY NEWS BRIEFS
From Kim Cotton:
Houston literary magazine celebrates 2 years of publishing with Poetry/Short Short Story Contest! $100 grand prize! Max 3 poems of 40 lines or less/1 short story of 1200 words max - any style/subject.Questions? Email tongue_magazine@yahoo.com.
- No handwritten or email submissions
- Include $5 reading fee
- Include cover sheet with name, address and bio
- Contest from 7/1-8/31/00
- Send submissions to: Tongue magazine, PMB 465, 1436 W. Gray, Houston, Texas 77019
From lilip:
Lingerings is a quarterly presentation featuring art, photography, and writing (poetry, essays, stories). We accept submissions from any female, at any time. The next issue's deadline is August 20th.
