Lit blog

[unpredictablebijou]

Senna, I've been doing a little research. In Parma itself there are both a Catholic Social Services Organization and a YMCA, both of which could give him leads on anything he needs, like living space and food and work.

Here's a link to the Parma resources specifically.

Since Parma is a suburb of Cleveland, I looked there too - if he can find a way to downtown there are scads of places to go. Here's one link I found - it's a whole list of all the United Way agencies in Cleveland. There are undoubtedly many things on there that will help him get back on his feet. In the meantime, I found at least two food pantries:Here and here .

Wait. Found three more. They're at this link.

Situations like this frustrate the hell out of me. I hope this helps.
Hell, just send him money for a bus ticket to Kansas. I know every charity and employment agency within a hundred miles around here. I'll get him set up.

good luck
bijou

 

[Senna Jawa]

Senna, I've been doing a little research. In Parma itself there are both a Catholic Social Services Organization and a YMCA, both of which could give him leads on anything he needs, like living space and food and work.

Here's a link to the Parma resources specifically.

Since Parma is a suburb of Cleveland, I looked there too - if he can find a way to downtown there are scads of places to go. Here's one link I found - it's a whole list of all the United Way agencies in Cleveland. There are undoubtedly many things on there that will help him get back on his feet. In the meantime, I found at least two food pantries:Here and here .

Wait. Found three more. They're at this link.

Situations like this frustrate the hell out of me. I hope this helps.
Hell, just send him money for a bus ticket to Kansas. I know every charity and employment agency within a hundred miles around here. I'll get him set up.

good luck
bijou

Thank you bijou. After reading your letter I have already offered him a ticket to Kansas, if he wants too. Today the public library was open there only till 4:30 or so, thus I will hear from him tomorrow. I will pass to him the whole info you gave in a moment, after this letter (and before he shows up in the library over there). In the past I made similar suggestions to him (YMCA, churches, ...). I think that the first time, or both times, he was beaten up in the shelter for homeless--they are dangerous places to be. These days he walks all nights to avoid freezing. He has this strange ability (disorder?) of staying awake virtually without any sleep (with only a few minutes of sleep per week) but it must be very exhausting nt to have a place where you can quietly lie down, relax and rest. I offered him money (despite being worried that he might get mugged). He was refusing till now, and I couldn't do it without his cooperation. It's difficult anyway, when he has no address (I would send money to a post office or something, I would find out, may be I'll do it now, but we have to agree on a place to which he would go). I think that the idea of setting an account at a grocery store is a pretty good one. ??

Many, many thanks,

 

[unpredictablebijou]

Thank you bijou. After reading your letter I have already offered him a ticket to Kansas, if he wants too. Today the public library was open there only till 4:30 or so, thus I will hear from him tomorrow. I will pass to him the whole info you gave in a moment, after this letter (and before he shows up in the library over there). In the past I made similar suggestions to him (YMCA, churches, ...). I think that the first time, or both times, he was beaten up in the shelter for homeless--they are dangerous places to be. These days he walks all nights to avoid freezing. He has this strange ability (disorder?) of staying awake virtually without any sleep (with only a few minutes of sleep per week) but it must be very exhausting nt to have a place where you can quietly lie down, relax and rest. I offered him money (despite being worried that he might get mugged). He was refusing till now, and I couldn't do it without his cooperation. It's difficult anyway, when he has no address (I would send money to a post office or something, I would find out, may be I'll do it now, but we have to agree on a place to which he would go). I think that the idea of setting an account at a grocery store is a pretty good one. ??

Many, many thanks,

Shelters are just dangerous places to be, anywhere. I've heard that around here one has to protect one's belongings, but I haven't heard of any actual assaults.

I will help any way I can. PM me if he actually takes you up on a ticket to Kansas. I'm trusting that he's not an axe fiend or anything, so I'll do whatever I can to help.

bijou

 

[DeepAsleep]

So, the westboro baptist church will be protesting in Omaha, both @ the scene of the massacre at the Westroads mall, and at Westside highschool, who are producing "The Laramie Project" as their school play.

We couldn't let this go unanswered, so... At two hundred people strong, our counterprotest will be meaty. I've got organizing to do and signs to make.

Top of the list:

"This Protest Is GAY!"

"I have no problems with God, but His fanclub SUCKS"

"HOT.
ANUS."

Etc.

Photos should be good, words will NOT be exchanged (from our side, at least.)

I don't speak orthodox politics, but I do, sometimes, speak - I mislike these people.

I mislike them very much.

 

[Tzara]

So, the westboro baptist church will be protesting in Omaha, both @ the scene of the massacre at the Westroads mall, and at Westside highschool, who are producing "The Laramie Project" as their school play.

We couldn't let this go unanswered, so... At two hundred people strong, our counterprotest will be meaty. I've got organizing to do and signs to make.

Top of the list:

"This Protest Is GAY!"

"I have no problems with God, but His fanclub SUCKS"

"HOT.
ANUS."

Etc.

Photos should be good, words will NOT be exchanged (from our side, at least.)

I don't speak orthodox politics, but I do, sometimes, speak - I mislike these people.

I mislike them very much.

They are idiots.

Bless you.

 

[Senna Jawa]

I will help any way I can. PM me if he actually takes you up on a ticket to Kansas. I'm trusting that he's not an axe fiend or anything, so I'll do whatever I can to help.

bijou

He's a very mild person and a gentle soul. And he knows by heart all 3-letter English words (please, pay attention--I said 3-letter words, not 4-letter words), which served him well in a word game. He claimed to be unbeatable in that game. The only reckless thing he was doing when young, was riding bicycle in Alps, fast down. I think that it was his brother's initiative. They were bicycling together. He never drank alcohol, no drugs, he even didn't go to bars.

He helped me to move out of my apartment, when I was leaving Texas, back in January, 1995. He was very particular about not leaving anything in the trash that would hurt homeless, who go through garbage. Thus he was was emptying all old medicine small plastic bottles and similar (with outdated/expired aspirin or whatever) into the toilet, he made sure that nothing sharp was in the garbage, etc.

I know a good looking, daily church going, open minded, young great-grandmother, who knows a bit about helping homeless around my area, she's active herself. I'll ask her how the things look here. I know them only from my observations. Perhaps I will get him a ticket to come here. If I remember well, he didn't react much to my invitation in the past, but he might now. Actually, he has his own family around there, but they turned their back on him. This puzzles me. Possibly, they were frustrated that he was supposed to be the one who should have it good, with his skills and abilities. I myself didn't understand why he stopped working from a certain moment. He was babysitting his aunt dogs, he was writing me about philosophy (despite my low opinion about professional philosophers), but somehow he didn't work. I know how difficult it can be to get a job but he had very needed, practical expertise. Now too, he can do things with the Internent that I cannot. He could set up PC-Internet-business systems or something for small businesses.... Now anything must be extremely hard for him. At one time of his homeless Odyssey he took a physical education course at the college, which gave him a locker and showering, but it lasted only one semester.

I remember beggars in the totally ruined post-WWII Warsaw, many of them without a limb. There were many of them. There were also street peddlers. They announced their arrival at a neighborhood in a singing way "handlarz kupuje-sprzedaje stare kurtki, marynarki, ..." ("salesman's buying-selling old coats, jackets, ..."). Drunkards and beggars were scary to me, when I was a child (can you believe it? was it really me? me a child???!!! I still am). A crazy, furious drunkard tried to catch me in ruins at one time. May be he would kill me, how could I know, I was six. Within a couple of years beggars almost completely disappeared. I wonder if they just died en mass.

In North America, I started to register the problem in 1970ties, but it truly made an impression upon my brain in January, 1982, in Cincinnati., where I have attended a mathematical conference. It was coooooold outside. I stayed in a hotel-metaphor. Hilton hotel. The guests were located on the top floors. The lower floors were taken by business, like AT&T, etc. And at the street level the homeless were lying down in the rotational doors, which were heated. I went to the MacDonald near by. Youngsters, which were working there, were the richest people inside that place, richer than their customers. A Mexican with huge, dark eyes, came to my table, and I gave him enough for a meal, but he took the money and went outside. I hoped that he went to a grocery store, to buy food cheaper, for his family, whilet I am afraid that he went out to get alcohol or drugs.

In 1995 I worked and lived downtown San Jose. At first I had no appreciation of the place. Beggars, beggars, beggars. plus some gang youngsters. Not all of beggars were genuine. One youngster used to occupy, meaning, was sitting on, a strategic balustrade, at a sidewalk where many people were walking by, and he was repeating the same phrase over and over very smoothly: Excuse me Sir--please, would you be so kind as to spare me a dollar so that I can eat today too, each time addressing it to the particular pedestrian. Others truly were in bad shape. As a rule, they are much more fragile than they look. But this is rich America, and a number of beggars were obese, or even extremely obese (I am sure that not simply from overeating).

One homeless, a big guy, addressed me in an aggressive, rude way. I went toward him, close, and he got scared, I saw it in his eyes. They are not used to regular folks getting that close to them. I asked him to go with me to the food store there, which was in the background of a Chinese restaurant. I democratically made him get inside, he was hesitant. The young woman, which worked inside, felt uncomfortable about his presence. I bought him food but I gave up on the idea of him eating at the table inside that store; he didn't care for it, nor the woman, I could see it. Later, outdoors, I was passing by him, and again, without thinking, I got close to him, and again he got worried. I simply picked up the garbage from under his feet, which he left after eating (the paper bag, paper wraps, whatever), to throw it to a trash can. (I didn't mean to make him uneasy).

A homeless was asked by an employee to leave "Jack in the Box", where chessplayers were meeting most every night. A few of us have objected. The homeless man was not bothering anybody. He got some food somehow, and was just eating it. But the man himself didn't want any trouble and left, with the food in his hand. I saw him on occasions, during the day, brushing his teeth on the street.

One of the most difficult problems for the streetful people (homeless in a city) is to gain access to a restroom.

Despite the beggars, or even partly because of them, I grew fond of the San Jose downtown like of no other place but Warsaw. It had its charm. That was 1995. It's different today.

To promote the homeless case we may have a thread-collection of poems about homelessness (actual poems and links to poems); then we will see what next. I've written several such poems over years. One of the most important reasons for poetry is to be the witness of its time.

 

[DeepAsleep]

So, the westboro baptist church will be protesting in Omaha, both @ the scene of the massacre at the Westroads mall, and at Westside highschool, who are producing "The Laramie Project" as their school play.

We couldn't let this go unanswered, so... At two hundred people strong, our counterprotest will be meaty. I've got organizing to do and signs to make.

Top of the list:

"This Protest Is GAY!"

"I have no problems with God, but His fanclub SUCKS"

"HOT.
ANUS."

Etc.

Photos should be good, words will NOT be exchanged (from our side, at least.)

I don't speak orthodox politics, but I do, sometimes, speak - I mislike these people.

I mislike them very much.

Signs: Out.

Linked arms and Christmas carols: In.

Bonus: Organized, Rainbow Inked in Sharpie on Tummies Carebear Stare: Also in.

 

[champagne1982]

For Senna,

Probably too wordy, but I felt this as I wrote it...

choices

a pale face
beneath a recycled
stocking cap
no pompom, that's gone
with the colours
of Christmas

begrudging every calorie
burned to move on
find a different door
a new patch of concrete
thief, of the lowest sort,
stealing from the poor

noises from an alley
slapping wetness
voiceless mews
whining in discomfort
submit to tricks
already sold out
to a harsher master

the needle doesn't hurt
not as much as a gut
wrenched tight with need

blank stares easier
on the eyes than tears
feigned unconcern
don't care
it's better that way.

 

[TheRainMan]

So, the westboro baptist church will be protesting in Omaha, both @ the scene of the massacre at the Westroads mall, and at Westside highschool, who are producing "The Laramie Project" as their school play.

We couldn't let this go unanswered, so... At two hundred people strong, our counterprotest will be meaty. I've got organizing to do and signs to make.

Top of the list:

"This Protest Is GAY!"

"I have no problems with God, but His fanclub SUCKS"

"HOT.
ANUS."

Etc.

Photos should be good, words will NOT be exchanged (from our side, at least.)

I don't speak orthodox politics, but I do, sometimes, speak - I mislike these people.

I mislike them very much.

goodness. i don't recall having heard of them before (i read Tzara'a link).

scary . . .

the signs work for me. very well.

double blessings.

 

[pellso27]

i could swear i just read some humour into part of your post SJ. this is an awesome idea! i'm jumping in



Dear Blog,

this morning i watched another thrush bash a snail to death against the stones out the back. BANG! BANG! BANG! i swear i heard the snail screaming its agony. all the while, a vast black ant colony was moving its nest from one side of the fence to the other. big blobs of white kept disappearing through the gap in the wood and upon closer look, i realised the ants were carrying eggs. i haven't jumped the fence to see where they went, yet. it's too hot and humid here for jumping six foot high wooden fences.

then, at work, the staff got out the fire hose and the kids screeched in pure delight as they ran around nearly naked splashing and crashing into each other. the slide became a water way and 11 three and four year olds had an absolute ball (i think the teachers were having great fun too).

now, i'm sitting here with my decaf and a faint breeze sneaking in through the window wondering if i have it in me to write a poem. time will tell.

Lay off the ACID

 

[Senna Jawa]

I am waiting for their real response.

I got it (in response to my offer of setting an account
at their Parma Giant Eagle grocery store, so that I would
pay for my friend's food):

ServiceCenter Operator: xxx yyy

In response to your recent communication:

Incident #: 2437398

Brief Description:
I want to set up an account with you, so that my homele

Response:
At 12/09/07 11:43:56 we wrote:
12/09/07 11:43:56 (xxx yyy):
Good Morning Wlodzimierz:

Thank you for contacting Giant Eagle. I do apologize for any confusion
that there seems to be regarding the online special section of our
website.

The new online service on the website is intented for Giant Eagle
customers to special order hard-to-find international, organic and
dietary specialty items - and have them delivered to the customer's door.


Thank you,

Giant Eagle Customer Care
​

(I replaced what looked like the name of a person with "xxx yyy")

I will not comment on this answer above.
Here is my letter to which they have responded:

I want to set up an account with you, so that my
homeless friend in Parma, Ohio, can get food from you, and you
would charge my credit card. You may even start a new form of
helping the homless and get a lot of credit and publicity (in media,
tv, etc) by doing so.​

 

[DeepAsleep]

Danny Sherrard


Watch this.

 

[wildsweetone]

Lay off the ACID

and start on what?

 

[DeepAsleep]

and start on what?

PEY. O. TE.

"Lay off the acid."

Shit on a stick (twice on Sunday.) I hate people.

 

[unpredictablebijou]

Danny Sherrard


Watch this.

holy shit.

jesus christ.

that made me weep. for real. right here in the shop at my desk on an icy day.

thanks.

bj

 

[tungtied2u]

Danny Sherrard


Watch this.

Strong stuff. I like.

Thanks.

 

[DeepAsleep]

holy shit.

jesus christ.

that made me weep. for real. right here in the shop at my desk on an icy day.

thanks.

bj

Danny won indy's for a reason.

He's damn good.

Shannon Leigh is also good, but I can't find any more of her stuff. Best quote from shannon, "Lay me down like an epileptic on the road to Damascus, fuck an exorcism in me, fuck me human" is, I think, how that goes.

Heh.

Glad you liked.

 

[Angeline]

Danny won indy's for a reason.

He's damn good.

Shannon Leigh is also good, but I can't find any more of her stuff. Best quote from shannon, "Lay me down like an epileptic on the road to Damascus, fuck an exorcism in me, fuck me human" is, I think, how that goes.

Heh.

Glad you liked.

He is very, very good. I'll tell you though, watching that made me think that performance is maybe as important as the poem itself in winning one of those slams. Do you think that's true? I've done readings, but never a "slam."

 

[DeepAsleep]

He is very, very good. I'll tell you though, watching that made me think that performance is maybe as important as the poem itself in winning one of those slams. Do you think that's true? I've done readings, but never a "slam."

Sadly, performance is more often 9/10 of winning a slam.

I've seen people who aren't reading poems win slams, strictly on the strength of their performance. Nationals is a little different (At times) but it's still a good general rule.

When I rehearsed for the city championships I broke the poems down line by line, figured out where the highs and lows were, decided which parts I wanted to vary (Three elements of voice: Volume, Tone, and Pace) and how, exactly, I was going to do it - that's the 'arc' of the poem. Then, find sections to highlight, which ties into the next part of it:

break it down word by word, figure out which words to breathe between, which words, building into lines, need to be emphasized, or built on... Hmm.

Say I was going to use the poem, "Wildflower" I wrote in the 30/30 thread.

The first outline would probably look like this (volume on a scale of 1-10, specific tonal emphasis denoted by bold words):

(Vol4)people won't tell you: (1/2 beat)
(gesture - like holding handful of flowers)(V5)"he'll never bring you a fistful of forget me." (1/4b)
but they'll tell you i've fucked, (breath) like
their hearts weren't (1/4 beat - short breath - hand gesture?)cruel-injected
boredom engines pumping xenon (insert gestures for this line & next)
into their steel belted mouths;
(V6, up pace) i don't want to buy you flowers. (breath, 3/4b)

(Downpace, V3)i want to find you, (1/2b)wildflower and smiling,
(breath)end my days (uppace, V4)roadmapping the stretchmarks
(uppace)i imagine hiding in the hooks of your hips, (Breath)
(uppaceV5)lie only to the people who tell you (breath)
(V6)passion is a cliche' (uppace)that is boring
when used in a proper sentence;(breath)
(DOWNpace, 1/2b, V4)i don't need a mother.(1/2b)

i am not hunting for a wife, (1/2b/breath)
i just want someone to hold my hand
while i do it myself (breath)
(uppaceV5)and i'm afraid it's you, (uppace)afraid it's not, (uppaceV6)that
you'll bloom and i'll miss it
and no one will tell you (uppace)what it smelled like
when you finally smiled(1/2breath);
(UPpace, V9)i'll never buy you a collection of dying.
(beat, DOWNpace, V4 breath)
i am a fistful of rumor.
(beat/breath)
i have not gone to wildseed and sky,(1/4b)
but i once loved Passion.(uppace, V5 breath)
i love you, again.(1/2b)
Give me your seeds. (1/2or1/4b)
i will plant them back to you.

This is a pretty standard model of how people figure out their performances - I tend not to insert choreography, at this point, beyond a couple smaller ideas - that usually comes naturally in rehearsal, along with face and general delivery.

So, yeah. Performance? Big deal, in slam.

 

[Angeline]

Sadly, performance is more often 9/10 of winning a slam.

I've seen people who aren't reading poems win slams, strictly on the strength of their performance. Nationals is a little different (At times) but it's still a good general rule.

When I rehearsed for the city championships I broke the poems down line by line, figured out where the highs and lows were, decided which parts I wanted to vary (Three elements of voice: Volume, Tone, and Pace) and how, exactly, I was going to do it - that's the 'arc' of the poem. Then, find sections to highlight, which ties into the next part of it:

break it down word by word, figure out which words to breathe between, which words, building into lines, need to be emphasized, or built on... Hmm.

Say I was going to use the poem, "Wildflower" I wrote in the 30/30 thread.

The first outline would probably look like this (volume on a scale of 1-10, specific tonal emphasis denoted by bold words):

(Vol4)people won't tell you: (1/2 beat)
(gesture - like holding handful of flowers)(V5)"he'll never bring you a fistful of forget me." (1/4b)
but they'll tell you i've fucked, (breath) like
their hearts weren't (1/4 beat - short breath - hand gesture?)cruel-injected
boredom engines pumping xenon (insert gestures for this line & next)
into their steel belted mouths;
(V6, up pace) i don't want to buy you flowers. (breath, 3/4b)

(Downpace, V3)i want to find you, (1/2b)wildflower and smiling,
(breath)end my days (uppace, V4)roadmapping the stretchmarks
(uppace)i imagine hiding in the hooks of your hips, (Breath)
(uppaceV5)lie only to the people who tell you (breath)
(V6)passion is a cliche' (uppace)that is boring
when used in a proper sentence;(breath)
(DOWNpace, 1/2b, V4)i don't need a mother.(1/2b)

i am not hunting for a wife, (1/2b/breath)
i just want someone to hold my hand
while i do it myself (breath)
(uppaceV5)and i'm afraid it's you, (uppace)afraid it's not, (uppaceV6)that
you'll bloom and i'll miss it
and no one will tell you (uppace)what it smelled like
when you finally smiled(1/2breath);
(UPpace, V9)i'll never buy you a collection of dying.
(beat, DOWNpace, V4 breath)
i am a fistful of rumor.
(beat/breath)
i have not gone to wildseed and sky,(1/4b)
but i once loved Passion.(uppace, V5 breath)
i love you, again.(1/2b)
Give me your seeds. (1/2or1/4b)
i will plant them back to you.

This is a pretty standard model of how people figure out their performances - I tend not to insert choreography, at this point, beyond a couple smaller ideas - that usually comes naturally in rehearsal, along with face and general delivery.

So, yeah. Performance? Big deal, in slam.

This is very interesting, R. Lots of food for thought. How much of it is "poetry"? It seems like a really wonderful editing process whether one actually performs or not. But how much does it influence how one writes? Some people are very influenced by it, I bet. How much sway does it hold over what's "hot" in the poetry world now?

I don't expect answers lol. But what you say raises all these questions--and more--for me. Of course my bottom line is always "does it help me be a better writer"? I think it must if you don't allow yourself to be ruled by writing for performance.

 

[Tzara]

This is very interesting, R. Lots of food for thought. How much of it is "poetry"? It seems like a really wonderful editing process whether one actually performs or not. But how much does it influence how one writes? Some people are very influenced by it, I bet. How much sway does it hold over what's "hot" in the poetry world now?

I don't expect answers lol. But what you say raises all these questions--and more--for me. Of course my bottom line is always "does it help me be a better writer"? I think it must if you don't allow yourself to be ruled by writing for performance.

I find it very interesting as well. Since the performance aspect is so important, perhaps slam is something different from "traditional" poetry (whatever the hell that means). Sort of how a play is different from fiction.

I am curious, though. The clips I've seen seem to feature lengthy, strident, histrionic performances of (what I would consider) deliberately provocative texts. I don't mean that pejoratively. They are, at least the ones I've looked at, very effective. Is there much variation in that? Anyone have any success doing short, contemplative poems sotto voce?

 

[DeepAsleep]

This is very interesting, R. Lots of food for thought. How much of it is "poetry"? It seems like a really wonderful editing process whether one actually performs or not. But how much does it influence how one writes? Some people are very influenced by it, I bet. How much sway does it hold over what's "hot" in the poetry world now?

I don't expect answers lol. But what you say raises all these questions--and more--for me. Of course my bottom line is always "does it help me be a better writer"? I think it must if you don't allow yourself to be ruled by writing for performance.

Well, that's the funny thing. I've heard enough poets, regionally, to be able to tell where a lot of people's home slams are, just by listening to them. Denver, as a city, has a pretty standard format (There are variances, but the overall 'graph' of highs and lows is much the same) so, performance does affect writing. Chicago's got a lot of emphasis on funny poetry, in a prosey sort of style. Cantab (boston) tends to sound similar, poet to poet. The rule seems to be that, often, it's the poets you hear most that affect how you tend to write, but there's no doubt that the performance itself affects how your writing comes out. I noticed it when I started writing 'builds', uppace, up volume portions of poems, and then the 'bump, set, spike' format crept in, a little. The stuff I've been writing, lately, has been vastly different because i'm finally getting away from those forms - consequently, I probably can't slam with most of it. It's too short, for one thing - and it's not 'accessible' With no options for layout, you often have to be more direct about transmission of ideas. "I fucking hate bowling" was written with the intent to try it at a slam, and it tanks. Invariably, every single time. Because it's too dense, metaphorically. At the speed the poem demands, it comes out sounding (to the casual listener - which, let's face it, most audiences are) like thinly veiled gay bashing, which it isn't. "For Sean Conlon" is probably my most consistently successful slam poem, because it's direct, and it's got the most emotional build of any of my other poems.

So, yes, performance affects style, but no more than anything else that you expose yourself to - in general.

 

[DeepAsleep]

I find it very interesting as well. Since the performance aspect is so important, perhaps slam is something different from "traditional" poetry (whatever the hell that means). Sort of how a play is different from fiction.

I am curious, though. The clips I've seen seem to feature lengthy, strident, histrionic performances of (what I would consider) deliberately provocative texts. I don't mean that pejoratively. They are, at least the ones I've looked at, very effective. Is there much variation in that? Anyone have any success doing short, contemplative poems sotto voce?

The observations you've made are pretty much the defining qualities of slam. The problems this leads to could be best exemplified by this particular Pander bear. This guy wins. Consistently. I watched him win 700 bucks, a couple weeks ago. With poems like that. Pandering, bullshit, terrible, not-actually-poems.

It's the arbitrary nature of slam. Judges are chosen at random from the crowd, at the beginning of each slam - this tends to mean that you're being judged by someone who's not terribly savvy about poetry - although this varies, scene to scene. Tucson, for instance, has one of the most brutally poetry oriented slams I've ever been to. And different scenes are coming around. Chicago is solidly grounded in poem-slam.

 

[unpredictablebijou]

I find it very interesting as well. Since the performance aspect is so important, perhaps slam is something different from "traditional" poetry (whatever the hell that means). Sort of how a play is different from fiction.

I am curious, though. The clips I've seen seem to feature lengthy, strident, histrionic performances of (what I would consider) deliberately provocative texts. I don't mean that pejoratively. They are, at least the ones I've looked at, very effective. Is there much variation in that? Anyone have any success doing short, contemplative poems sotto voce?

Back when I put myself through that, I had a very different style, but it seemed to work nicely in most contexts. I had a serious rule of never reading more than three pieces, and never reading anything more than a page long.

I always read barefoot (long story having to do with Allen Ginsberg's Howl and a rainbow fright wig) and I generally pick the erotic pieces that are relatively low-key in voice. Breathless, or plaintive, or quietly desperate, that sort of vibe, was a trademark. Funny how amongst the shouting and drums that can end up being a very successful strategy.

I never "competed"; these were mainly art events and charity benefits, but I did bunches of open mic nights and slams before I found PSA (poetry slammers anonymous).

I do remember numerous events in galleries or coffeehouses where the crowd would have begun to chat and mill about during all the shouting about revolution but would come right back when I got up and spoke rather quietly.

So that style has been known to work too. But it is a different art form indeed; it may start with the same root (words in lines) but the two can only be compared to a certain point.

There was a time when I got invited to do a "show" with another poet and a dancer, and read with the accompaniment of a fine drummer and a flute and stand-up bass. Whether or not it was butt-puckeringly awful may be an eternal mystery, but I felt like Janis Joplin and it was really, really fun. That was a whole different sort of performance but once I got used to it it felt like the difference between being a soloist and being in a choir. Both have their value.

yup. way different than written poetry forms. But perhaps they are both subsets of that "poetry" thing.

bijou

 

[Tzara]

The observations you've made are pretty much the defining qualities of slam. The problems this leads to could be best exemplified by this particular Pander bear. This guy wins. Consistently. I watched him win 700 bucks, a couple weeks ago. With poems like that. Pandering, bullshit, terrible, not-actually-poems.

It's the arbitrary nature of slam. Judges are chosen at random from the crowd, at the beginning of each slam - this tends to mean that you're being judged by someone who's not terribly savvy about poetry - although this varies, scene to scene. Tucson, for instance, has one of the most brutally poetry oriented slams I've ever been to. And different scenes are coming around. Chicago is solidly grounded in poem-slam.

I'm not trying to be contentious here, DA, but isn't the goal of slam to win the competition? And if you've got some thing you do that works, shouldn't you use it? So if this guy can win consistently, whatever you think about the quality of his poems as poems, what's wrong with that?

Finnegans Wake is never going to outsell The Da Vinci Code, however much more merit it has as Art. (Yeah, that's debatable. OK, OK. Pick some other artsy novel: War and Peace, Pride and Prejudice, Infinite Jest—the principle's the same.)

Correct me if I'm wrong—slam is performance, competition, judged by the audience. May the most popular gal or guy win.

Occasionally great art is popular (can you say "Dickens"?), but I think that's unusual.

Bless you for wanting it to be that way, though.