After a few years of discussion with Scott Woods, we finally accomplished Pairings: A Night of Wine and Poetry at his new venue - Streetlight Guild. The poetry part was provided with great skill and whimsical gravitas by Zach Hannah.
A wine budget was established and I made the selections based on personal taste and wines which would engage and please the guest. Five wines were on the menu, and all five showed their excellence.
My self confidence is shot to Hell right now for many reasons, but this showed me that after 21 years away from hosting any form of wine event, that I still was competent and capable of flexing my wine knowledge when given the opportunity.
I mean, I can go on about Germans for hours, still.
The audience was receptive, positive, and that made so much difference.
Thanks again to Scott for trusting me with his space to put on a really cool event we've been kicking around for awhile. It may happen again.
Showing posts with label crazy hardcore scott woods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crazy hardcore scott woods. Show all posts
Friday, August 2, 2019
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Strawberry Switchblade has a Smiths number of three
All Pandora stations lead to The Smiths, it's a matter of when.
Columbus and Central Ohio, go out this month and support Holler, 31 days of Black Art in Columbus. It's an unprecedented event. Check the list, there are 19 days left to take part.
No, I still have not watched a single episode of The Wire despite enormous pressure from tastemakers.
However, after years of foursquare taunting, I am headed to Las Vegas later this year.
Funny, when you say you're going someplace how people always chime in with what you should do when you're there because it is what they would do, and you must, or you are going to miss out on something. At the end of the day, probably not.
Then again. Hey, I'm watching X program on TV right now and it's great.
Yes, but you have not watched The Wire yet, have you, commie?
And so it goes.
Columbus and Central Ohio, go out this month and support Holler, 31 days of Black Art in Columbus. It's an unprecedented event. Check the list, there are 19 days left to take part.
No, I still have not watched a single episode of The Wire despite enormous pressure from tastemakers.
However, after years of foursquare taunting, I am headed to Las Vegas later this year.
Funny, when you say you're going someplace how people always chime in with what you should do when you're there because it is what they would do, and you must, or you are going to miss out on something. At the end of the day, probably not.
Then again. Hey, I'm watching X program on TV right now and it's great.
Yes, but you have not watched The Wire yet, have you, commie?
And so it goes.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Four weeks, one chapbook
About a month ago, Scott Woods created an online poetry project called Muse Arcade, in which poets would write a chapbook with the book title, poem title and order already set. All the poets had to do was write the poems and put the work online.
My book is ready to go and you can read/download it right here.
Many other poets from all over the world are taking part in this project and you can read their work here.
People are being creative, having fun and putting out some good poetry. This has been a great project to be a part of. Some of the titles threw me off a bit, but I did my best.
My book is ready to go and you can read/download it right here.
Many other poets from all over the world are taking part in this project and you can read their work here.
People are being creative, having fun and putting out some good poetry. This has been a great project to be a part of. Some of the titles threw me off a bit, but I did my best.
Monday, June 9, 2014
To everyone, and those I forgot to mention
If you braved the sun, came out in the rain, enjoyed the weather, bought a Lemon Shake Up and watched poetry that stopped you in your tracks, or came to the Word is Art Stage for any reason this past weekend - THANK YOU!
This year was a great triumph. We had crowds, we had poets from all over the state, we had dedication.
None of this would have happened if not for the efforts of the Word is Art Stage Committee. Louise Robertson, Scott Woods, David Winter and Gina Blaurock were the backbone of the weekend.
The stage though, the beautiful stage was finally put in place thanks to the efforts of Festival Director Scott Huntley. It took a couple of years, and I let out a bit of a whoop when I saw it. Because I had no idea.
I also want to thank Vernell Bristow, J.G. the Jugganaut and Hannah Stevenson for stepping up and doing some fine emceeing over the weekend. Louise Robertson and David Winter did double duty, hosting their hours and emceeing!
There was some excellent work read all weekend. Amy Turn Sharp has a satchel full of poems and more in her pockets. Eoin O'Brien brought Cowboy Poetry to the stage for the first time in memory and absolutely rocked it! Searius Add (pictured above) won the slam on Saturday night, a hotly contested affair that brought the best out of the six poets who competed.
There is so much I can say. We brought so much good will for poetry to Columbus over the last three days. We had a poet named Douglas Gray read. He won the contest in 1992 when the poets read during band breaks. Now look where the stage is! Douglas told a story of how he challenged the then Mayor, Buck Rinehart to a fight, there was no fight. On Friday, Erik Slangerup noticed Mayor Coleman and his entourage walking by and loudly said, "I'd like to dedicate this next poem to the political leaders of this city." Mayor Coleman laughed, pointed at Erik and said, "You better be good!"
And he was, both nights he read.
Sunday was an early mess. The rain was coming down sideways and we had to pull a poet off the stage to be safe. After a delay we came back and every one who read on that stage wanted to be there, despite the lower crowds (but short lines at the concession stands!) and unsettled weather. The kids from Flip the Page were awesome. The highlight of the weekend for me was Steve Abbott and Connie Everett of the Poetry Forum telling stories and reading poems from influential Columbus poets. Without the pioneering work of the Poetry Forum and its readers past and present, there would be no Word is Art Stage.
The Word is Art Stage is growing in poise and popularity. For the first time, the poet who won the Poetry Audition Jury Contest, John Croake, read Friday night before a headlining act on the Bicentennial Stage.
An opportunity to build on. The stage manager was very happy with how it went and was excited about the potential of more poets there.
Took a bunch of pictures, which you can see here and here.
Finally, though. This.
A girl who watched poetry in the rain, I could not have helped make this happen without my wife Emma's constant support.
This year was a great triumph. We had crowds, we had poets from all over the state, we had dedication.
None of this would have happened if not for the efforts of the Word is Art Stage Committee. Louise Robertson, Scott Woods, David Winter and Gina Blaurock were the backbone of the weekend.
The stage though, the beautiful stage was finally put in place thanks to the efforts of Festival Director Scott Huntley. It took a couple of years, and I let out a bit of a whoop when I saw it. Because I had no idea.
The sound was great, there were lights and the poets shone under them!
There was some excellent work read all weekend. Amy Turn Sharp has a satchel full of poems and more in her pockets. Eoin O'Brien brought Cowboy Poetry to the stage for the first time in memory and absolutely rocked it! Searius Add (pictured above) won the slam on Saturday night, a hotly contested affair that brought the best out of the six poets who competed.
There is so much I can say. We brought so much good will for poetry to Columbus over the last three days. We had a poet named Douglas Gray read. He won the contest in 1992 when the poets read during band breaks. Now look where the stage is! Douglas told a story of how he challenged the then Mayor, Buck Rinehart to a fight, there was no fight. On Friday, Erik Slangerup noticed Mayor Coleman and his entourage walking by and loudly said, "I'd like to dedicate this next poem to the political leaders of this city." Mayor Coleman laughed, pointed at Erik and said, "You better be good!"
And he was, both nights he read.
Sunday was an early mess. The rain was coming down sideways and we had to pull a poet off the stage to be safe. After a delay we came back and every one who read on that stage wanted to be there, despite the lower crowds (but short lines at the concession stands!) and unsettled weather. The kids from Flip the Page were awesome. The highlight of the weekend for me was Steve Abbott and Connie Everett of the Poetry Forum telling stories and reading poems from influential Columbus poets. Without the pioneering work of the Poetry Forum and its readers past and present, there would be no Word is Art Stage.
The Word is Art Stage is growing in poise and popularity. For the first time, the poet who won the Poetry Audition Jury Contest, John Croake, read Friday night before a headlining act on the Bicentennial Stage.
An opportunity to build on. The stage manager was very happy with how it went and was excited about the potential of more poets there.
Took a bunch of pictures, which you can see here and here.
Finally, though. This.
A girl who watched poetry in the rain, I could not have helped make this happen without my wife Emma's constant support.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
12 reasons the Word is Art Stage will be the place to be this weekend
1) We’re kicking off the Columbus Arts Festival old school with Actor's Theater of Columbus street performers Repartee performing snippets of theater from some guy you may have heard of - William Shakespeare.
2) The good people at Thurber House, another Columbus literary tradition, are once again bringing over their teen docents to read from their work not once, but twice. Friday night at 5 and again Sunday at 1. They’ll be reading from their latest publication Flip the Page.
3) Scott Woods has assembled a group of poets who, for whatever reasons, did not make the cut to appear on the Saturday schedule. The Best of the Rest will be a compelling and inspiring hour of poetry.
4) While this is going on, a first for the Word is Art Stage will be happening. John Croake, the winner of the Poetry Contest, will be reading his work on the Bicentennial Park Stage at 7PM. That’s right, we’re gently invading the big stage!
5) This year we’re honoring the past and have found four past winners who will be reading their work from then and now. The Legacy Hour will features Louise Robertson, Rose Smith, Mikelle Hickman-Romine and Douglas Gray.
6) New to the festival this year is Stand Up Poetry. Poetry is not just about your dead grandparents, it can also be fun and Andy Anderson, Izetta Thomas and Erik Slangerup will be giving out the belly laughs.
7) It’s not all poetry, we have some first rate authors doing their fiction, non-fiction and other prose works at 11 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday.
8) Starting at noon on Saturday will be eight hours of first rate poetry features from newcomers, proven poets and everyone in between. An incredible day of diverse poetry that is sure to compel and inspire all of us.
9) Once again, Saturday night closes with a Poetry Slam. Once again, Scott Woods is the emcee and he’s bringing cats to the stage who are going to be working hard. In the past, the slam has gone the Rocky Horror route. This year though, it’s going to be deep.
10) Sunday at noon David Winter is bringing some of the best poets from The Journal of The Ohio State University. Last year a first time poet on stage read a sestina and nailed it. Cannot wait to see what these students will bring to the stage.
11) The Poetry Forum has been doing readings for almost 30 years in Columbus. It is the longest established reading in Central Ohio. This year Steve Abbott, Connie Everett and Rose Smith have coordinated a tribute to the series and will be reading the works of David Citino and Elizabeth James, two Columbus poets who left us too soon, This is going to be the highlight of the weekend for me.
12) Closing out the weekend will be the Storytellers of Central Ohio. This group always brings a sense of fun, wisdom and memory as they once again spread the seeds of oral tradition.
The festival starts on Friday June 6th and runs through Sunday June 8. The Word is Art Stage is located at the corner of Civic Center Drive and Town Street, right next to the Scioto River. The festival program can be viewed in its entirety here..
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Ten poems, thirty minutes
The Third Annual Writers' Block All Nighter fundraiser is happening until 3PM this afternoon at Kafe Kerouac. I read last night and stayed out much later than usual. It's very rare that I get an opportunity to feature, so I was excited to have the work even if there is very little new poetry in me these days. Still trying to process my Mom's death and dealing with poetic bureaucracy has me not liking nor confident of my own place in the art these days. That will change soon enough though.
Found some older work to spice up the more recent poems, and there was one new one which went over well in the nerd category. For posterity here is the set list.
Divorced, with special needs
Gaythiest
Lincoln Tower, the grassy knoll
318 feet from home plate
The Mother and the chapbook
Emaciated compassion
Kabuki condom
All time, none of the time
For British Chris
The wine list of the Overlook Hotel (brand new, uncorked for this reading)
Ended up staying until about 1:30 in the morning, had to stay for Death's set.
Death brought smoke and it was worth losing sleep over.
Found some older work to spice up the more recent poems, and there was one new one which went over well in the nerd category. For posterity here is the set list.
Divorced, with special needs
Gaythiest
Lincoln Tower, the grassy knoll
318 feet from home plate
The Mother and the chapbook
Emaciated compassion
Kabuki condom
All time, none of the time
For British Chris
The wine list of the Overlook Hotel (brand new, uncorked for this reading)
Ended up staying until about 1:30 in the morning, had to stay for Death's set.
Death brought smoke and it was worth losing sleep over.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
The Essence
Every week, he is the best poet on the mic. He is the best poet you heard yesterday, heard today, and will hear next week.
Rick.
Rick.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
This is the post where I talk about Arts Fest
If I leave you out do not be offended. This was such an amazing whirlwind of a weekend that it's impossible to thank or give mention and praise to everyone. This is going to be quite the random entry.
First off. I want to thank Gina Blaurock for being a great member of the Word is Art Committee. She went to more meetings that me for heaven's sake! She made herself available. Her insight, taking hits for the team and being a friend shows what an asset she is to the Columbus poetry community.
Speaking of community. Columbus, you stepped up. It was so great to see such a diverse section of the city come to the Arts Festival. Not only as poets, but as spectators and supporters. The crowds were great all weekend long, even on Friday night when I froze my ass off the last two hours because I forgot a sweatshirt. That was one of the two mistakes I made this weekend, the other buying a corn dog that cost six bucks.
Friday got off to a shaky start when the theater people did not show up. Then one of the member's of the Writers Guild could not make it. I have to say the kids from Flip the Page turned things around, brought a great crowd and youthful energy to the stage.
Secrets of Oshun was great. From the group piece opening they had the crowd, but when Izetta Thomas did her first solo piece, the area froze. Even the vendors stopped to pay attention. They had to, Izetta was on this weekend. All weekend long.
Then Kim Brazwell came on, told her tales of intestinal woe, killed the crowd and dropped the mic. She's incredible.
I was physically miserable during Page Meets Stage but Louise Robertson moderated a very cool poetry session between Jennifer Hambrick and Scott Woods.
Day two, Saturday, started out with more promise. The weather held up. The riverfront looked amazing. The place was packed. The beverage booths ran out of wine and margaritas. Art and food was being sold. Poetry was again heard.
Amy Dalyrmple of the Writers Guild did a reading about her special needs daughter that was quite moving and real.
There was a terrific early set by Michael Stout as I think he read all of his short poems!
If I had to pick a favorite set this weekend it was by John Gibson. I always like the man's work and as he was shuffling through his papers I suggested he read one of his nostalgia poems about Columbus, which he did, and it went over very well. A person came over to me and asked me who his name was. Yes, he was that good.
As I said at the start on Saturday. All of the poets who appeared on stage earned that spot during the auditions, and they proved their worth during their sets. Some poets have different energy levels than others. Some poems have different reactions when read to a small group of people in an enclosed room versus an open space of people strolling by while gnawing on a turkey leg.
Here is where I thank Wali Crowder for representing and hosting the show for a couple of hours in the afternoon. His energy was great and much appreciated.
T.M. Gottl gave the day a strong sense of justice and humanity with her work, which I do not get to hear enough of as she from the northeast part of Ohio.
Fred Kirchner left the mic, went to the front of the stage and brought out his yo-yo, shouting his poem the whole time. Beautiful.
Will Evans did an absolutely hilarious poem about doing repair work around the house when his infant daughter is in motion around him. Fatherhood has helped with his sense of humor and it's great to see it unfold on and off stage.
Hayden Brown brought his entire class over, it seemed, and delivered a set that had people paying attention. All weekend long it was great to watch the crowd, and see the people stop in their track to listen. Some even ended up grabbing a seat.
James Aaron Techumseh Sinclair has what may be the longest name of any poet to appear at the Columbus Arts Festival. He wore a skirt, was very secure in his delivery. He was also the second runner up. It may have been a bit cerebral for such an open space and stage, but his methods and words were quite precise. It was his first set in at least twenty years. Wonder how he was back in the grunge era?
Meg Freado is a joy to listen to. The first runner up. I'm not to familiar with her work, but her energy and words are quite moving. A poem she wrote for her father's wedding was quite impressive.
And our Champion, Izetta Nicole Thomas, was so wonderful and on point. Delivering a set of schoolyard sentimentality with the wisdom of a talented teacher. This was her weekend.
To close Saturday, Scott Woods hosted a slam that was as every bit hilarious as it was entertaining. I cannot say how engaging Scott was with the audience. He put together an hour that was as every bit perfect as it was irrelevant. Ethan Rivera danced, Izetta had things thrown at her, Rocky Horror style, and I got a four.
Sunday, today, was another gorgeous day on the riverfront. It got hot. But our first poet, from The (OSU) Journal was a cat who never read his poetry in public before, and he did an amazing job.
Hanif Abdurraquib took over emceeing at this point and did a great job interacting with Gumby and name checking the music that was played during breaks. We also had a great sound man all weekend. Joe was there when he had to be and did his best to keep good levels despite shouting poets and one or two vendors complaining about the noise. Sometimes poets shout, especially when they're in a wide open space, it can't be helped.
Hannah Stephenson and her poets from Paging Columbus did a fine job keeping the energy going.
I love what the Storytellers of Central Ohio do. There were six of them and they really are quite entertaining, with good humor. One of them recited Casey at the Bat, off paper. Yes, awesome!
The Docents at Thurber House were brief, but did some good work. One of the youth told a short story about war that was quite emotional and he even did some singing. Brave when your voice is wavering. It was great to have The Thurber House involved in this year's festival. I really wanted to get some kids involved in the weekend and Meg Brown has been very accommodating in getting her charges to the stage after school has let out for the summer.
The people at Wild Goose Creative finished off the year with a gentle goose. Fun stories in a speak easy session. I can't thank Andy Anderson and his crew enough for being involved again.
A few more shout outs before I close this rambling thing out.
Louise Robertson did a great job helping vet the initial entries. Her insight has been an asset to the whole committee this year and I'd be in very bad shape if she did not provide sunscreen yesterday.
Alex Fabrizio also helped with the vetting of the initial entries. She's been busy with a major move but her presence was very welcome and she did a fine job organizing her poets from The Journal.
Steph Killen lent us her music stand for the weekend. Thank you!
Beverly Wilkinson hung out with us for most of the first two days. She's dedicated and delivered a fine set of work Saturday afternoon.
My wife, Emma, has taken in a lot of venting and my stress about this for many months. She watched my son while I was out attending meetings and more. None of this could have happened without her help. And she delivered me lemon shake-ups all weekend long!
Finally I doubt I would even be in this position without Scott Woods. He was the one who recommended I join the committee last year and it spring boarded into me being committee chair this year. His expertise, advise and consult has been a great help to me this year during this process. I've never been in charge of shepherding anything like this before. So thank you, Scott.
Again, we did this.
First off. I want to thank Gina Blaurock for being a great member of the Word is Art Committee. She went to more meetings that me for heaven's sake! She made herself available. Her insight, taking hits for the team and being a friend shows what an asset she is to the Columbus poetry community.
Speaking of community. Columbus, you stepped up. It was so great to see such a diverse section of the city come to the Arts Festival. Not only as poets, but as spectators and supporters. The crowds were great all weekend long, even on Friday night when I froze my ass off the last two hours because I forgot a sweatshirt. That was one of the two mistakes I made this weekend, the other buying a corn dog that cost six bucks.
Friday got off to a shaky start when the theater people did not show up. Then one of the member's of the Writers Guild could not make it. I have to say the kids from Flip the Page turned things around, brought a great crowd and youthful energy to the stage.
Secrets of Oshun was great. From the group piece opening they had the crowd, but when Izetta Thomas did her first solo piece, the area froze. Even the vendors stopped to pay attention. They had to, Izetta was on this weekend. All weekend long.
Then Kim Brazwell came on, told her tales of intestinal woe, killed the crowd and dropped the mic. She's incredible.
I was physically miserable during Page Meets Stage but Louise Robertson moderated a very cool poetry session between Jennifer Hambrick and Scott Woods.
Day two, Saturday, started out with more promise. The weather held up. The riverfront looked amazing. The place was packed. The beverage booths ran out of wine and margaritas. Art and food was being sold. Poetry was again heard.
Amy Dalyrmple of the Writers Guild did a reading about her special needs daughter that was quite moving and real.
There was a terrific early set by Michael Stout as I think he read all of his short poems!
If I had to pick a favorite set this weekend it was by John Gibson. I always like the man's work and as he was shuffling through his papers I suggested he read one of his nostalgia poems about Columbus, which he did, and it went over very well. A person came over to me and asked me who his name was. Yes, he was that good.
As I said at the start on Saturday. All of the poets who appeared on stage earned that spot during the auditions, and they proved their worth during their sets. Some poets have different energy levels than others. Some poems have different reactions when read to a small group of people in an enclosed room versus an open space of people strolling by while gnawing on a turkey leg.
Here is where I thank Wali Crowder for representing and hosting the show for a couple of hours in the afternoon. His energy was great and much appreciated.
T.M. Gottl gave the day a strong sense of justice and humanity with her work, which I do not get to hear enough of as she from the northeast part of Ohio.
Fred Kirchner left the mic, went to the front of the stage and brought out his yo-yo, shouting his poem the whole time. Beautiful.
Will Evans did an absolutely hilarious poem about doing repair work around the house when his infant daughter is in motion around him. Fatherhood has helped with his sense of humor and it's great to see it unfold on and off stage.
Hayden Brown brought his entire class over, it seemed, and delivered a set that had people paying attention. All weekend long it was great to watch the crowd, and see the people stop in their track to listen. Some even ended up grabbing a seat.
James Aaron Techumseh Sinclair has what may be the longest name of any poet to appear at the Columbus Arts Festival. He wore a skirt, was very secure in his delivery. He was also the second runner up. It may have been a bit cerebral for such an open space and stage, but his methods and words were quite precise. It was his first set in at least twenty years. Wonder how he was back in the grunge era?
Meg Freado is a joy to listen to. The first runner up. I'm not to familiar with her work, but her energy and words are quite moving. A poem she wrote for her father's wedding was quite impressive.
And our Champion, Izetta Nicole Thomas, was so wonderful and on point. Delivering a set of schoolyard sentimentality with the wisdom of a talented teacher. This was her weekend.
To close Saturday, Scott Woods hosted a slam that was as every bit hilarious as it was entertaining. I cannot say how engaging Scott was with the audience. He put together an hour that was as every bit perfect as it was irrelevant. Ethan Rivera danced, Izetta had things thrown at her, Rocky Horror style, and I got a four.
Sunday, today, was another gorgeous day on the riverfront. It got hot. But our first poet, from The (OSU) Journal was a cat who never read his poetry in public before, and he did an amazing job.
Hanif Abdurraquib took over emceeing at this point and did a great job interacting with Gumby and name checking the music that was played during breaks. We also had a great sound man all weekend. Joe was there when he had to be and did his best to keep good levels despite shouting poets and one or two vendors complaining about the noise. Sometimes poets shout, especially when they're in a wide open space, it can't be helped.
Hannah Stephenson and her poets from Paging Columbus did a fine job keeping the energy going.
I love what the Storytellers of Central Ohio do. There were six of them and they really are quite entertaining, with good humor. One of them recited Casey at the Bat, off paper. Yes, awesome!
The Docents at Thurber House were brief, but did some good work. One of the youth told a short story about war that was quite emotional and he even did some singing. Brave when your voice is wavering. It was great to have The Thurber House involved in this year's festival. I really wanted to get some kids involved in the weekend and Meg Brown has been very accommodating in getting her charges to the stage after school has let out for the summer.
The people at Wild Goose Creative finished off the year with a gentle goose. Fun stories in a speak easy session. I can't thank Andy Anderson and his crew enough for being involved again.
A few more shout outs before I close this rambling thing out.
Louise Robertson did a great job helping vet the initial entries. Her insight has been an asset to the whole committee this year and I'd be in very bad shape if she did not provide sunscreen yesterday.
Alex Fabrizio also helped with the vetting of the initial entries. She's been busy with a major move but her presence was very welcome and she did a fine job organizing her poets from The Journal.
Steph Killen lent us her music stand for the weekend. Thank you!
Beverly Wilkinson hung out with us for most of the first two days. She's dedicated and delivered a fine set of work Saturday afternoon.
My wife, Emma, has taken in a lot of venting and my stress about this for many months. She watched my son while I was out attending meetings and more. None of this could have happened without her help. And she delivered me lemon shake-ups all weekend long!
Finally I doubt I would even be in this position without Scott Woods. He was the one who recommended I join the committee last year and it spring boarded into me being committee chair this year. His expertise, advise and consult has been a great help to me this year during this process. I've never been in charge of shepherding anything like this before. So thank you, Scott.
Again, we did this.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Slowly start your pens
The Blue Jackets had their best month ever and are in eighth place in the conference. I know other teams have games in hand, and the Blue Jackets are horrible on the road and have only four home games left. This is a small celebration for this franchise though. one that many have written off. They have flaws, deep ones, but right now while they are not necessarily learning how to win, they're proving they do not know how to lose. That is a big shift in the culture of this team.
Beginning to pack for the trip. Getting excited. Not sure how much blogging I'll be doing from the road, and certainly not doing a 30/30. I'll be writing though. Heck, I still have not really edited much from the last trip to Scotland.
Keep in mind Scott Woods' project The Road Taken begins tomorrow and The Rumble Out on the Promenade takes place on Saturday at Kafe Kerouac. These are two worthy projects for anyone to attend or participate in as National Poetry Month starts.
Beginning to pack for the trip. Getting excited. Not sure how much blogging I'll be doing from the road, and certainly not doing a 30/30. I'll be writing though. Heck, I still have not really edited much from the last trip to Scotland.
Keep in mind Scott Woods' project The Road Taken begins tomorrow and The Rumble Out on the Promenade takes place on Saturday at Kafe Kerouac. These are two worthy projects for anyone to attend or participate in as National Poetry Month starts.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
The Cruelest Month
My NCAA brackets look like Evel Knievel after the Caesar's Palace jump.
April is National Poetry Month. There are a lot of writers who will post a poem every day, or do a writing project and put it online. I've done this a few times, with mixed results. I'll be out of the country for the first two weeks of April and will not be taking part.
There are a couple of poets who are doing interesting projects in April though.
Scott Woods has a dream to assemble a mile of poems. You can read about, and submit to The Road Taken: the Mile Long Poetry Book at the link.
Hanif Abduraquib will be presenting Rumble Out on the Promenade at Kafe Kerouac on April 6th. You can find out more by clicking here.
If you will be doing an online writing project in April, why not post about it in the comments?
April is National Poetry Month. There are a lot of writers who will post a poem every day, or do a writing project and put it online. I've done this a few times, with mixed results. I'll be out of the country for the first two weeks of April and will not be taking part.
There are a couple of poets who are doing interesting projects in April though.
Scott Woods has a dream to assemble a mile of poems. You can read about, and submit to The Road Taken: the Mile Long Poetry Book at the link.
Hanif Abduraquib will be presenting Rumble Out on the Promenade at Kafe Kerouac on April 6th. You can find out more by clicking here.
If you will be doing an online writing project in April, why not post about it in the comments?
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Poetry 2012, what I remembered
I doubt that I'm going to write anything close to Howl in the next week so here's a recap of 2012, from the poetic view.
Not sure how much original work of any quality I wrote. Work was done, most of it average at best. I did finish my first sestina, not saying it's decent but I completed one.
I was published a couple of times. Once online by New Verse News about the wedding of Kim Jong Un and in Night Ballet Press' - Buzzkill: Apocalypse - An End of the World Anthology. This was good news and showed some growth. More hard work is needed though.
The film Street Poet was so horrible we gathered and took the piss out of it one afternoon at the library. It inspired my poem, Kabuki Condom, that helped me win only my second poetry slam.
A more memorable gathering of poets occurred in March on the steps of the Main Library as we celebrated a Great Day in Columbus as the snow smacked us all in the face.
I made three appearances on the show Speaking of Poetry this year talking about autism, IWPS and phoning in to give Izetta a goodbye Haiku.
Writers' Block brought on the usual shenanigans and coy racism along with new regular Erik the Viking, his height, his Mormonism and wind sex. It was also awesome to see Aaron appear in his first Grand Slam.
One of the big surprises for me was winning my second IWPS title and representing Writers Block in Fayetteville. I was a bit nervous and not as pumped as I could have been but being in the coolness of Fayetteville rejuvenated my enthusiasm. That and I was 28th after the first night! Ended up falling into 45th out of 67 but I had an absolute blast. So happy to have this experience under my belt.
The other big surprise was getting involved with the Columbus Arts Festival as a volunteer. Working with such a great group of people was inspiring. Then I was asked to be the Chair of the Poetry Committee for 2013. I'm humbled Scott Huntley and Shana Scott have so much trust in me. A good group of people are on the committee and I'm excited to be working with them. And hey poets you can apply to appear on stage right here!
Been a heck of a year, looking forward to Arts Fest and what the rest will bring.
In closing I urge you to give a listen to this. Jack McCarthy on IndieFeed.
Not sure how much original work of any quality I wrote. Work was done, most of it average at best. I did finish my first sestina, not saying it's decent but I completed one.
I was published a couple of times. Once online by New Verse News about the wedding of Kim Jong Un and in Night Ballet Press' - Buzzkill: Apocalypse - An End of the World Anthology. This was good news and showed some growth. More hard work is needed though.
The film Street Poet was so horrible we gathered and took the piss out of it one afternoon at the library. It inspired my poem, Kabuki Condom, that helped me win only my second poetry slam.
A more memorable gathering of poets occurred in March on the steps of the Main Library as we celebrated a Great Day in Columbus as the snow smacked us all in the face.
I made three appearances on the show Speaking of Poetry this year talking about autism, IWPS and phoning in to give Izetta a goodbye Haiku.
Writers' Block brought on the usual shenanigans and coy racism along with new regular Erik the Viking, his height, his Mormonism and wind sex. It was also awesome to see Aaron appear in his first Grand Slam.
One of the big surprises for me was winning my second IWPS title and representing Writers Block in Fayetteville. I was a bit nervous and not as pumped as I could have been but being in the coolness of Fayetteville rejuvenated my enthusiasm. That and I was 28th after the first night! Ended up falling into 45th out of 67 but I had an absolute blast. So happy to have this experience under my belt.
The other big surprise was getting involved with the Columbus Arts Festival as a volunteer. Working with such a great group of people was inspiring. Then I was asked to be the Chair of the Poetry Committee for 2013. I'm humbled Scott Huntley and Shana Scott have so much trust in me. A good group of people are on the committee and I'm excited to be working with them. And hey poets you can apply to appear on stage right here!
Been a heck of a year, looking forward to Arts Fest and what the rest will bring.
In closing I urge you to give a listen to this. Jack McCarthy on IndieFeed.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
That old hag hates my ass
A couple of weeks ago, for my birthday, Scott Woods posted this on Facebook, saying I sent this link to him every Wednesday morning to get him pumped up for Writers' Block.
Warning, it's not safe for work or for the culturally sensitive.
I've never seen this film before. Until tonight anyway. Just for kicks I decided to keep a list of every group that was slurred in the film, and keep a running count.
Black - 5
Asians (so many, and hard to categorize!) - 34
Korean - 1
Jews - 2
Irish - 2
Italian - 5
Hillbilly - 3
Polish -4
Gay - 1
Mexican - 2
Women - 10
Catholics - 1
N-word - 1
I also had a number of ethnic groups waiting for a tally. The following did not get an insult thrown at them: Japanese, Native American, Indian, Muslim, Arabs.
Warning, it's not safe for work or for the culturally sensitive.
I've never seen this film before. Until tonight anyway. Just for kicks I decided to keep a list of every group that was slurred in the film, and keep a running count.
Black - 5
Asians (so many, and hard to categorize!) - 34
Korean - 1
Jews - 2
Irish - 2
Italian - 5
Hillbilly - 3
Polish -4
Gay - 1
Mexican - 2
Women - 10
Catholics - 1
N-word - 1
I also had a number of ethnic groups waiting for a tally. The following did not get an insult thrown at them: Japanese, Native American, Indian, Muslim, Arabs.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
She laughs in her sleep. He transcends poetry
A couple of weeks ago a conversation about a film about slam poetry came up on Scott Woods' Facebook page. It did not sound like a good film, but I went to Amazon to check on its availability. Turns out, the DVD cost six bucks and change, which included shipping, so I bought it and thought we could invite a few people to the house, have a few beverages and razz the shit out of the movie. MST3K style.
It got a bit bigger than that, Scott booked a room for us, and a dozen people showed up for a screening of the film Street Poet.
Now, you may be confused by the title Fighting Words. That is because the film was originally released in 2007 with that title, then, for some unknown reason, perhaps to squeeze a few more pennies out of the turd, it was re-released with the new title.
I was intrigued because Fred Willard appeared as Longfellow, the host of the poetry slam. It also had Fred "The Hammer" Williamson as some sort of Mr. Miyagi type character. One of the stars is C. Thomas "Pony Boy" Howell, with an abusive soul patch. Plus, a character named Benny the Heckler. How can you not want to see a film that has a character named Benny the Heckler?
The poets gathered. There was pizza, Twizzlers and Swedish Fish. Minutes into the film, a poet mentioned the term "Third Eye." The DVD was paused so Slam Bingo Cards could be made.
There were so many poetry cliches mentioned, "The best poet always loses."Tomorrow, the days will talk backwards." "A heart the size of the ocean." But the poetry was not the worst part of the film. It was not very well acted, and the script and direction were poor. It was far from the worst film ever, but really, there's a reason few have heard of this nonsense.
Our young poet lived in a garage, was behind on his rent and read his landlord sexy poetry to get a delay in payment. This also implied that it was done before, successfully. Kind of creepy.
Our poet was trying to be success at his local scene, to poor results. Then, he was discovered by a woman at a publishing company. They were adversarial at first, but then they were about to have sex in his garage/home.
At a crucial moment, she revealed she was HI-V Positive. Poet goes to the store, presumably for condoms, but ends up adding a bottle of Jaegermeister to his order and roams around the neighborhood, drinking while watching a children's soccer match, leaving our hottie in bed with just a bra and panties on.
Somewhere in there the line, "Barebacking is only for horses."
Our hottie was in a relationship with a successful poet, played by Pony Boy, who sees the young poet as competition.
Soon, there will be a big slam. The Poetron Slam, with first prize as $25,000.
Before this though, is one of the most excruciating sex scenes ever committed to film; complete with the longest donning of the condom. Ever. This is the scene that inspired my poem Condom Kabuki.
Fred Willard is the host of the slam. He's no Marc Smith. Not even close. The slam goes down. The word "invomitation" is invented. Alexis won Slam Bingo. There is a comeuppance, but remember. The best poet always loses.
I've probably forgotten a few key points of the film, but its for the best. The condom scene though, cannot be unseen.
After the film, Scott had a thread going on Facebook that ripped it apart, then a person who actually worked on the movie had some comments - which steered the conversation back to the respectable. A film is like any job project, you go in with some positive expectation, then stuff goes horribly wrong, egos clash and the project bombs. So, I learned a little from the thread. The film still sucks though!
It got a bit bigger than that, Scott booked a room for us, and a dozen people showed up for a screening of the film Street Poet.
Now, you may be confused by the title Fighting Words. That is because the film was originally released in 2007 with that title, then, for some unknown reason, perhaps to squeeze a few more pennies out of the turd, it was re-released with the new title.
I was intrigued because Fred Willard appeared as Longfellow, the host of the poetry slam. It also had Fred "The Hammer" Williamson as some sort of Mr. Miyagi type character. One of the stars is C. Thomas "Pony Boy" Howell, with an abusive soul patch. Plus, a character named Benny the Heckler. How can you not want to see a film that has a character named Benny the Heckler?
The poets gathered. There was pizza, Twizzlers and Swedish Fish. Minutes into the film, a poet mentioned the term "Third Eye." The DVD was paused so Slam Bingo Cards could be made.
There were so many poetry cliches mentioned, "The best poet always loses."Tomorrow, the days will talk backwards." "A heart the size of the ocean." But the poetry was not the worst part of the film. It was not very well acted, and the script and direction were poor. It was far from the worst film ever, but really, there's a reason few have heard of this nonsense.
Our young poet lived in a garage, was behind on his rent and read his landlord sexy poetry to get a delay in payment. This also implied that it was done before, successfully. Kind of creepy.
Our poet was trying to be success at his local scene, to poor results. Then, he was discovered by a woman at a publishing company. They were adversarial at first, but then they were about to have sex in his garage/home.
At a crucial moment, she revealed she was HI-V Positive. Poet goes to the store, presumably for condoms, but ends up adding a bottle of Jaegermeister to his order and roams around the neighborhood, drinking while watching a children's soccer match, leaving our hottie in bed with just a bra and panties on.
Somewhere in there the line, "Barebacking is only for horses."
Our hottie was in a relationship with a successful poet, played by Pony Boy, who sees the young poet as competition.
Soon, there will be a big slam. The Poetron Slam, with first prize as $25,000.
Before this though, is one of the most excruciating sex scenes ever committed to film; complete with the longest donning of the condom. Ever. This is the scene that inspired my poem Condom Kabuki.
Fred Willard is the host of the slam. He's no Marc Smith. Not even close. The slam goes down. The word "invomitation" is invented. Alexis won Slam Bingo. There is a comeuppance, but remember. The best poet always loses.
I've probably forgotten a few key points of the film, but its for the best. The condom scene though, cannot be unseen.
After the film, Scott had a thread going on Facebook that ripped it apart, then a person who actually worked on the movie had some comments - which steered the conversation back to the respectable. A film is like any job project, you go in with some positive expectation, then stuff goes horribly wrong, egos clash and the project bombs. So, I learned a little from the thread. The film still sucks though!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Throwing the party at you
Big night in the sports world as Matt Cain pitched the 22nd no hitter in MLB history. Ended up staying up until one in the morning to watch the last inning. Never seen one before. Very exciting.
R.A. Dickey of the Mets has been mowing batters down with his knuckle ball. First pitcher to reach ten wins this season. With some semblance of a middle relief staff, the Mets would be flying high instead of fighting for a wild card spot.
The Rangers FC is no more. Being sold because of tax problems and other issues involving financial malfeasance. What happens next will be another chapter in the soap opera that is Scottish soccer. Does the league vote to put the NewCo, the reorganized Rangers Football Club, in the league this coming season? Or do they vote them out, relegate them to a lower league and make them fight their way back to the top division? Needless to say, opinions are divided. Opponents of relegation say it will cripple the league financially. I say the league is already a financial mess, and with the Old Firm split, it would eventually enhance the fortunes of one or two clubs looking to finish in second place to gain play in European tournaments. Attendance figures may prove lower but I think that is a risk the league could take. The problem is television revenue. Sky may have a provision in their contract that there must be an Old Firm. Going to be very interesting to see what happens.
Last night Writers’ Block held its first qualifying slam for the Individual World Poetry Slam season. Seven poets took to the stage to start the season. I got the six slot in the first round and went with a new poem called Condom Kabuki. It’s based on a scene from a horrible film a dozen or so poets viewed last Saturday called Street Poet. I’ll probably post about the experience in a few days, it’s still sinking in, but the sex scene was excruciating and I cannot unsee it. Hence the poem, which got me the high score of the round so I got to read first in round two. Here I read gaythiest, which got a decent score, but I did not think it was good enough to keep me up top. Rose Smith scorched the stage, Alexis, Ythan, Louise and Vernell all did well. Brandon kicked ass in round one with a poem about gangsta’ Connect Four with a child.
In the end I finished in first, got the three points by .2. Rose came in second, Alexis third. The difference between first and seventh place was 1.6 points. Very tight scoring in a great slam.
Open mic was a blast. The first poet up pulled her poem out of her pack of cigarettes. That’s hardcore! Scott burned the stage with his hosting and a poem. The Suarez family represented. Jon Sands is featuring next Wednesday night. All is well.
R.A. Dickey of the Mets has been mowing batters down with his knuckle ball. First pitcher to reach ten wins this season. With some semblance of a middle relief staff, the Mets would be flying high instead of fighting for a wild card spot.
The Rangers FC is no more. Being sold because of tax problems and other issues involving financial malfeasance. What happens next will be another chapter in the soap opera that is Scottish soccer. Does the league vote to put the NewCo, the reorganized Rangers Football Club, in the league this coming season? Or do they vote them out, relegate them to a lower league and make them fight their way back to the top division? Needless to say, opinions are divided. Opponents of relegation say it will cripple the league financially. I say the league is already a financial mess, and with the Old Firm split, it would eventually enhance the fortunes of one or two clubs looking to finish in second place to gain play in European tournaments. Attendance figures may prove lower but I think that is a risk the league could take. The problem is television revenue. Sky may have a provision in their contract that there must be an Old Firm. Going to be very interesting to see what happens.
Last night Writers’ Block held its first qualifying slam for the Individual World Poetry Slam season. Seven poets took to the stage to start the season. I got the six slot in the first round and went with a new poem called Condom Kabuki. It’s based on a scene from a horrible film a dozen or so poets viewed last Saturday called Street Poet. I’ll probably post about the experience in a few days, it’s still sinking in, but the sex scene was excruciating and I cannot unsee it. Hence the poem, which got me the high score of the round so I got to read first in round two. Here I read gaythiest, which got a decent score, but I did not think it was good enough to keep me up top. Rose Smith scorched the stage, Alexis, Ythan, Louise and Vernell all did well. Brandon kicked ass in round one with a poem about gangsta’ Connect Four with a child.
In the end I finished in first, got the three points by .2. Rose came in second, Alexis third. The difference between first and seventh place was 1.6 points. Very tight scoring in a great slam.
Open mic was a blast. The first poet up pulled her poem out of her pack of cigarettes. That’s hardcore! Scott burned the stage with his hosting and a poem. The Suarez family represented. Jon Sands is featuring next Wednesday night. All is well.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Still a bit sore, in a good way
On Saturday I emceed the Word is Art Stage at the Columbus Arts Festival. All day. For seven hours. It was fabulous.
Sixteen poets read during the afternoon (there was one no show) all of them did quality sets that had the crowd either pausing to hear a poem, or stopping to sit and hear more than one. If I write about everyone, I'd be here all day!
Took a few pictures that you can see here.
The return of Arts Fest to the riverfront was a great success. There were good sized crowds on Saturday and Sunday. I was not there for Friday, when it was cold and damp.
Thursday night, I checked out the site of the stage.
It was a prime spot at a major entrance point to the festival. There was constant foot traffic, and great people watching. Although I did not get to see Art Shark, I did manage to run into someone on Saturday who was having just as good a hair day as I was.
It's not every day I get to see the Mayor of Columbus. Michael Coleman is a very good man, and better sport.
Did not have much time to see the festival, but everyone seemed to be having a great time. The poets were all wonderful to work with, and I thank them for giving me introductions as my improv skills were inconsistent. I apologize again for mispronouncing names.
My favorite thing of the weekend was seeing Nancy Kangas. She brought a prop with her. At first I thought it was a storage file for her poetry, which would have been awesome. Turns out, she was using it as a rim shot during a series of short poems. Which had me giggling the whole set.
Last year, her set was cut short my a massive wind storm. This year, she got to complete it, and brought out the sun!
Emceeing was hard. Seven hours of anything is an endurance test, I think I passed. I thank Scott Woods for working with me, Lamar Jordan for always being available, and Kevin, our sound man all weekend.
The slam was fun, and loose. Alexis, Walli myself and Brandon took part. There were also police horses involved. I had to yell at Walli to remove himself from a woman and get to the stage. Scott kept saying I owned the festival. Brandon won the slam.
I was tired at the end of the night. Woke up the next morning with a headache than went all the way down my body.
Back to the festival. Scott left early. Lamar was not really interested in emceeing (shy kid), so I ended up taking the stage again.
The folks at Wild Goose Creative were excellent. They really pulled the crowd to seats with some very entertaining storytelling. Passersby would stop, watch for a good length of time, smiling the whole while. Such extraordinary talent in the Columbus scene.
That's Andy Anderson.
The whole afternoon went well, despite an incident in which a young girl was hit in the head by a display sign. First aid was called, but none was required. There was also a lost child incident on Saturday that was quickly resolved with a happy reunion. I wore SPF 50 so there was no sunburn.
Really, a great Arts Festival weekend. Everyone did a fantastic job. Two more people I do want to name are Shana Scott, who coordinated everything and worked with us on the Word is Art Stage and Festival Director Scott Huntley. We had a photo shoot in the fountain, he rolled up his pant legs, took off his shoes and went into the fountain, dragging us in with him. He is the type of boss I would go to the wall for, needless to say, I went into the fountain, shoes on.
I also want to thank Greg Bartram of for taking this picture of me that does not suck.
He did some great work all weekend. You can see some of it here.
And how can I leave out Johan Santana, pitching the first no hitter in Mets history on Friday night? Been waiting for this to happen a good chunk of my life and I'm glad it was Santana. After being out all of last season and most of the year before with a shoulder injury, it was great to seem him cap off this comeback season. Came home Friday night to a flurry of email asking me if I was watching. By the time I got home, the game was over. I do not care that I missed it live, it happened! And I got to see the highlights. Go Mets!
I also cannot omit the efforts of the Writers' Block Poetry Slam team, who won the Rustbelt Slam this weekend. Big congratulations to Vernell, Hanif, Izetta, Louise and Gina for bringing the belt home!
Sixteen poets read during the afternoon (there was one no show) all of them did quality sets that had the crowd either pausing to hear a poem, or stopping to sit and hear more than one. If I write about everyone, I'd be here all day!
Took a few pictures that you can see here.
The return of Arts Fest to the riverfront was a great success. There were good sized crowds on Saturday and Sunday. I was not there for Friday, when it was cold and damp.
Thursday night, I checked out the site of the stage.
It was a prime spot at a major entrance point to the festival. There was constant foot traffic, and great people watching. Although I did not get to see Art Shark, I did manage to run into someone on Saturday who was having just as good a hair day as I was.
It's not every day I get to see the Mayor of Columbus. Michael Coleman is a very good man, and better sport.
Did not have much time to see the festival, but everyone seemed to be having a great time. The poets were all wonderful to work with, and I thank them for giving me introductions as my improv skills were inconsistent. I apologize again for mispronouncing names.
My favorite thing of the weekend was seeing Nancy Kangas. She brought a prop with her. At first I thought it was a storage file for her poetry, which would have been awesome. Turns out, she was using it as a rim shot during a series of short poems. Which had me giggling the whole set.
Last year, her set was cut short my a massive wind storm. This year, she got to complete it, and brought out the sun!
Emceeing was hard. Seven hours of anything is an endurance test, I think I passed. I thank Scott Woods for working with me, Lamar Jordan for always being available, and Kevin, our sound man all weekend.
The slam was fun, and loose. Alexis, Walli myself and Brandon took part. There were also police horses involved. I had to yell at Walli to remove himself from a woman and get to the stage. Scott kept saying I owned the festival. Brandon won the slam.
I was tired at the end of the night. Woke up the next morning with a headache than went all the way down my body.
Back to the festival. Scott left early. Lamar was not really interested in emceeing (shy kid), so I ended up taking the stage again.
The folks at Wild Goose Creative were excellent. They really pulled the crowd to seats with some very entertaining storytelling. Passersby would stop, watch for a good length of time, smiling the whole while. Such extraordinary talent in the Columbus scene.
That's Andy Anderson.
The whole afternoon went well, despite an incident in which a young girl was hit in the head by a display sign. First aid was called, but none was required. There was also a lost child incident on Saturday that was quickly resolved with a happy reunion. I wore SPF 50 so there was no sunburn.
Really, a great Arts Festival weekend. Everyone did a fantastic job. Two more people I do want to name are Shana Scott, who coordinated everything and worked with us on the Word is Art Stage and Festival Director Scott Huntley. We had a photo shoot in the fountain, he rolled up his pant legs, took off his shoes and went into the fountain, dragging us in with him. He is the type of boss I would go to the wall for, needless to say, I went into the fountain, shoes on.
I also want to thank Greg Bartram of for taking this picture of me that does not suck.
He did some great work all weekend. You can see some of it here.
And how can I leave out Johan Santana, pitching the first no hitter in Mets history on Friday night? Been waiting for this to happen a good chunk of my life and I'm glad it was Santana. After being out all of last season and most of the year before with a shoulder injury, it was great to seem him cap off this comeback season. Came home Friday night to a flurry of email asking me if I was watching. By the time I got home, the game was over. I do not care that I missed it live, it happened! And I got to see the highlights. Go Mets!
I also cannot omit the efforts of the Writers' Block Poetry Slam team, who won the Rustbelt Slam this weekend. Big congratulations to Vernell, Hanif, Izetta, Louise and Gina for bringing the belt home!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Before Settings are Changed
April is almost here and it means the writing/photography project with local infamy is almost here. April is also Autism Awareness Month. April is also National Poetry Month and to kick it off, as he has done for the past seven years, Scott Woods' will be doing his annual 24 hour reading.
You can see his schedule here. Its should also be streaming on the web this year. I usually hang for a couple hours in the beginning, show up to watch the sunrise and keep him awake, and witness the end. This year I have to work on Sunday so I'm not sure if I'm going to show up early. I admit to being nervous about the 7AM slot. Could be epic, could be he'll need help getting through.
Writers' Block had a qualifying slam for the National Poetry Slam this past Wednesday. I'll admit to being a bit burned out of slam. I had a long day at work and was burnt after yet another meeting at Kafe Kerouac for the Columbus Arts Festival. I was going to head home and call it a day. In the middle of the meeting, Scott got a phone call from another poet who was in a car accident. No one was hurt, but her car was totaled and she needed a ride to poetry. I volunteered to pick her up, which gave me some badly needed time to chill.
Ended up reading at the open mic, which had poets reading some very solid work, and provided the sacrificial poem for the slam. Read "Children in Cells", which is relevant to autism and the current health care debate in this country. Felt energized and witnessed one of the best slams I've seen in some time. Have to say I'm pumped for IWPS season now.
You can see his schedule here. Its should also be streaming on the web this year. I usually hang for a couple hours in the beginning, show up to watch the sunrise and keep him awake, and witness the end. This year I have to work on Sunday so I'm not sure if I'm going to show up early. I admit to being nervous about the 7AM slot. Could be epic, could be he'll need help getting through.
Writers' Block had a qualifying slam for the National Poetry Slam this past Wednesday. I'll admit to being a bit burned out of slam. I had a long day at work and was burnt after yet another meeting at Kafe Kerouac for the Columbus Arts Festival. I was going to head home and call it a day. In the middle of the meeting, Scott got a phone call from another poet who was in a car accident. No one was hurt, but her car was totaled and she needed a ride to poetry. I volunteered to pick her up, which gave me some badly needed time to chill.
Ended up reading at the open mic, which had poets reading some very solid work, and provided the sacrificial poem for the slam. Read "Children in Cells", which is relevant to autism and the current health care debate in this country. Felt energized and witnessed one of the best slams I've seen in some time. Have to say I'm pumped for IWPS season now.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Recovering
My wife and are are both on the mend from what is being called the Great Poet Flu of 2012. We're thinking Scott Woods is Case Zero, as he was ill for some time. Was he recovered enough at Poet Picture Day last Sunday???
Right after that three people, at least three people who were on the library steps last Sunday became violently ill. Teri, Paula, and my wife.
On Monday night my wife caught the bug. It was not pretty. She was out of commission on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thursday morning I woke up with a headache and became light headed. Called off work, called my ex to ask if she's put our son on the bus because I did not want him to catch anything, and went back to bed. It got worse after I woke up around noon. I did not eat anything and only had water and a couple of glasses of ginger ale for about thirty six hours. Took Friday off work and found I could eat, a little bit.
While all of this is going on, Scott Woods is in his world of Schadenfreude, clicking "Like" on status updates in which I mention my illness. He posted comments of nothing but laughter and went as far as suggesting that, if Facebook let him, he would type his gleeful comments in a larger font. I guess he did not have a seven year old to beat in chess that afternoon. Such is life when you have a nemesis.
Improved even more over the weekend, a weekend I have my son so I'm worried about him catching this, whatever it is.
He's been good. Very into his own business of jumping on his bed and having adventures in his room with Bob the Cucumber and Larry the Tomato. He even closed the door to his room.
Downstairs, he rediscovered his books and pulled them off the shelf in a flourish last night. A few minutes ago he did some organizing on the floor.
There's also a line of five more books at a ninety degree angle, but I do not want to include the ugly living room chair in the photo. Now, with the time change, he has energy at new times. Daylight savings time messes with him, he pounced out of bed right after I put him there. He's not happy.
While grocery shopping today we came across the closeout cart that Kroger puts out from time to time. Most of the time we look, and move on. Today though they had a box of what was depicted on the box as wine glasses.
In my world wine glasses have stems. So you can swirl the wine in the glass. So you do not get finger prints on the glass while looking at the color. So you do not warm up a white wine with your hand any faster.
Now I understand the reasoning for a stemless glass. A friend in the biz said it was great if you're outside on a windy day and I get that. Sure, it eases breakage in restaurants but if I am paying eight bucks for a glass of wine there had better be a glass with a stem!
Anyway, the glasses (set of four) were marked down to three bucks so we bought them. I'm just going to say they're for juice.
Right after that three people, at least three people who were on the library steps last Sunday became violently ill. Teri, Paula, and my wife.
On Monday night my wife caught the bug. It was not pretty. She was out of commission on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thursday morning I woke up with a headache and became light headed. Called off work, called my ex to ask if she's put our son on the bus because I did not want him to catch anything, and went back to bed. It got worse after I woke up around noon. I did not eat anything and only had water and a couple of glasses of ginger ale for about thirty six hours. Took Friday off work and found I could eat, a little bit.
While all of this is going on, Scott Woods is in his world of Schadenfreude, clicking "Like" on status updates in which I mention my illness. He posted comments of nothing but laughter and went as far as suggesting that, if Facebook let him, he would type his gleeful comments in a larger font. I guess he did not have a seven year old to beat in chess that afternoon. Such is life when you have a nemesis.
Improved even more over the weekend, a weekend I have my son so I'm worried about him catching this, whatever it is.
He's been good. Very into his own business of jumping on his bed and having adventures in his room with Bob the Cucumber and Larry the Tomato. He even closed the door to his room.
Downstairs, he rediscovered his books and pulled them off the shelf in a flourish last night. A few minutes ago he did some organizing on the floor.
There's also a line of five more books at a ninety degree angle, but I do not want to include the ugly living room chair in the photo. Now, with the time change, he has energy at new times. Daylight savings time messes with him, he pounced out of bed right after I put him there. He's not happy.
While grocery shopping today we came across the closeout cart that Kroger puts out from time to time. Most of the time we look, and move on. Today though they had a box of what was depicted on the box as wine glasses.
In my world wine glasses have stems. So you can swirl the wine in the glass. So you do not get finger prints on the glass while looking at the color. So you do not warm up a white wine with your hand any faster.
Now I understand the reasoning for a stemless glass. A friend in the biz said it was great if you're outside on a windy day and I get that. Sure, it eases breakage in restaurants but if I am paying eight bucks for a glass of wine there had better be a glass with a stem!
Anyway, the glasses (set of four) were marked down to three bucks so we bought them. I'm just going to say they're for juice.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
A Snowy Day in Columbus
A few hours ago over fifty Columbus poets gathered on the steps on the Main Library for a family portrait. It was done in the spirit of A Great Day in Harlem.
Poets gathered in the lobby, generations of local poets who have been on the scene for years to kids and others just starting out. It was a remarkable mix of people that shows the diversity of the scene. It is a scene I am proud and humbled to be a part of.
We were called to get outside and get ready for our picture. It was chilly outside. The one day of cold in a mild winter. Just as we cats were herded onto the steps for the official portrait, it began to snow, heavily. But us Snoets prevailed.
I chose to take the pictures in black and white to pay tribute to the Harlem photo and thank my wife for taking the pictures when the snow started to fly. They look like a presidential inauguration or something.
I did not tag anyone or caption, this is who Columbus is when it comes to poetry. Feel free to share the link or pictures. Remember when they came from.
Finally all of this came together because of the efforts of Scott Woods. Much thanks and praise to him for getting us all together for this impressive event.
Poets gathered in the lobby, generations of local poets who have been on the scene for years to kids and others just starting out. It was a remarkable mix of people that shows the diversity of the scene. It is a scene I am proud and humbled to be a part of.
We were called to get outside and get ready for our picture. It was chilly outside. The one day of cold in a mild winter. Just as we cats were herded onto the steps for the official portrait, it began to snow, heavily. But us Snoets prevailed.
I chose to take the pictures in black and white to pay tribute to the Harlem photo and thank my wife for taking the pictures when the snow started to fly. They look like a presidential inauguration or something.
I did not tag anyone or caption, this is who Columbus is when it comes to poetry. Feel free to share the link or pictures. Remember when they came from.
Finally all of this came together because of the efforts of Scott Woods. Much thanks and praise to him for getting us all together for this impressive event.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
How to send off Black History Month
Writers' Block last night was a mix of navel gazing, marinating, and life affirming poetry. It also included this little ditty. Be sure to wait for the presentation at the end.
Could not wedge in a few chords of Daydream Believer, sadly there was no sing along.
The song was a cover, I could never write something that good. Here's the original by the great Tom Lehrer.
The next Leap Day on a Wednesday will be in 2040. Book the date.
Could not wedge in a few chords of Daydream Believer, sadly there was no sing along.
The song was a cover, I could never write something that good. Here's the original by the great Tom Lehrer.
The next Leap Day on a Wednesday will be in 2040. Book the date.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
What wad ye wish for mair, man?
It was a perfect storm of poetry last night. For the past day or two I'd been taunting my wife, trying to get her to read something by Rabbie Burns at Writers' Block. How often does Burns supper fall on a Wednesday.
After I sent her some of Burns' most erotic and filthy poems in email, she found one a bit more sensible and read last night. She had to represent!
After a three virgin open mic, and one of them was thirteen, Scott Woods took twelve minutes to introduce Rick, who did a twelve second poem. No wonder he gets so many time penalties.
There was also the first qualifying slam for Nats. Eight poets entered and J.G. won this night, with Wali taking second and Gina third. Each of them earns points to get into the Grand Slam. Louise came in fourth, myself fifth and Alexis, sixth, with Rose and Izetta in there as well.
I did a new one called 'A Few Words from our Sponsor" and "Slam Poet Junction," which I'd only used in a slam once before, at Rust Belt. I think it's only been read three times, despite it having You Tube presence. I'm glad the No Repeat Rule remains in effect this year. Tired of relying on the same poems to earn high scores and points. Time to challenge myself to do newer work, or at least poems that have not been performed. Same as last year.
After I sent her some of Burns' most erotic and filthy poems in email, she found one a bit more sensible and read last night. She had to represent!
After a three virgin open mic, and one of them was thirteen, Scott Woods took twelve minutes to introduce Rick, who did a twelve second poem. No wonder he gets so many time penalties.
There was also the first qualifying slam for Nats. Eight poets entered and J.G. won this night, with Wali taking second and Gina third. Each of them earns points to get into the Grand Slam. Louise came in fourth, myself fifth and Alexis, sixth, with Rose and Izetta in there as well.
I did a new one called 'A Few Words from our Sponsor" and "Slam Poet Junction," which I'd only used in a slam once before, at Rust Belt. I think it's only been read three times, despite it having You Tube presence. I'm glad the No Repeat Rule remains in effect this year. Tired of relying on the same poems to earn high scores and points. Time to challenge myself to do newer work, or at least poems that have not been performed. Same as last year.
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