MUSELETTER #52
10/15/2000
Hi everybody,
There was no Museletter last week: Instead of zapping out poetry news on the virtual plane, your guide Margy made a trip to the hospital in the real-life plane -- but I'm back inhabiting the About Poetry realm now & happy to be here! And news has continued to stream in from our faithful correspondents all over the poetry world, so we'll bring you two issues of Museletter this week. In this one, we have regular reports from Larry Jaffe in Los Angeles & Shann Palmer in Virginia/DC, plus a quick update from Robyn Su Millerz in Boston. The next issue will come out in a day or two, with poetry news from Gary Glazner in New Mexico & Jennifer Joseph in San Francisco. Namaste!
Margy Snyder & Bob Holman
Poetry Guides
POETRY IS EVERYWHERE AT ABOUT
Ghazals
Ever tried to write a ghazal? You can find lots of models, samples & background information among the ghazal links gathered by About's Hindi/Urdu Language Guide, Patrick Jost.
LOS ANGELES
October Is Full of Po...
Hi ho hi ho October is full of po… Yes folks, it is October, as difficult that is to believe and perceive. We are in the throes of Y2K and there ain’t a thing we can do about it… except write some verse, lay down some words, organize a poetry reading… create, create, create. Yup, it has been scientifically proven that poetry turns the clock backwards. Stay tuned, news at 11.
New Slam in Town
A brand spankin’ new weekly open slam comes to Venice at the Rose Alley Theatre, open to all LA-area spoken-word masters. The competition features cash prizes for first, second and third place and a special mystery prize for one lucky poet. The slam will be hosted by veteran slammer Riley Ray. Riley Ray has slammed at Chicago’s Green Mill, helped found a slam in Vermont and was a semi-finalist in the annual competition at New York’s legendary Nuyorican Poets Café. The slam begins October 8th and continues the next four Sundays: October 15th, 22nd and 29th (with hopes to extend it beyond that date). Admission is $5. Poet-sign up is at 7:30 pm. The poetry slam begins at 8:00 pm. Parking is free. The Rose Alley Theatre is located at 318 Lincoln Boulevard, Venice, between Rose and Flower. Entrance is in the alley behind Lincoln by the big red box. For more information call 310.452.7870 or email riley_ray@hotmail.com.
Las Vegas Poetry Scene
The poets of Las Vegas have had their first two slams in preparation for forming LV’s first slam team to go to Nationals in August 2001. The winners of the first two were Shannon Hammermeister and Dayvid Figler, who typically attends the Nationals as an Independent. The “Slam-offs” will be at the end of December or the beginning of January. Organizers for the slam events are Danna Botwick and Karen Lumos, and they say they can use tips from old-timer slammers.
Other news bits from Las Vegas: In September, Community College of Southern Nevada sponsored Ray Gonzales, Kim Addonizio, and Richard Silberg at the Enigma Cafe. Brett Axel also read in Las Vegas at three different venues in September. The Vegas Poet's Society has moved to Jitters on Tropicana/Eastern on Friday nights. There will be three slams in town in October, on Saturday 10/7, 7 pm, at Hi Steaks & Tequila Company, Saturday 10/21, 1 pm, at Enigma Cafe, and Sunday 10/29, 5:30 pm, at Sunset Park (party starts at 1). Renee Christy features at Jitters on 10/13, Brenda Hillman at Enigma on 10/20, and Joan Dudley at Jitters on 10/27. Check out the calendar of upcoming events at the Vegas Poet's Society Web site.
Dey Gots Some Damn Good Poetry in Oklahoma
Individual Artists of Oklahoma organizes and/or supports many regional poetry events and activities. Some of the people who have been doing this for the past few years are tired, are moving away, are going back to school, are.... (fill in the blank). If you are interested in becoming a member of the poetry committee, please contact Carol Koss via email at cpkoss@aol.com or by telephone at 405.528.7451. Saturday, October 28, is a major IAO garage sale to raise funds for poetry.
Back to LA: Da Poetry Lounge Continues to Roar
One of the hottest spots in LA for spoken word is Da Poetry Lounge, hosted by Dante, Gimel, Shihan, and Poetri. They are packin' in upwards of 200 folks, so be sure to be there early for the sign-up list. It’s on Tuesday nights at 9 pm, free admission, donations accepted, at 544 N. Fairfax Blvd. (cross street is Melrose).
Lewis Saunders Plays the Word
A new play by our very own Lewis Saunders, based on his book of poetry Wattaya Mean, Men Don’t Care?, is coming alive on stage on October 7th and 21st directed by Tamara Clark. You can check it out at Celebrity Centre International Garden Pavilion, 5930 Franklin Avenue (corner of Franklin and Bronson in Hollywood). Doors open at 5 pm, tickets $20, call 213.389.4496 for information.
Santa Monica has the Word
...and it's at Barnes and Noble’s Santa Monica store (located on the famous Third Street Promenade at Wilshire Blvd.), Friday, October 20, 8 pm, with poets Cecilia Woloch and Carol Muske-Dukes reading from Dreaming the Garden (Cahuenga Press), the long-awaited book of Ann Stanford’s poems written before her death. For further information, contact: Jim Natal at 310.665.5070 or jnatal@nflplanet.com.
Xennia’s MultiVersity Anthology
A premier SoCal poet, Xennia has created an anthology of poetry based on various nuances of racism. It is available in two volumes and I urge you to check it out. One Drop: To Be the Color Black, Volume I (One Black Skinned Woman’s Poems on Racism for the 20th Century) $15 and Volume II (My White Skinned Friends' Poems on Racism for the 21st Century) $20, are now ready for ordering: Xenpoet@aol.com.
PoeticLicense @ Zen
I'm very happy to report that Zen has been working out as an incredible venue. The owner Steve Edelson has been backing us up 100% as he renovates the restaurant and theater. The room is beautiful and acoustically one of the best I have ever been in. Upcoming features are as follows:
- October 17th, all the way from Chitown, the incredible Nina Corwin
- October 24th, our very own Rob Neill, a true poetic story teller
- October 31st, a double header, coming all the way to la la for Halloween, the renowned Danzr Von-Thai & our very own beautiful, intelligent and poetic Codi Chavez.
Got Some Jack (Magazine)
Our good friend Mary Sands has announced release of the latest issue of Jack Magazine. Issue 2 features artwork by Jonathan Kane... Gregory Corso Devotions by Ira Cohen, Steve Dalachinsky and Erik La Prade... Allan Graubard’s Fragments of Nomad Days, plus Allan’s thoughts about writing Nomad Days... Phyllis Segura’s “Jack Micheline Story”... poetry by Alan DeNiro, Ricky Garni, Steve Kelen, Bill Lawlor, Duane Locke, Marty Matz, Edward Mycue, Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore, Jose de los Reyes, Michael Rothenberg, Susan Terris, D.R. Yonkin, Karl Young, and Joy Olivia Yourcenar... Herbert Huncke’s intro to Marty Matz’s Pipe Dreams... “The Stylist” by Tom Bradley and “Sign Language” by Evan Palmer... “Kerouac Cutups” by Dave Moore... Jack Foley's review of Gary Gach’s What Book!? Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop and Mary Sands' review of Rod Phillips’ Forest Beatniks and Urban Thoreaus & lots more... Jack Magazine, edited by Mary Sands and Michael Rothenberg, is an offshoot of Beat Generation News and an arc to the Big Bridge. It’s where the parameters of the Beat Generation are redefined and expanded to embrace a creative movement that goes beyond personality wedged in temporal categories and public relations concepts. Jack will ponder emanations and movements in modern literature and art that have been operating and vital since before the turn of the 20th century but eclipsed by the “Beat movement,” such as Post-Apocalyptic Romanticism, Psychedelic Shamanism, Church of Latter Day Surrealism, Cannabis Mumbo Gumbo, Burroughsian Utopianism, San Francisco Renaissance Poetry, Modern Urban Thoreauism and Forest Beatnikism, Black Mountain Poetry, and Language School Poetry -- all creative phenomenon that inform, as well as are informed by, what is popularly known as “Beat.”
VIRGINIA/DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Hello from the East Coast. September was so amazing -- I attended nine poetry readings in eight nights! That may be standard fare in LA or Austin, but in thirty years in Richmond, I have never seen so many poets in so many places. October could not possibly be as poetic, but there are some fine events to attend.
Personal News
My poem “Ruby Redd in Alice, Texas” was featured on the NPR show Theme and Variations the week before last. I had recorded the poem for another show back in August, but that show was unable to get funding. Fortunately, William Everett, the producer, liked it enough to air it on his other show. Check your local listings; it might be yet to come in your area. Thanks to the friends who were able to get the live audio online. Oh, and if you're in DC on October 15th, check below for yours truly reading at Teaism -- see you there!
Richmond Events
(Call Shann at 804.266.2249 for more info on any of these events in Richmond.) A couple of bookstore events:
- Barnes & Noble Libbie Place Poets meet on October 17th, promptly at 7:30 pm. Featured reader, book giveaway, and open mike.
- Borders on Broad Street October 24th at 8 pm.
Continuing events:
- Shockoe Expresso Open Mike, 2nd and 4th Sundays from 2 to 4 pm. Open mike, plenty of parking.
- The Catacombs Coffeehouse meets in the basement at St. James Epsicopal Church every Sunday night, starting about 8 pm, featured readers and music, and open mike. This is a wild experience: they are allowed to use the space by the church, but there is no censorship on subject matter. It's a talented group, mostly students from Virginia Commonwealth University and a few others, like myself
- The Virginia Museum continued its fine, fine Poetic Principles series with Jack Agueros on October 10th at 6 pm. Congrats to the two poets who won season tickets at the last meeting of Libbie Poets Society (they're in the mail -- the tickets, not the winners).
- On October 20th at 5:30 pm, The Moveable Feast features MFA students reading their work at the 1708 Gallery, 103 E. Broad Street. Free eats and drinks (sodas and beer) before the reading -- it's a cheap date on a Friday night. No reservations needed but get there early for the best desserts, donated by local restaurants.
Southwestern Virginia
From Lexington, poet Maurice Ferguson sends this news: “We have a few events coming up here, the biggest being a reading by William Styron. I have a big reading at Hollins College October 29th and I can hardly wait.” In addition, Washington and Lee University (home of the print lit-zine Shenandoah) will host the Glasgow Endowment poetry reading by Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Wright on Thursday, October 26 at 4 pm, Moot Court Room, Sydney Lewis Hall.
At Hollins College in Roanoke
Check the Hollins Web site for more events listings.
- October 19th, a reading for Writers Harvest
Hollins writers (T.J. Anderson, Pinckney Benedict, R.H.W. Dillard, Loren Graham, Julia Johnson, Jeanne Larsen, Marilyn Moriarty, and Eric Trethewey) read to support the national SOS Writers Harvest program for feeding the hungry. Admission $10, $5 for students. Babcock Auditorium. 8 pm. Contact: Lisa Radcliff, 540.362.6317.
- October 29th, Celebration Artemis 2000
A reception and readers from Artemis 2000 in honor of the publication's final issue. Past issues of the long-running and distinguished literary journal will be available for free. Artemis open mic readers welcome (call in advance, 774.8440). Free and open to the public. 4-6 pm. Green Drawing Room. Contact: English Department, 540.774.8440.
Charlottesville
Check out the Mudhouse Café, 213 West Main Street, Charlottesville, 804.984.MUDD (984.6833) for live poetry events.
The University of Virginia has not updated their Creating Writing Program Web page, though they assured me it will be done any day now. Check back later for info on Rita Dove, Nikki Giovanni, Charles Wright and many other readers & events.
D.C. and the Beltway
Myth, D.C.'s weekly slam, has moved to Teaism, downstairs at 400 8th Street NW (the corner of 8th and D Streets), 202.638.6010, one block from the FBI Building... three blocks from the National Portrait Gallery... three blocks from the Museum of American Art... one block from the National Archives... four blocks from Chinatown... 1/2 block from the Navy Memorial/Archives Metro station (green and yellow lines), 4 blocks from the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro station (red, green, and yellow lines). Sunday nights 7 - 10:30 pm, open mic and slam sign-ups begin at 7. $5 cover charge. For more information, holler @ Nicki Miller at GalAengus@aol.com. Here's the upcoming calendar of features:
- October 15: Shann Palmer/Richmond & Jud Lewis/DC
- October 22: Kimmika Williams/Philly (I heard her at the Austin International Poetry Festival & she is wonderful!)
- October 29: John Peery/Roanoke
- November 5: Taalam Acey/NYC & Faraji Salim/NYC
- November 12: Toni Asanti Lightfoot/DC & Val Paraiso/Cape Cod
- November 19: Pulitzer Prize winner Henry Taylor/DC & Michael Mack/Boston
Baltimore
Thursday nights $5 gets you the open mic - features - slam, downstairs at XandO, 3003 N. Charles Street, 410.889.7076. Your hosts: Baltimore Slammaster Nicki Miller and Granma Dave Schein. Heads up: Start writing Haiku for the upcoming Haiku Slam! 25 minimum needed! Upcoming features:
- October 19: Derrick Chase/Baltimore
- October 26: Taalam Acey/NYC, 1999 Nuyorican National Slam Team & 2000 New Jersey Slam Team
- November 2: Helena Lewis/NYC, 2000 Nuyorican National Slam Team Member
- November 16: Michael Mack/Boston, 1999 Boston Champion of Champions Grand Slam Winner
As always, call beforehand to check times and directions -- you'll be glad you did. I hope to do an update later in the month with more news; the wheels of the calendar folk in the Old Dominion grind notoriously slow! Read on....
BOSTON/NEW ENGLAND
Mini Update Announcements
- The Premier Slam at Lizard Lounge (1667 Mass Ave) in Cambridge was moved to Sunday, October 15th. Get there by 7 pm: first 8 people to sign up get to slam! For more info, contact Eve Stern, bluetang@earthlink.net.
- The theme for the next BlackOut event on Wednesday, October 18th: The Sixth Sense. 9 pm at the Piano Factory, 791 Tremont Street, Boston.
- On Sunday, October 29th at the Java Hut (1073A Main Street) in Worcester: Annual Halloween insanity from Ric McIntyre and his “Famous Monsters of Filmland.” For more info, contact Tony Brown, Chrysler77@aol.com.
- The Free Street Taverna readings in Portland, Maine have moved back to every second Tuesday of the month. Don't ask. But contact Jay Davis for more info at jcdavis@s-way.com.
READER-SUBMITTED POETRY NEWS BRIEFS
From F.J. Bergmann:
Madpoetry.org
Madison, Wisconsin now has an online poetry site, listing area venues, readings, workshops, etc. The site is non-profit, welcomes input and would be glad to provide assistance to those interested in putting up similar sites for their locales.
From Kim C:
Join the fun as we get ready to slam again! Head on down to Houston for the “Say whatcha ya like” Slam on Saturday, October 21st. Sign up at 7:45 pm. Open mic/featured poets from 8 pm - 9:30 pm. Slam at 9:30 pm. Hosted by kim c.
From Bob Nelson:
SpokenWorld Contest
Record yourself reading a classic poet/writer and send it to spokenworld.com. You can win some cold hard cash if your reading gathers the votes of the masses. You can have 3 minutes of fame to compete with others across the planet!
SpokenWorld Ballot
Cast your ballot in the 1st Annual SpokenWorld Awards to be held December 9th at 6 pm Mountain time. Visit the SpokenWorld Web site to download your ballot and mail it in. There are 8 categories and options for you to nominate more based on what you believe are the best Spoken Word resources, performers and more!
