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Hey! I bet there's an open mic in there. Got Poems?
Below:
- Not Your Usual Beach Reading
- Kaleidoscope SF fundraiser for Poem Dome
- American Street Showcase
- Poems Under the Dome
- Calendar + the Rest of It!
This last couple of weeks has been quite the period of enlightenment for me. In fact, the previous time period of equal length was so saturated with learning experiences I forgot to include an event that, in its own right, deserved to be featured: Not Your Usual Beach Reading, a spontaneous gathering of talented locals on April 19 2010 on the set of Shotgun Players' production A Seagull in the Hamptons. That's the small-looking theater directly across from the Ashby BART station (@ MLK + Ashby) that repaints its exterior in conjunction with each play. It was my first time there and is definitely worth looking into—if for nothing more than the unbeatable chocolate chip cookies they have for sale! Click here for more.
Then that Friday the 23rd I went to Kaleidoscope SF—So much talent! It was one of those nights when you go home stunned that there are so many talented people you don't know even though all you do is go to readings.
Hosted by Diamond Dave Whitaker, Ingrid Keir and EK Keith, the performers were Lunation with Clara Hsu and Bill Mercer—a duo that combines wise and passionate spoken word with intuitive, organic instrumentation (very powerful!), Pablo Rosales, who has the vim of a preacher and an arsenal of verbal acrobatics, Sarah Fran Wisby, whose book Viva Loss is a must-read and who will be another of the readers @ Quiet Lightning June (yes!), Richard Loranger, who shared a poetic invocation for non-academic poetry that you simply must see, or read, and Jennifer Barone, who was accompanied by Daniel Heffez on saxophone—yet another duo that makes beautiful noise laced with staccato prosery!
EK Keith
Lunation (Clara Hsu + Bill Mercer)
Two days later I headed to Cafe Royale for what fulfilled its promise to be a unique spectacle of street poets convening in the gem of the Tenderloin for the American Street Showcase, hosted by Alan Kaufman and Charlie Getter and featuring so many talented poets I couldn't believe it. Really. You should read the article Alan wrote about them when he was first introduced; he has since become quite the devout follower and has written another essay, which kicked the event off with a proud sense of levity that certainly outstayed me, as The Secret Secretaries fn rocked everyone's faces while Andrew Paul Nelson, Ian Tuttle and I walked across town to the Portugese Artists Colony, which as always was a mixture of heartfelt and masterful storytelling with an equally rewarding musical act. Unfortunately, my camera must have been tired from the Showcase because it died early into the Colony's set; I will add the few vids I capture there as bonuses later because there are so many to follow!
« These are in no particular order b/c there are too many »
Alan Kaufman's letter did start it off:
Dunce Apprentice « We Are the Unreal »
EK Keith
James Marchettie
Miguel Pereira
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Then finally, Poems Under the Dome. I didn't expect to read at this event but did write a poem for it and was actually pulled out of the lottery. It was a great honor to introduce Daphne Gottlieb, who is also one of the readers for Quiet Lightning June (!!!), and to share the set with Meghan Thornton and Mira Martin-Parker, who have both been QL readers, and a host of other extremely talented folk, including Jennifer Barone, footage of whom I have tragically lost (this really was my tape's fault, I promise!), who performed so convincingly both at Kaleidoscope earlier in the week and also here.
The level of quality for an open mic was really impressive, and the 3-minutes-or-less stipulation was a good way to do it! Kind of like QL, in a way. … I only filmed the first set, which is too bad for you because it included many notables, including M.G. Martin, Tess Patalano, Charlie Getter, and other Superfreak Poets I can't even remember them all. Really. This town is messed up on poetry. I also got hip to a whole slew of regularly open mics courtesy of Dan Brady. Check these out when you get a chance. Oh, wait. Did I mention Poet Laureate Diane DiPrima was there?
« Please forgive me in advance if I didn't get your name right or include it! Also, please provide it! I'll be happy to update this page with any corrections, including change of links, etc. »
From the opening ceremonies
Anne Linnard
Royal Kent
Kayleigh Glick
Michael Walker
<I am so sorry for everyone who wasn't there because my tape ate Jennifer's incredible performance! I mean, who's got my Flip, yo?>
Christine Brown
David Gregory
Julie Schenkel
Norta Cervantes
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This is what it was like in Civic Center Plaza just before all this madness:
- Quiet Lightning vids up later today.
- Last night I went straight from a play to the street corner for the first time and was struck by several things:
- Anything goes!
- Charlie Getter is a maestro and a gentleman
- If i want to perform words, that's where i'm headed
- "You either get good, or you shutup." You can guess who said that (though it doesn't matter). And i haven't seen anyone shutting up yet.
Here is the calendar. Tell me what it's missing!
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