Journal: Sep 08, 2010
Past Entries: June 2006
Friday, June 30, 2006
You know they love me? Those people who speak my language, those literary types? You know they eat up my work, which is so different, but written in just the language they know and like and are comfortable with? Why would I go anywhere else than where there are smart, literary-type people like me?
You know they hate me? You know my scores are split like a separated egg -- in two bowls -- were those judges even listening to the same poem? Never got anything less that a 6.5 -- thank god. (Thank you, Trevor.) You know the scores are mediocre, people can't focus, don't know if they like talking about Terri Schiavo and don't know if they figured out why the hell I'm talking about little white women?
You know they are indifferent? You know they like me they love me they hate me they don't get it don't care don't listen? That's why I slam.
I could surround myself with yes-men, people who really dig what I do.
And I'm just insecure enough to be tempted. (Not! The thought occured to me that it was possible to find a fan club and stay there, but the thought has not occured that I would actually do it, that I would actually hang out only with people who already like my work.)
Slam is the anti-dote to yes-men. It is a group of random people (they like me they love me they hate me they don't get it don't care don't listen) asked to judge the work. They are the no-men: No, we don't get it, no, try harder, no, give us a reason to listen, no, you have to speak up, no, you have to take the time to present it well, no, you have to try harder, no, not good enough, no, that's fine, but give us a reason to like that poem.
Vernell Bristow recently said her motivation to slam is simply to share a poem. That's another good reason to slam. Since we have corralled these people into listening, we must present this piece to the best of our abilities. And so that's now also why I slam -- not only as a harness on the work that focuses me on audience, but also as a reason to present a poem as well as I can.
So, damn the scores. I now have two good reasons to slam. The first is the one that's hardest. The second should provide motivation. If I can say a poem was presented the best that it could be presented by me, regardless of the score, I will have received my hit, my reward, my motivation.
Next week -- why slam is like "Three's Company" -- not.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
That was a great slam last night. It was the grand slam determining the Nats team from Columbus Writers' Block. It's all new faces from last year, but having watched the season -- sometimes far away it seemed -- I wasn't surprised at the winners: Donielle Johnson, Vernell Bristow, Joanna Schroeder, and Gina Blaurock. They all have worked so hard this year. All were impressive.
O heck, there are all these recaps already so here are the links. Enjoy.
Donielle Johnson
Vernell Bristow
Joanna Schroeder
Dave Noble
Kim WhiteUpdate from the comments:
And Dan ThressTuesday, June 27, 2006
Tomorrow night is the grand slam for Writers' Block. It's the slam that determines who makes the team for the 2006 National Poetry Slam in August. I qualified for it by the skin of my teeth, but I won't be participating.
I'm taking myself out of the game. I slammed exactly twice for this and both episodes were accompanied by dread. Not a good sign. I need spend more time with the kids. I need to get my head in the right place.
The overriding reason is that I don't think I'd be able to meet the responsibilities of practices and so on without costing my family too much wear and tear. (I want to spend time with my kids!)
My head is starting to get in the right place for this -- having devoted a lot of thought to it -- but the overriding reason of family still exists.
Good luck to everyone who is going for the team. I'll be there cheering you all on. Woo hoo!
Thursday, June 22, 2006
People have gushed about the support Joanna gave the MPSL through this last weekend. CF: Dave Noble. People have gushed about the pulled-from-the-air poem and heroic memorization Joanna did Saturday. People have gushed about her feigned heart attack on stage. And I am with all these people in all their praise.
Slam did its job at least twice this last weekend. It got Vernell some recognition. But it also got Joanna a paid feature in front of a new audience. After finals, someone came up to Joanna and said they never thought of poetry but were passing by when Joanna was on stage and based on that performance and subsequent performances this person made a point to see, she was going to be flown in and put up for a night and paid on top of that to give a feature at a GLB event (correct me if I'm wrong). So slam, I give it credit for one more thing: getting Joanna in the limelight.
I'm lucky to have you as a friend, Joanna. Maybe you can teach me how to be number 13 about everything.
I might be wrong, but I think most people stopped their blow by blow accounts with the final round of MPSL. Here's what happened right after that.
A little background: Vernell had been performing very well and getting pretty decent scores all weekend -- she blew the roof off with her "20 x 20" in the finals. But because of scores and whatnot she didn't get to the indies stage.
That does not mean she went unnoticed. After MPSL, Dasha Kelly who owns and runs the place where it was held made a special call to ask Vernell to read. Vernell went up and did a mini-feature including "Skinny Girl". I don't know what Vernell thinks, but this is the kind of recognition that really means something. WTG, Vernell. I see a tour in Vernell's future. Woot.
My web hosting company had a server crash that destroyed my last two entries on the Rustbelt and MPSL finals. So if you said something in response to those, it's lost now.
Here's what I can remember about what I said:
The Columbus Writers' Block Rustbelt team of Vernell Bristow, Joanna Schroeder, Donielle Johnson, and Gina Blaurock came in third and third should be spelled t-h-e-y-r-o-c-k-e-d.
MPSL came in third too, but only out of three. I saw some great stuff and much potential.
I learned a lot this weekend. I won't do the blow by blow, done wonderfully in multiple posts by Joanna, but I hope to express some of my thoughts here in journal entries. The first one might be called: to slam or not to slam, that is the question.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
I was in a slam last night. It was the last slam of the season that could get a person points for the Grand Slam that decides the national poetry team out of Columbus' Writers' Block. I got into a three way tie and scraped the minimum number of points to qualify. Whoa. I'm sure I have used up all my good karma for such a fair-weather slam as well. Joanna Schroeder won it -- woot! Maranda brought out a hot poem still warm from the printer and took second -- yay! (I am deeply impressed by her poem.) Then there was the three way. And I don't mean it like that even if Gina does have really good cheek bones. So there you go. I'm in a grand slam by the hair of my chinny chin chin.
And you know this means I'm going to have to work my butt off. I know my performance needs work. I know I have to memorize. But that's haarrrd. Why isn't the answer ever like this: hang loose, don't sweat it, read something lazy like. Nope the answer is always work harder. Or it is for me anyway. And I probably wouldn't have it any other way except I'm kind of tired from lack of sleep lately.
ttfn
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
I've got a reading tonight as an opening act for Jennifer Bosveld, 7:30 pm at don Parmesan's Italian Restaurant at 6042 E. Main Street in Reynoldsburg. The other opening acts are Rose M. Smith and Sandra Feen Diehl.
It's funny how I can tell which readings "cost" more than others. I have been so busy with everything from the Columbus Arts Festival to work to the Milwaukee Rust Best/MPSL weekend that this Tuesday at 7:30 pm reading costs more than other time away from my family.
Oh, I know I'm supposed to be unremittingly positive about my readings. And I do think it'll be a good night of poetry. Rose M. Smith will be reading and I know that will be good. (OOoo, look who I'm not mentioning. Well, don't read anything into it: I'm not as familliar with those other kids I'm reading with -- yes, even Bosveld, I'm not all that familliar with Bosveld's work. It will be corrected somewhat tonight.)
Sunday, June 11, 2006
I've haven't been keeping up my pace with writing. After completing the poem-a-day for April, I've been kind of a slouch. But, I protest, I've also been busier than usual. I think once I'm back from Milwaukee, I'll have more creative energy to write new work.
I haven't been counting my resurrections, though. I have occassionally taken an old poem and commit some extreme editing. I might end up doing more of that in the next couple months. We'll see. My predictions never really happen. I have been writing and working on whatever I want for so long, maybe it's time to introduce some assignments into my life. Once I start those workshops, I'll do the assignments along with the people in the workshops.
Tonight, Kafe Kerouac, 2250 N. High St, 7:00 pm. Rustbelt and MPSL finals teams have an open practice.
Thursday, June 8, 2006
I'm preparing for the MPSL finals with the Columbus team June 18. This is a coaching experience for me. Thank god Scott is backing me up. Leading up to that...
The Jazz Slam will be Fri., June 9. It's also commencement, so I'll be late, but it should be a blast. UPDATE: I won't be going to this, but it's still going to be great. Great poetry, great music, great people. Scott Woods to MC so Shaun Barber can play.
ADDED Sun., June 11 There's going to be an impromptu Writers' Block event. WB Teams going to the Rustbelt and to the MPSL finals will perform their stuff for anyone who shows up. 7:00 pm, Kafe Kerouac, 2250 N. High St.
Next Tuesday, as it turns out, I'll be reading at the opening night for Jen Bosveld's one-woman show. (7:30 pm, Don Parmesan's Italian Kitchen 6042 E. Main Street, Reynoldsburg/Cols.).
Wednesday, June 14 is the regular Writers' Block and the last slam to score points for team contention before the finals (8:00 pm, Columbus Music Hall).
Then it's the Rustbelt/MPSL weekend in Milwaukee that I mentioned above. I'm taking time off work for some of this. I can't wait to be in the audience for Rustbelt and then be a part of the MPSL finals night.
Monday, June 5, 2006
Here's the set list from my feature on Friday:
Mom, Stand Here (haiku)
Dance of My Forefathers
The Ugly One
Harvest Moon Voice
Terri Schiavo's Heaven
Old Men
The Shore of an Island
Donating Blood
After the Collapse of a Building
Speed Poetry
Alligators
(assorted haikus)
12 Years
Nostalgia, Part II
David
Woodsman
Hello Pen
Penelope to Her Loom (30 Years Later)
Kettle Whistle (with massive on the spot hand written revisions)
Helen to the SeaCan you tell it was a half-hour? I was careful to be family friendly, so I had to use a lot of my short poems. But I didn't go over time dispite what looks to be a huge poem list.
Lots of good people came out to catch my feature -- it meant a lot to have that support. It always does.
Saturday I spent a lot of time at the doctor's office for a particularly bad episode of Andrew's asthma. It was a scary session too, when the doctor asks about hospitalization and strep and tonsils. I had my tonsils and adenoids out at age seven and I remember how awful that was. I really don't want my kids to have to go through that and certainly not at age 3. (The tonsils and adenoids problems led to a period of deafness for me, not asthma. I was 80% deaf for a while.)
Sunday by the time I finally gave up trying to find the right parking lot and parked illegally and got to the Arts Festival to staff the poetry booth, Joanna Schroeder was at the rescue. (After touching base with her, I moved my car to the legal parking lot.) The booth went really great. It was a fantastic booth designed by Scott Woods on the eve of the event. I had it to myself for most of the day and kept thinking I benefitted more than anyone. We had brainstormed and gotten many poets to generate the material for everything, but Scott made it happen and set it up to look fantastic, painting backgrounds, hanging quotes. And he came the next day to make sure it was set up for me. Joanna came back at the last half hour and hung out, ran a few rounds of Mortal Kombat Poetry Slam (an interactive tourney game where famous poets are lined up against each other -- picture to the left). We broke down the set -- and it did feel like a set -- she showed me a Scrabble purse (made out of a Scrabble board, wow) -- and she kept me company while I grabbed some dinner to take home.
What I missed: I missed the features of so many people who are important to me. To name a few: I missed Shaun Barber's feature, Donielle Johnson's feature, Joanna's feature, the Writers' Block slam -- everything on Saturday. Guys, I would have been there if I could.
Today, Monday, has been insane! So was last week for that matter. The rest of this week should be better. There's a conference here at work it's been a blur of work and worry. I don't want to say much just know I've lost sleep over it.
Friday, June 2, 2006
Thursday, June 1, 2006
No, not that kind. I am writing this entry to record my play of "squirter" in a game of Scrabble for 107 points. (Make of that word what you will. I'll take the 107 points.) This is not my very highest play ever, but it's close. I played it from h3 down to o3, using a stray r at o3. The e hit the end of "on" making one. Total score was 488. I don't know if that's my highest game. I think I've gotten over 500 before.
I'm going to have to write a nice, intelligent entry to push this one down.
BTW: Tomorrow night, Columbus Arts Festival, 6:00 - 6:30 pm is my featured reading.