Sometime around 2000 while between jobs, I joined a performance series named Four Brothers. It was the luckiest of gigs for me. The original Fourth brother couldn’t do that weekend of performances, and I had rent due. The show would cover it. I auditioned and got in. Our Friday show in Berkeley was quite successful. …
The Twelve Days Of Clinics
*WHEREIN THE AUTHOR WORKS OUT HIS TRUE FEELINGS ON CHRISTMAS **WITH THANX TO THE OTHER JIM ***SET TO THE TUNE OF ... OH, YOU KNOW On the First Day of Clinics My True Love Gave To Me Chronic Hepatitis C On the Second Day of Clinics My True Love Gave To Me Genital Warts And …
New Poems Up at Eleven-Eleven Journal
The continuously awesome journal Eleven Eleven has published three familiar poems which are up and available for your critique. Its a consistently gorgeous journal and website I've admired for long time. Its an honor to get in with so many other strong artists. I went to an open mic last week, and an old friend …
Mise en Poetry
'…mise en place' means far more than simply assembling all the ingredients, pots and pans, plates, and serving pieces needed for a particular period. Mise en place is also a state of mind. A couple of weeks ago, my friend met me in the city and we sat for lunch. She mentioned wanting to write …
Alternative Lives
There were several strikes against this poetry event having any audience at all. The first was it being scheduled on a Saturday afternoon at 3, when other even main event readings I've attended don't begin filling up until after sundown, irrespective of the day of the week. Second: beyond being asked by the events organizer …
Booze, Not Books
Once I finally settled upon a form for my poem idea, I spent four months working on it. Intended for/ Inspired by BlackPoetsSpeakOut, the poem emerged slow-brewed, during my weekly half hour walks to the acupuncturist for the arthritis frosting my knee. During that walk, I'd think of a line and dictate it into the …
Saul Williams
In the mid 90's Saul Williams helped change the landscape of delivering and reciting poetry. In his own defense he'd prolly cite folks I'm overlooking as equally influencial as himself, but I make the statement because I saw the change take place first hand. The first live performance of his I saw was around the …
