for an actual job — getting paid 1k plus expenses to run a two hour training program in Boca Raton tomorrow afternoon.
I’ll be done by around 7:30 at the latest. Any poetry nearby? Anyone got a car who could pick me up to see said poetry?
Daily Archives: August 15, 2006
NPS in more detail
A day or two down the line now, I think I can say a few things.
— I think, in general, I heard better poetry. There was the usual ration of crap, of course; and the evidence of the Ken Hunt Prize submissions would suggest that there still a fair number of poems out there that may work in performance but don’t stand up on the page. Still, I did hear some challenging work that made me hopeful that a groundswell of better writing is coming. It may never dominate, but it’s there.
I again heard better work in side events that I did on stage during the bouts.
— In conversations about what people were reading/listening to, I heard more people mention poets who aren’t slammers.
— Group pieces are still pretty much lost on me, but there were one or two (the Denver immigration piece, for instance) that were tolerable. I saw more duos I liked, reinforcing my view that the signal-to-noise ratio has a lot to do with my antipathy.
— The Legends showcases were a good reminder that good poets have always been present in this field. The glow of “old school” performers seems to be justified, reminding me of Krystal Ashe’s contention that slam is your sophomore year in poetry, and you aren’t a graduate just because you’ve slammed a lot.
— It was nice to be included in the Legends showcase. I’m still not sure I belonged there, but I’ll take the compliment and the attendant honor.
— At the same time, the presence of folks like Buddy Wakefield, Genevieve Van Cleve, Roger Bonair-Agard, Marty McConnell, and RAC indicate that there’s a way to couple poetic growth and opportunities beyond slam with a commitment to the Big Show.
— All that said, I think I still prefer IWPS as an event. I’ve thought this for a couple of years, and I think this year confirmed it. The party may be better at NPS (based on sheer volume), but I think the event lends itself to better and more diverse poems.
There may be more points later, but that’ll hold me for a bit.
recall
this afternoon i thought of you, thinking of the days
we tore the laundry off the line and then ran
to avoid being caught:
the freshening clothes hanging on the line; you,
running into the sheets, hiding between them,
burying your face into the stiff cotton, the air-smell.
it had been a while since i saw sheets on a line
but tonight, right in the backyard of the apartment,
two fitted sheets hung, billowing in the slight breeze,
and i dropped the briefcase and went right up to one
and stuck my face up close and breathed air and sun
and your breath.
you are the bed i lie in.
you’re everything i learned as a kid.
you left before i could tell you so.
i forget that most days, except when
there are sheets on the line that smell
of dried rain in blue percale,
but i can’t sleep when they’re on my bed,
so i throw them in the dryer.
it’s better that way.
Dark Matter 