MUSELETTER #46
8/26/2000
Greetings, poets & poetry readers!
Summer in the US arrives at its traditional end next week with the coming of Labor Day -- but there are still a few summer poetry bashes to tell you about this week: Jennifer Joseph covers events, publications & a contest in the San Francisco Bay area and Gary Mex Glazner (home at last from the SlamAmerica bus tour & Nationals) sends news from New Mexico. Our About Poetry Forum is extra-lively these days -- join in the fun now before school starts!
Margy Snyder & Bob Holman
Poetry Guides
POETRY IS EVERYWHERE AT ABOUT
Visit these sites on About's Music/Performance channel for feature articles at the nexus of poetry & music:- Leonard Cohen
Bob Dylan
“Folk Music 101: Major American Artists”
Hugh Blumenfeld, About's Guide to Folk Music, covers Bob Dyland & Leonard Cohen as respected poets in his survey of the great American singer-songwriters.
- “The Greater-Than-Life 'Myth' of Jim Morrison”
Oldies Guide Bill Caccia surveys the interaction of poetry, alcohol, spirituality, sex & death in Jim Morrison's career.
“Folk Music & Greenwich Village in the Sixties” He has also written about the creative interaction between poets & musicians in the Village's 60's heyday.
- An Interview with Dr. Madd Vibe
Ska Guide Bob Timm speaks with Dr. Madd Vibe (of Fishbone) about “the power of poetry, lost luggage, fatherhood, and love.”
- The Hot List
Paula Kirnan, World Music Guide, included poets from Cuba, England, Paris & Jamaica in her Summer 1999 “hot list” of world music albums.
- “It's the Beat: Poetry and Music”
Music Video Guide Angela Thor writes about performance poetry & its relationship to music: “A look at yesterday's beats through today's rappers.”
NEW MEXICO/SOUTHWEST
Well sweet poets, I'm back in New Mexico after 6 weeks with the SlamAmerica tour and the National Poetry Slam -- more about those next week. For now the chiles are roasting and the sunflowers are out, which brings us to. . . .
Poets and Writers Picnic
The 3rd annual Poets and Writers Picnic will be held during the town of Mountair's Sunflower Festival:Sunday, August 27thFeatured readers include Danny Solis, the Albuquerque Slam Team, Mary McGinnis & Cathryn McCracken with music by George Page & the Bozon Band. The whole thing is hosted by Dale Harris. You can bring your own picnic or buy one there. Dale's husband is a caterer and fantastic cook.
Noon to 4 pm
at the Tohu Bohu Art Studios and Gallery
600 North Summit Road on Route 55
Albuquerque Fall Crawl
On Saturday night (August 26th) in Albuquerque it is time for the Fall Crawl sponsored by The Alibi. They close off a five-block area for dozens of bands and -- yes -- live poetry! Stop by Cafe Ole and check out the action. I know it seems weird to have a Fall Crawl in August in the middle of a drought, but school starts this week, so dust off your knee pads.
Poetry Diner
Next Wednesday, August 30th from 6 to 8 pm, I will host the Poetry Diner at the Inn on the Alameda. The Poetry Diner is a unique idea in poetry programming developed by Albuquerque poet Lisa Gill. A menu of poems is created, dividing the verse into appetizer, main course, and dessert poems. The audience is greeted by a host and hostess and seated as if at a restaurant. The tables select poems from the menu. The poets give an intimate reading to each table. The result is a delicious and nourishing poetry reading.
Poets confirmed for participation in the Poets' Diner are Dale Harris, Lisa Gill and Mitch Reyes from Albuquerque, Ann MacNaughton, Amelio Madueno and Peter Rabbit collectively known as “Luminous Animal” from Taos, & Joanne Young, Amy Steele and Mary Maurice, from Santa Fe.
Michael Scofield & Charles Bell
Congratulations to Santa Fe poet Michael Scofield on being accepted and winning a scholarship to the MFA in Poetry program at Vermont College. Scofield is the organizer of the El Dorado Poets. He also helps put together the wonderful sessions with Charles Bell -- email him for information on how to attend.
If you don't know by now, here is the scoop on Bell: he was friends with William Carlos Williams, and tutored Galway Kinnell and W.S. Merwin. He holds informal discussions at St. John's College in Santa Fe, talking about great poets with amazing insight into the structure of their poems. You really have not lived until you've heard Charles rip a poem open to reveal its inner workings, or listened to his gossip about Pound and Williams. You really must stop by, darling. . . .
SAN FRANCISCO/BAY AREA
Poetry at Burning Man
The end of summer means one thing for lots of people around the Bay Area: Burning Man, that gathering out in Nevada's Black Rock Desert where 25,000 people come together for 5 days of art, fun, and partying (August 28 - September 4 this year). As always, there'll be plenty of poetry mixed in with all of the other high jinks -- the William Blake Tarot and Poetry Camp invites everyone to stop by and print your own haiku from 130 anagrammatic Burning Man-generated words. They'll also be having an open mike reading, as will Club Seal Camp. Bring lots of water and sunscreen. Have fun!
National Poetry Association Bash
Another big upcoming event is the benefit bash for the National Poetry Association on September 2, 8 pm. “Celebration of the Word” celebrates the NPA's historic 25th anniversary, with Maya Angelou, Quincy Troupe, East St. Louis poet Eugene Redmond, Oakland writer Guy Johnson, local slammers, and a tribute to NPA founder Herman Berlandt. It's at Masonic Auditorium, 1111 California Street in San Francisco. Tickets are $20 - $30; call 415.392.4400 for info.
Two New Books in the California Poetry Series
If you've ever enjoyed Poetry Flash, that unique free paper listing almost every poetry reading on the West Coast (& beyond), don't miss co-editor Richard Silberg's (Doubleness) reading with Priscilla Lee (Wishbone) at City Lights Bookstore, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, on September 14, 7 pm. Their new books were published by Round House Press (an imprint of Heyday Books) for the California Poetry Series, which is edited by Joyce Jenkins of Poetry Flash.
Printers Inc. Poetry Contest
Speaking of literary bookstores, Printers Inc. in Palo Alto is sponsoring its 6th Annual Poetry Contest this month. Prizes include Printers Inc. gift certificates, publication on their Web site, and an in-store broadside. Rules:Winners will be notified by phone. Send your entry to:
- No entry fee.
- Only one entry per person.
- Poets must be residents of the Bay Area.
- Poems must not have been previously published.
- All entries must be double-spaced, typed on one 8½ x 11 page.
- The poet's name and address should not appear anywhere on the manuscript. Instead, each poem should be accompanied by an 8½ x 11 cover sheet that includes name, address, phone number, and title of the poem.
- Manuscripts are not returnable.
- Entries due by September 1.
- The ruling of the judges is final.
Poetry ContestGood luck!
Printers Inc.
310 California Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94306
NEW YORK
Long Shot Publication Party
Danny Shot writes:
Long Shot 23 will be out on Monday (August 28) -- at least that's when I'll pick it up at the warehouse. We are having a publication party to celebrate this event on September 12 at the Marcel Lounge. Be sure to mark this date on your calendar. WHAT: Publication Party for Long Shot - Volume 23
POETRY BY: Willie Perdomo, reg E. gaines, Mariposa, Eliot Katz, yuko otomo, Peggy Garrison, Kevin Hayes, Sharon Olinka
WHEN: Tuesday, September 12, 8:00 pm
WHERE: Marcel Lounge, 24th Street and 3rd Avenue, NYC
COST: $5.
READER-SUBMITTED POETRY NEWS BRIEFS
From the Canadian Poetry Association:
I have just discovered your group and would like to let you know that we have a literary listserv as well. Our national CPA site is www.mirror.org/cpa and our New London chapter site is at www3.sympatico.ca/cpa. The e-groups address for our listserv is www.egroups.com/list/canadianpoetryassociation.Participoet!
Wayne Ray
CPA founder & Resource Center Webmaster/librarian
From Ruth Rockefeller:
The NSS (Non-profit Support Services) of Eugene, Oregon is seeking poetry submissions for their Purple Grain Exhibit, which will be part of a winter solstice fundraising event. All poetry submissions must be in the form of pantoums, and based on the theme: “Thoughts and musings and possibilities beyond convention.” E-submission deadline is October 31. The NSS will select 25 poems for the exhibit, scheduled for December 16, 2000.
