random

I’m listening to a dancehall compliation right now. I love dancehall. I don’t understand 80% of what’s being said, but the rhythm makes my toes hop.

There are certain types of music that I love without recourse to understanding the lyrics — qawali singers, flamenco, fado. This falls in that category.

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The posts from NPS this week made me wistful, but I’ve realized that it’s not my place anymore. Life’s too short for me to wade through all the mediocrity and the formula to find the gems.

The struggle for me, I think, who came into slam as a performing poet (rather than coming to poetry through slam) is to find a way to be more than a slammer in a community with relatively little connection to the larger art form.

Sadly, I think my audience is still, in large part, the slam world; but how do you maintain a career of any sort with it as a feature performer (not as an organizer or host) when you don’t want to be part of that aspect of the scene, the aspect that most seem to care so much about?

I don’t know. Frankly, any grand pronouncements about trying to reform slam, create a senior circuit, etc., are beyond me right now. And NPS doesn’t need reform; it’s just what it is, and less than I want in an event.

I won’t say I’ll never attend NPS again, although I can’t foresee that happening. I’ll likely go to IWPS again as I think the poetry is better overall. Not sure about the WOW slam — still don’t love the reserved legacy spots. Think I’ll investigate going to things like the Dodge instead — more my speed these days.

And of course, trying to feature where and when I can, and working with Faro as much as possible.

If someone wants to run with the Ken Hunt Prize, that’s up to them. I couldn’t do it this year and if I don’t go back to NPS it seems pointless for me to be involved with it.

I’m not angry, not bitter, not railing against the world here. If anything, I’m laughing at myself for thinking anything I could do would ever change anything about something so many people love and which makes me so crazy/angry. I’ve wasted too much time on this.

I’m glad you all had a good time, and I hope you continue to do so. I don’t want to convert anyone or change anything. Right now, I’m thinking of NPS the way I would something like Burning Man — an interesting subcultural phenomenon that might have interested me once, maybe even excited me, but doesn’t hold much interest anymore.

It was fun though. Thanks for the ride.

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Have I mentioned that I love dancehall?