HARK!
I hear some poetry …
Ah, the life of the perturbed, pragmatism-plauged, phobic, pissed Poets -- or is it Poe-its? Plathets? He/she/they ache to express everything from the mundane (“steely-eyed Cockroach/why dost thou mock me?”) to the ephemeral (“steely-eyed Love/why dost thou mock me?”).
HARK Valley poets at least have a community.
They can participate in everything from friendly open-mic readings and casual gatherings to competitive “Slam” contests.
Imagine if that paragon of pissed poets had been able to bounce this off his peers:
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
“Nice, Eddie!” one might have commented, after polite applause. “But I’m really hoping you can flesh it out a little?”
“That’s what I thought!” another would pile on. “But I always love your dark, Gothy little things …”
Rather than pulling him away from it, such “encouragement” might have sped his path to a bottly grave ...
Ditto, if Poe’s female counterpart would have open-miced “Mad Girl’s Love Song.”
“Another really solid one, Sylvia!” a fellow poet might have suggested. “My only suggestion: Maybe one or two less of the ‘I think I made you up inside my head’?”
On the group Phoenix Poetry Events, we see posts the likes of
“Tonight. WHAM Art Association, Dysart and Bell in Surprise. 6-8pm Open mic. Bring something to read. Your own work or someone else's work you love. Free. All ages. See you there!”
And
“Do you know a teen between the ages of 13-17 who likes poetry? Have them SIGN UP NOW for our nonprofit's virtual YOUTH Poetry Competition - THIS THURSDAY - by DM'ing us or commenting below. Arizona Masters of Poetry Free to compete. Free to attend. $150 in prizes!”
And then there’s
“Phoenix Poetry Slam
Tonight, we slam poems and Navajo Tacos from The REZ an urban eatery LLC!”
The Phoenix Poetry Slam goes down Wednesday nights at the Lawn Gnome Publishing headquarters.
The group’s mission: “provide a space for local writers, artists, performers, etc. to explore and perfect their own craft. Our commitment is community. We welcome persons of any and all genders, sexuality, ethnicity, ability, ages, etc. As writers and literary critics, we value freedom of speech and thus do not limit, moderate or otherwise censor any content, and so there is a blanket trigger warning for all events. However, we strive to create a constructive atmosphere of equality, sensitivity, and progress, one that encourages discussion and actively opposes marginalization of any persons or group. Our goal isn’t tolerance of diversity, but its empowerment and alliance.”
Those interested should email gnome.chomsky@lawngnomepublishing.com with “POETRY SLAM’ in the subject line.
But don’t do this if you “don’t like to be judged” -- as that’s the whole point, of these slams:
“Poets read or perform their work in front of a live audience, an audience in which five randomly selected people are given a scorecard and rank the performances on a scale of 0.0 to 10.”
The Lawn Gnome headquarters and teeny-weeny book store are at 912 N. 5th Street in Phoenix; phone 602-721-9175.
The Lost Leaf bar next door has Thursday night poetry readings.
