Split this Rock!, March 22 -- Workshops & Panels

Back again in Washington, DC for the fabulous Split this Rock Poetry Festival: Poems of Provocation & Witness. After attending the first one in 2008 I went on record (over & over again, as I am wont to do) to proclaim this “the best poetry festival, ever,” & vowed to come back. I did in 2010 (the festival is held every 2 years), & am back again this year. As I initially write this Blog in my hotel room, I’ve got to say I am once again having a great time: great poets & activists, great, informed/engaged audiences, tons of poetry books to buy, even great food (especially at Busboys & Poets). All of the venues are in the historic U St. district.

Appropriately enough the first panel I attended was titled “Poetry as Activism, Activism as Poetry: Poetic Interventions in the Public Sphere.” The panel was chaired by Philip Metres, who talked about the Peace Show in Cleveland, OH, an annual Labor Day alternative to the Air Show there, as well as a student project to collect stories from peace activists. His presentation focused on poets as writers & as people who are connected to the community.

Jennifer Karmin, from Chicago, showed images from some of her street performances, including one in which artists rented parking spaces to set up art projects & performances on the street. She also described collaborative events, like the Walking Project & “4000 Words 4000 Dead,” both of which take place on the street in public places.

Ken Chen is the Director of the Asian-American Writers workshop & talked movingly & graphically about working with immigrants’ rights organizations in Arizona, witnessing assembly-line like plea bargaining for captured immigrants in chains. See www.wordstrike.net.

Mark Nowak began with drawing the distinction, & comparison, of the poem as a noun (a thing), & the poem as a verb (action). He is currently working with international organizations on a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (similar to, & expanding on, the law passed in New York State). He described his work in running creative writing workshops as an organizing tool for workers in Ford plants, both here in the US & in South Africa.

Later in the day I attended the "Tribute to Sam Hamill and Poets Against the War" held in the True Reformer Auditorium. Sarah Browning, Executive Director of the festival, served as host & MC. After reading one of Sam Hamill’s poems she read a couple of her own from her own fine collection Whiskey in the Garden of Eden (The Word Works, 2007, 2011).

Marilyn Nelson read the poem/letter “To Bill & Chris” by Hamill, a meditation on printing books & changing technology. She also read her poems “Honor Guard,” a moving story of an illegal immigrant’s military funeral, a commentary on existence & on being human, “Nothing Stranger.”

Martin Espada began by reading “Blasphemy” which he dedicated to Hamill -- poetry can save us--, then his poem about returning to his old Brooklyn apartment many years later, & ended with his poem, "Alabanza: In Praise of Local 100," that is in the Poets Against the War (Nation Books, 2003) anthology, before introducing the honored poet himself.

Sam Hamill brought about a fire-storm of poetry in response to the fire-storm of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 when he responded to Laura Bush’s invitation to read poetry at the White House by inviting folks to send him anti-war poems to read instead. Thousands of poems later, & a best-selling anthology, Poets Against the War is an example of the community of poets rising up with their varied voices to say “No!” to war.  Laura Bush called off her planned poetry symposium.  The poems Hamill read today ranged over a series of issues confronting us, including a New York poem written in September 2001; the long, angry & pensive “Body Count;” “The Road to Rama” (on displaced Palestinians); “Eyes Wide Open” on an anti-war exhibit of military boots; a poem about a murder in Mexico during the on-going drug wars; a poem on immigration “Border Song;” & ended with an image from 1963 as a Buddhist immolates himself to protest that war. Even (especially?) with the overt political context (after all this is Split This Rock, isn’t it?) his poems are filled with stirring language & the rich images of the best poetry.

The rest of the festival was filled with other engaging, provocative panels, & readings. Split This Rock calls poets to a greater role in public life & fosters a national network of socially engaged poets. From its home in the nation's capital, it celebrates poetic diversity & the transformative power of the imagination.

Check back at this Blog for more entries on this fabulous Festival.

Nitty Gritty Slam #14, March 20

Starting only about a half hour late, el presidente, Thom Francis began the open mic with his poem of being "… in your cold embrace …" "Shackle" followed by Prof. Daniel Nester's long piece about being run over by a lawnmower when he was 19 & suing the manufacturer. Leslie Michelle's poem "Poetry High" was just written tonight, right here.

D. Colin, Slamin'

Then Mojavi jumped in with the duties as host. Jess Listen to my Words read a new poem from her notebook, the deathly "A Mirror." Ed Rinaldi's poem "Old Pain" was for Spring (which began today!). Mojavi read a new poem, "Intervention," ripped from the pages of today's newspaper on the shooting of Trayvon Martin, in Sanford, FL.

I had seen Rainmaker (Peter Charles Seaton) perform at UGT last week & he was back tonight as the Nitty Gritty Slam's first Featured Poet. He began with a bar poem/love poem, playing on names of drinks & beers, strung together in his breathless, surging ahead style. Also in the same style was "Move Me" (on spoken word performance), & the political "Uncle Sam is my grandfathter…" He thought he was done, but Mojavi called him back to the stage to perform an erotic piece, "Please Let Me" done in a slowed down version of his usual style.

When Dain Brammage took the stage to host the Slam (& perform his "Slam Poem" with unbidden help from the audience, i.e., me) he had forgotten to select a "sacrificial lamb", so Rainmaker came back again to perform another piece in his interchangable style.

Elizag, Dain Brammage, D. Colin, Victorio

I thought I was a shoe-in for the second round with only 5 signed up, but with the last-minute addition of another walk-in poet my chances grew slimmer. Still, my 4th slot reading of "One Poem" earned me a respectable 26.1. In the second round, D. Colin's perfect 30 was marred by an over-time penalty, but she went on to win the final round, going toe-to-toe with Eliag; Victorio had sewed up the 3rd slot. In my opinion (which I know ain't worth much without a judge's clipboard & marker), D. Colin's final round poem on Haiti was a much better piece than her second round poem that got 10s.  But I guess that's Slam for you, real poems don't get a 10, as someone once said.

Full scores, etc. are at AlbanyPoets.com.  Come back on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of the month at Valentines in Albany, NY for the Nitty Gritty Slam, starts with an open mic at 7:30PM, $5. will get you a stamp on a body part.

St. Poem Reading Series, March 19

There was a group gathered in front of the UAG Gallery on Lark St. at 7:30 for the 7:30 sign-up, but the gallery was dark, so we wandered off, collectively & singly, but then wandered back & there was Rob dragging out the sign & the lights were on & some folks were signing up & Beat Generation Night was about to begin. Actually, it was mostly Kerouac/Ginsberg night.

Our host, RM Engelhardt, began with a short lecture & history of the Beats then read Jack Kerouac's "Spontaneous Prose."

Ed Rinaldi talked about Jack Kerouac's influence on his work, then launched into his own poems, "At the Corner of Wood & Sublime," the kitchen poem "At the Moon with my Poem in Her Mouth," & "The Shad Run." Rob was up with a somewhat serious reading of Allen Ginsberg's hilarious "America." & I followed with a botched recitation from memory of Bob Kaufman's "Believe, Believe," then my own poems "Midnight Fog" & the "hot-pants poem" from my Florida vacation. Rob returned with Kerouac's "How to Meditate."

The night's poetry virgin was Justin with a fine experiment using repetition (& referencing Lorca), "Frisco in the Fifties," then a class assignment to try to not make sense "Visions of Jack." Rob talked about the "old days" of his open mic at Stephanucci's coffee shop, of Jack's cats & Rob's own encounter with a cat.

Nick was another new voice tonight, with a cluster of poems, some like random notebook jottings, like "Hummingbirds" (on night & hash), & "Night is Gone," & the more developed "I am the Monster Under the Bed." The night ended with 2 renditions of Allen's poems, first Rob doing "Father Death Blues" (but check out this version of Ginsberg hisself on YouTube), then Avery Stempel reading part 1 of "Howl."

It was good to know that young poets are still reading Jack Kerouac & Allen Ginsberg, but, unfortunately, all too like the Beats there were no women poets reading tonight. But they could have, because as the gallery was closing up Mojavi arrived with a posse/entourage that included some of Albany's fine poets, both male & female. Maybe next time.

Every 3rd Monday at the UAG Gallery, figure 8PM (or thereabouts) start time.

Urban Guerilla Theatre, March 16

This was a special UGT titled "Herstory" for Women's History Month hosted by Tenesha Smith (but of course Mojavi was there too). In fact, in addition to the usual performances of spoken word, music & comedy, there was a fashion show by Shekihah Beauty with 4 gorgeous (of course) models, & a presentation of awards to women for community service. I didn't catch every act, but those I did were well worth the admission price.

MC: Tenesha Smith

Among the performers were Poetyc Visionz, comedienne Carlisle Carey, Midori (?) with a poem to a strong black woman, her mother, & Tenesha Smith wondering "Where My Sisters At?" Jentri did a hip-hop piece "Herstory as the Event," then some songs from CJ, Kat-so Poetic first did a double positive piece praising women as queens, then on what's it like to be normal after being molested, & Rainmaker did one of the best pieces of the night, a tribute to his great mother with a great flow of images from the islands.

Jess Listen to my Words wove a love poem into a poem about waiting for the results of a biopsy ("Yesterday"), ILLiptical did a couple pieces with a beat behind him, "Invisible Woman" & "Sentence Complete" (to his wife), & Leslie Michelle read a tender poem that she had read to her mother just before she died.

Rainmaker

Bklyn Shay was back with a piece on unity, Shatieka Ross included "Rest in Peace" from her 2009 CD, & Alessia (?) Ortiz, with her stunning voice sang & read a couple of journal entries, one on the strength of women, the other on love gone bad.

Among the women getting awards for their work in the community were Payton Johnson Harrison, Leslie Michelle, Bklyn Shay, Jessica (aka Jess Listen to my Words), & tonight's MC Tenesha Smith.


This is where you need to be on the third Friday: the Linda, 339 Central Ave., Albany, NY for Urban Guerilla Theatre.

Third Thursday Poetry Night, March 15

So we gathered once again, this time on the Ides of March, at the Social Justice Center not to stab Caesar but to read poetry. It looked like a short night but as the evening progressed more readers showed up. Tonight when I invoked the Muse it was the recently departed Wisława Szymborska, winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Alan Catlin had gotten there earlier & signed up first to read a piece he had written at last week's Write Here! Conference at the Arts Center in Troy, "War Stories," about a school friend who goes to West Point.  Avery showed up with a description of "Field Hockey Practice" (in Clifton Park).  Joe Krausman came up with a new word in his poem about looking for a companion, nerzeditor, i.e., a combination nurse & editor.   D. Alexander Holiday, instead of one of his own poems, read the short poem by Kenneth Patchen, "Nice Day for a Lynching."

Tonight's featured poet, Tess Lecuyer, has been around in the Albany poetry scene for many years & should have been featured in this series long before now. Now that she is back out reading her fine poems at open mics on a regular basis, it was time to have her here. Tess likes to play with forms & she read a number of sonnets, beginning with "Crow Sonnet 1" (in the Park), then another "On Jason's Bag," leading to "Lilly Villanelle" from WordFest a few years ago. Then on to a cluster of love poems, "Climb," "The Co-Dependent Sonnet," & into the end of the affair with "Leaves," and "And Your Little Dog Too." "May Day Chant" is an old, seasonal poem Tess said she had no memory of writing. As a fan of old, gnarly fairy tales, she wrote her own gnome story in her poem "Spectacles," then ended with a ballade about her experience years ago as a counselor at Camp Little Notch. It was a wonderful, lyrical turn around the poetical world of Tess Lecuyer -- nice work.

After the break & the ritual taking of money, I read "Birthday Poem 2012". Sylvia Barnard's poem "River" comes from her weekly bus trip across the Hudson to teach Latin. Miriam Axel-Lute's column in today's issue of Metroland was an examination of the contradictions of neo-classical economy, the same theme she confronted poetically in "Demand Curves Always Slope Down." Sally Rhoades read "a prayer poem" so that they will get back to fixing their house.

Moses Kash III found a ride from his new residence in Troy & brought along a recent letter/poem he wrote to President Obama. Dan Rain's unfinished, untitled piece was about see-saws (or, as some said, teeter-totters). Appropriately Eric Randall read his "unconventional love poem" from his iPhone, the poem titled "Apps of the Heart."

We are at the Social Justice Center, 33 Central Ave., Albany, NY each Third Thursday, 7:30PM, for a featured poet & an open mic. Your $3.00 (or more) donation helps pay the featured poet & supports the work of the Social Justice Center.

Poetry + Prose Open Mic, March 11

I am pleased to co-host (with Nancy Klepsch) this monthly free event at the Arts Center of the Capital Region. A number of us had just been here the day before to participate in the Write Here! Writers Conference sponsored by the Arts Center & the Hudson Valley Writers Guild.

The very first reader of the day was a virgin, John O., who read an excerpt of a piece of prose fiction about a robbery, contemplating heroism. I followed with 2 poems from my January vacation in Florida, "Arts Festival, Delray Beach, FL" & the hot pants poem, "Southwest Flight 2095, Seat 8A." Bob Sharkey began with an anaphoristic list poem, "Where is Baby Lisa?" then a poem about his decision as a youth to do alternative service to being in the military, "April 16." Ron Drummond read from a long letter to a love in Portland, full of longing & angst.

Stephen Leslie drew from his experience working in hospice to read 2 pieces, "A Woman of Many Surprises," & "True Story" (about Harold who sees a cow in his dining room). David Wolcott read from a chapter called "The Last Final Exam" from his ongoing memoir. D. Alexander Holiday just read 1 poem, not even his own, this time it was Joy Harjo's "Strange Fruit" about a lynching in California in the 1980s. Reading from her handwritten notebook, Sally Rhoades continued on with the next installment of her prose piece "The Outpost." & co-host Nancy Klepsch closed out the afternoon with the answer to "Why I Listen to Biggie Small."

This open mic is usually the 2nd Sunday of most months, at 2PM at the Arts Center on River St. in Troy. However, in April it will be on April 1 (not fooling) because Easter falls on the 2nd Sunday. Please join us.

Metroland's Readers' Poll, March 8

An early harbinger of Spring, like that first crop of dandelions, is Metroland's Readers' Poll, from Best Car Wash to Best Poet. After years of dumpster diving, bribery & computer hacking to find out the actual final tallies for Best Poet (Metroland just tells you who wins, not how many votes anyone gets), I decided to make my life easier & do something different this year.

Metroland's Best Poet RM Engelhardt

But first -- Metroland's Readers Poll Best Poets for 2012 are: Colin Halloran, RM Engelhardt & Gary Murrow. Engelhardt has been on Metroland's Readers Poll as Best Poet since the category was created, & deservedly so for not only reading his poems at the occasional open mic, but for years of hosting his own open mics throughout the community, currently at the UAG Gallery on the third Monday of the month.

So then who are the other 2? My personal theory of this poll is that one becomes Best Poet the way one becomes Best Pizza: get the most votes. There is no criteria other than getting everyone you know to vote for the candidate of choice. One does not even have to be a poet to win Best Poet, or even to have ever read a poem in any of the Capital District's many poetry venues. I had planned for the last year to make this point, with the help of others in Albany's art community, with Gary Murrow, but  Colin Halloran snuck in & stole my thunder.

I go to lots of poetry open mics in the area; you can know exactly where I've been simply by following this Blog. But I have never heard of, or heard, Colin Halloran at any of the venues here. I do not have a photo of him in the 15,000 plus photos I have of unknown poets. There may indeed be a poet "Colin Halloran," & if so he's got a lot of friends in the Capital District, or at least enough to muster up at 1 more vote than RM Engelhardt. But if he's around here in April he can be one of the featured poets at AlbanyWordFest.

Now, as for Gary Murrow -- who is he? He is no one, he does not exist, but was "born", or at least his name was conjured up, last year after the Readers Poll came out, to prove my point about Best Pizza/Best Poet. His is a made-up name touted throughout the poetry & entertainment community solely for the purpose of getting in the Best Poet list on the Readers Poll. "Gary Murrow" may be on the Best Poet list, but he is not a poet, not even a person, he is just a name on a ballot. Want to be Best Poet? Don't waste your time writing poetry, just get all your friends to vote for you.

& thank you Colin Halloran for doubly helping me to make this point.

Maybe next year I will make up a fictional pizza place to win Best Pizza!