Poets and
Poetesses, Rhymers and Reasoners,
A pat on
the back to each of you who did one or more of the following in the
past week:
1. Wrote
at least one poem.
2. Made it
out to read or listen to live poetry.
3. Helped
someone else write a poem or improve on a poem.
4. Sold a
chap book, poetry cd or poetry cassette
And if you
did all four of the above, let me know. I'll put you on the
newsletter honor roll, beginning next week.
APAL Poets
Guide:
1.
Tuesday, February 3 - Ruta Maya Coffee House at 4th and Lavaca. APAL
open mic, hosted by Laura Moliter. Sign up 6:30 pm
2.
Tuesday, February 3 - Electric Lounge at 302 Bowie. Open mic, hosted
by Mike Henry/Phil West. Sign up at 8:00 pm
3.
Wednesday, Feb. 4 - New Voices will temporarily be held at 304 E. 5th
Street, in the KOOP studio. Featured poet - Raven Moonchild. Apal
open mic, hosted by Stazja McFadyen and Jennifer Williams. 8 p.m.
4.
Wednesday, Feb. 4 - Blast Your Own Breath: BYOB Spoken Word Session.
Movements Gallery, 211 E. 6th St., 9 - 10:30 p.m. Tammy Gomez hosts.
5.
Thursday, Feb. 5 - Book People features Sue Littleton, reading from
her book "Ekutsihimmiyo" (the Cheyenne word for Milky Way,
literally translated "the road that hangs down from the heaven."
Legend is that when the Cheyenne dies, the spirit goes up the road
that hangs from heaven.) 6th and Lamar, 7 p.m. please bring your
friends for an evening of excellent friendship and wonderfilled
poetry-enquiries and bookings-416-7435 (Please note, the date of
this read was changed)
6. Sat.,
Feb. 7th - Poetry in the Arts features Herman Nelson and Stazja
McFadyen. Texas History Center, next to main library on Guadalupe. 2
pm
7. Sat.,
Feb 7th - Glosso Babel will feature at Quack's APAL Saturday Night
Live Poets, a benefit for APAL, followed by open mic. John Hawk,
host. 2120 Guadalupe, 7 p.m.
8. Sat.,
Feb 7th - Highlife Cafe will be a St Valentine's reading of FAVORITE
CLASSIC LOVE POETS (Neruda,Barrett etc ) from 7:30. Free
admission-1407 7th Street -check with Lydia Prestwood at
Feliz_at_mail.utexas.edu for more details.
9. Sunday,
Feb 8 - APAL free poetry workshop. 2 p.m. Conducted by John Hutton.
Meeting at Jennifer Williams', 4522 S. 2nd. For directions call
441-4701 or email leftsock_at_hotmail.com
10.
Tuesday, Feb. 10 - Ruta Maya Coffee House APAL open mic hosted by
Laura Moliter. 4th and Lavaca, sign up at 6:30
11.
Tuesday, Feb. 10 - Electric Lounge - 302 Bowie - Slam. Yes Slam.
And another the last Tuesday of February. And beginning in March,
weekly slams. Hosted by Genevieve Van Cleeve. Sign up 8 p.m. $3
admission
12.
Wednesday, Feb. 11 - Blast Your Own Breath: BYOB Spoken Word Session.
Movements Gallery, 211 E. 6th St., 9 - 10:30 p.m. Tammy Gomez hosts
13.
Saturday, Feb 14 - APAL Saturday Night Live Poets at Quack's. Clebo
Rainey is featured. Hosted by John Hawk. 2120 Guadalupe. Open mic
sign up at 7 pm
14. St.
Valentine's Day - Saturday, February 14, 1998 at 7 pm at Book People,
6th and Lamar. Presented by Thom the World Poet in conjunction with
Book People: A night of love poems featuring: Wendy Woodruff, Sue
Littleton, Patricia Fiske, Joy Owen, Susanne Vance, Morrie Green and
very special guest poets. 7 pm. for info call Thom the World Poet at
416-7635
15.
Sunday, Feb 15 - Bombay Bicycle Club open mic reading at 7pm
screening at
9pm FREE!
open to the public. Farid will be video'ing for Texas Nafas! ACTV
poetry program.
16. Tues.,
Feb. 17 - Ruta Maya APAL open mic, signup 6:30. Laura Moliter hosts.
17.
Wednesday, Feb 18. Blast Your Own Breath: BYOB Spoken Word Session.
Movements Gallery, 211 E. 6th St., 9 - 10:30 p.m. Tammy Gomez hosts
18.
Thursday, Feb. 19 - Poesia y Sur at Mexic-Arte Museum - Sue Littleton
lovingly features the works of Gabriella Mistral. 419 Congress, 7
p.m.
19.
Thursday, Feb. 19 - East End Black and White in Color at Ebony Sun
Java House. Floyd Freeman is featured poet, followed by open mic.
1209 E. 11th Street, Suite C, 7:30 p.m. Stazja hosts.
20.
Saturday, Feb. 21 - APAL Saturday Night Live Poets at Quackenbush's,
2120 Guadalupe, featured poet: Thom the World Poet releasing his very
newest and yellowest chap book, Made in Australia which i will be
reviewing in the newsletter. Open Mic. Sign up at 7 p.m.
and if
anyone plans more than 3 weeks in advance, e mail me.
And what
happened last week?
Tuesday at
Ruta Maya, we had sign ups coming out of the woodwork! Sorry to you
who arrived late and didn't get on the list. Sign up is at 6:30.
Welcome back Abbie Green.
Tuesday at
Electric Lounge. Hey, congratulations to Karyna Perkins, winning the
slam and $50 with "Thong Underwear Poem".
Wednesday
at 2222 Rio Grande New Voices - Clint McCown did a helluva a feature
performance. Thanks a million to Jennifer for covering the first
hour. Sign ups were highest ever!
Saturday
at Quack's - Dr. Marvin Kimbrough and Floyd Freeman featured, the
audience enjoyed. Laura Moliter moved us with her poem about the red
haired girl.
And now
(drum roll) for your favorite part, the featured poems.
1. Circe
is the sensous lady behind StarSaga (visit her website at
http://www/starsage/com/) Her chapbook, Castles in the Air,
co-authored with Donn Deedon, is reviewed in the February issue of
Next... Magazine.
She will
be coming to AIPF '98 Montrose, California. Here is her poem:
Delight
The Night
delight
the night
feel the
pulse in me
keeping
time
with the
erratic drum beat
your heart
answering
soft sighs
meeting sighs
lips begin
to explore
hear the
snare drum!
subtle
brush strokes
of bodies
entwined
muted
thumping
bongos
give chase
to the
faint steam of sweat
primal
urges rise
double
quick stattaco beat
of
heartbeats, heartbeats
tension
seeking tension's release
primordial
chants!
screams
escaping me!
urging...pulling
you
deep into
me
drum
soloing
finding
what i need
crescendo
calls...
igniting
me
and the
bass drum
pulses
constantly
keeping
time
to the
cymbals crash
and the
tamborine sounds
of your
body in mine....
2. 70 year
old poet laureate of Texas Albert Huffstickler is known to many. I
spent a memorable half hour with him recently, and bought his chap
book City in the Rain from which this poem is taken.
Madonna of
the Dispossessed
This is a
poem for the fat, middleaged, impossibly drunk Indian
woman
whose long
hair streamed around her as she was forcibly evicted
from the
Grand Canyon Cafe in Flagstaff, screaming at the top of
her lungs,
"Get
off my reservation! Get off my Goddamn reservation!"
Take it
from me, the dignity of that grotesque and improbable form
was as great
as that of
San Francisco Peak which towered above the scene,
brooding and majestic,
kachinas
poised to leap into action at a moment's notice and defend
the faithful
though for
some unknown reason they were not around
when our
brown and dusty heroine was thrust out the door of the
Grand Canyon Cafe
and into
the sunny streets of Flagstaff still screaming at the top of
her lungs
and
stumbled off still screaming and is screaming still her rage and
her sorrow
and will
continue to scream until that day comes
when the
force of her outrage lifts San Francisco Peak and flings it
down
into the
streets of Flagstaff, obliterating in a single sweep
the
monstrous invaders totally and for all time.
And one by
one the homeless and abandoned
crawl
forth from their darkened burrows and reclaim their place
while Our
Lady of the Dispossessed sits watching,
a
beatific, drunken smile on her worn face.
©
1993 by Albert Huffstickler
And now
for announcements:
1. Some
how I got on the poets mailing list, which I love. And, I am really
interested in Austin poets and what the have to say, the problem is I
have a new baby and getting out to these things is really hard, I
almost have to say impossible. How can I keep informed and read
whats out there with out attending any of the open mikes? Are there
any publications out there that I could pick up, and is there any way
that I could get my voice heard?
Appreciate
any help you can offer.
Sincerly,
Michelle
E.
2. Great
job your doing with the APAL Poets Guide. Will you please mention
Austin's Poetry Pages at http://www.geocities.com/soho/cafe/7625 in
your next edition? I would appreciate it greatly. I will have
flyers for
the site
passed out at several events after Valentine's Day. Your name
has also
been added to the site. Thank you for your help.
Poetking_at_geocities.com
3. APAL
Free Poetry Workshop
improve
your poems by exchanging encouragement and feedback with your fellow
poets in a casual setting
sundays 2
pm
location
varies. Sunday, Feb 8, 4522 S. 2nd (home of Jennifer Williams)
host: John
Hutton
bring 10
copies of your poem to receive comments
bringing
snacks is encouraged
call
494-1192 for locations, directions, and more information or e-mail
jhutton_at_mail.utexas.edu
4. Dear
poets and poetesses:
Texas
Nafas is the spirited poetry show we're bringing you on Austin
Community
Access TV, channel 10, Sunday nights at 9 p.m. We hope you've
had the
opportunity to watch it. We are doing our best to cover the
local
poetry venues and showcase poets with lively interviews and
readings.
Our goal is to help increase awareness of the wonderful poetry
scene in
Austin and to make it accessible to everyone.
We are
establishing our nonprofit status and seeking grant support. If
you like
our show and support the idea of what we are doing, please
consider
becoming a sponsor. We will accept donations in any amount,
but for
each $50 contributed, sponsors will receive a copy of a tape of
their
favorite show. Often we receive requests for copies of tapes, but
we cannot
fill all these requests and regret that we cannot afford to
supply
copies of our tapes for less than a $50 donation.
We are in
the process of applying for a grant from the Cultural
Contracts
Program, City of Austin, Parks and Recreation Department. If
you
support our program, please help us by writing to the members of the
Advisory
Panel listed below, letting them know that Texas Nafas is a
wonderful
show and deserves a grant. This is very important, because we
need
evidence that our show has local support. Thank you very much.
Please do
this soon! Also, please send a copy of your letter to Farid
Mohammadi,
1222 Algarita Ave., #224, Austin, TX 78704.
Advisory
Panel Roster (please send a copy of your support letter to each
member):
Hector
Galan, 7108 Bright Star Ln, Austin, TX 78736
Beverly
Holston, 2302 C. Enfield Rd., Austin, TX 78703
Jim Bob
McMillan, 1451 S. Meadows, Austin, TX 78758
Jo Anne
Outley, 4919 Manchester Circle, Austin, TX 78745
Milissa
Santos, P.O. Box 163403, Austin, TX 78716
Thank you
for contributing your time to help promote Texas Nafas, the
poetry
show, the "breath" ("nafas") of Austin.
Sincerely,
Christine
Gilbert for Texas Nafas
cemgilbert_at_earthlink.net
5. 2222
Rio Grande Coffee Haus is temporarily closed. New Voices APAL venue
carries on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the KOOP Radio location at 304 E.
5th Street, 3rd Floor, thanks to the KOOP Board of Trustees and to
Paul Odekirk, coordinator of Grassroots News Network. 2222 Rio
Grande manager expects to be opened again very soon. Yeah!
6. North
American Poetry Jam in Las Vegas, March 2-5. Advance registration fee
of $20 must be postmarked today, Feb. 2. details from Bowerbird
Intelligentleman:
(bowerbird_at_aol.com)
"dear
jammer-
thank you
for supporting "jam" by signing up to come! you'll be glad
you did, i assure you.
the dates
for the jam in las vegas are set. it'll be: monday, march 2nd
through thursday, march 5th.
if you
can't make it, please inform me immediately. we're gonna have a
blast, and i'm sorry you'll miss it, but i understand. #2 will be
september 21-25, 1998.
if you are
going to come, please tell me right away.it will help me greatly to
know how many people to expect.in addition, please send your jam
registration in now to:
bowerbird
c/o leslie
hanson
1427
harvard (b)
santa
monica, ca 90404
registration
is $20 if it's postmarked by february 2nd (groundhog's day), $25 if
it's postmarked later than that. (the fee may go up even higher as
time passes, so don't delay.)
registration
gives you:
* a
reduced-price hotel room
* free
admission to all shows during jam
*
optional 3-minute performance slot
*
inclusion on the historic videotapes
* a free
copy of one of the videotapes
* the
option to buy the other videotapes at cost
*
certification as a jammer
* a
surprise or two...
please
make checks payable to my girlfriend, leslie hanson.
if you
want, you can also include the fee for your hotel room. i'm
estimating that your _total_ 4-night cost for a double-occupancy room
will end up being $64 per person ($32/night/room = $16/night/poet * 4
nights = $64.) (additional people in the room are $16/night as well.)
however,
as an incentive for you to send money promptly, i'll reduce that to
$60 if you include it with your registration. (i'm still nailing down
the final details on the hotel rates, so if the room ends up costing
less, i'll refund you the difference.
and if
it's more, i'll still honor the $60, so you'll save money.)
the room
fee _will_ have to be paid in advance of the jam, so you might as
well pay it now and get the reduced rate. but if you don't have it
right now, just do the $20 to register.
so, make
it $20 if you just want to register, $80 if you want to register and
pay for your room right away.
all fees
(registration and hotel) are _totally_refundable_ if circumstances
change and you are unable to make it.
if you
have any questions at all, feel free to e-mail them to me.
i expect
the hotel situation to be resolved within a week and everything else
is proceeding very smoothly, so it's gonna be a _very_ memorable
event,
and i
thank you for being one of the people who are making it happen..."
7. Still
need housing for international poets coming to the festival in April.
e mail me
if you have room and hospitality. and muchos gracias to those who
have already volunteered
8.
Deadline to register for Austin International Poetry Festival '98 is
extended to February 15. For application forms, call 918-AIPF, or e
mail aipf98_at_aol.com or register on line at AIPF '98 website:
http://www.hyperweb.com/aipf/
9. 8.
INTERNATIONAL POETS WELCOME TO TEXAS! SUNDAY,MARCH 29 at 1pm at a
ranch near San Antonio,a Texas bbq welcome for the International
Poets will be held.Luminaries visiting include 76 yr young
environmentalist feminist poet VENIE HOLMGREN,JAY WOODMAN popular
publisher and performer and guest ofaipf96,as well as those
scallywags of Bristol Slam poetry-TIM GIBBARD, RUPERT HOPKINS and
JERRY JIGGER.Tickets,which include the bbq,as well as the talents of
COWBOY POETS,SINGERS,GUNSLINGERS,TEXAS LONGHORNS (to ride and to
eat)are only $10 and are available now at your weekly poetry
venues-Ruta Maya Tuesdays at 6.30, Quackenbushs on Saturdays at 7pm
or by contacting Thom (512) 416 7435 or Stazja (512) 346-7773 in
Austin or Chris Crabtree (210) 674-8779 in San Antonio
10. From
Frank Pool, AIPF '98 Chairman:
The Austin
Younger Poets Awards will be presenting $100.00 in prizes and
publication in the Austin Younger Poets Awards anthology in
conjunction with the Austin International Poetry Festival in April.
Young people up to the age of 19 are eligible for the prizes, but
work of college students will be considered for publication in the
anthology. All poets published in the anthology will receive a free
copy and an invitation to read their work in public at AIPF 98. For
information, call 346-8717 or email AIPF98_at_aol.com
11. From
Phil West, hosting National Slam in August: Do you know anyone who
would be good for volunteering for us? We know that, come August,
we'll need people we trust to scorekeep and timekeep and run scores
to the big computer. Now we just need ideas and people willing to do
the legwork. Phil West e mail pony_at_mail.utexas.edu
12. If you
would like your poetry to appear in the newsletter, send away. Please
include a little info about yourself.
13.
Announce your chap books in the APAL newsletter. Send title, price,
address, and stuff like that. Beginning next week, I will add the
chap book listing section.
Thanks to
everyone who supports APAL and the newsletter. If you want off the
mailing list, e mail me.
Love and
reminder that Valentine's day
is
less than two weeks away. <3
Stazja
Subj: Re:
austin poets at large #13
Date: 98-02-02
22:30:04 EST
From: SamIAm0423
To: Stazja
Ah!
That's my letter! What a surprise! I am going to make it to one of
the open mikes this month, so could you suggest one that is
guaranteed to be worth leaving the house? One that's always a huge
success? (I bet your thinking "silly girl, they are all worth
your time!")
Michelle
:o)
Subj:
austin poets at large #13 -Reply
Date: 98-02-02
11:05:32 EST
From: Cynthia.Manor_at_ci.austin.tx.us
(Manor, Cynthia)
To: Stazja_at_aol.com
(IPM Return requested) (Receipt notification requested) (Reply
requested)
i know
this is going to sound dumb, but until recently, i never knew what
a
"chapbook" was. i've figured out that it's a collection of
some sort of
poetry.
can you give me a clear definition of what it means?? i feel
really
dumb asking this question, but i guess i don't know much about the
poetry
SCENE.
Cynthia
Subj: Re:
austin poets at large #13
Date: 98-02-03
09:46:01 EST
From: walker_at_cst.net
(Terry Whisenant)
Reply-to: walker_at_wf.quik.com
(Terry Whisenant)
To: Stazja_at_aol.com
CC: wabunstar_at_aol.com
(Wabun Star), tim_at_eden.com (Tim Bigham), worldpoet_at_rocketmail.com
(Thom The World Poet), wigg119_at_flash.net (Scott Wiggerman),
reza.shirazi_at_lcra.org (Reza Shirazi), rlusk_at_ix.netcom.com (Randy
Lusk), meilin_at_huey.cadvision.com (Neil Meilli), muse_at_sage.net (Morrie
Greene), mstwins_at_aol.com (Meera Sundram), gaspeddler_at_mail.utexas.edu
(Ken Hunt), owen_at_io.com (Joy Owen), fredlund_at_sig.net (Eric Fredlund),
minalushe_at_aol.com (Christina Sergeyevna)
File:
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(16800 bps): < 1 minute
Hiya! This
is Walker in Wichita Falls, TX! Thanks for the newsletters! It's good
to see that APAL is alive and kicking! Keep 'em coming!
I'd like
to ask you a favor to include some info. in one of your upcoming
newsletters. I've just recieved permission to start a monthly poetry
reading at
in Wichita
Falls. I'd like to extend an open invitation to any poets who want to
visit to send me information so that I can feature some of them.
Hastings will allow them to check their chapbooks into the system
when they are here and sell them through their store. Everybody who
is interested should either contact me via email
magic_mushroom_at_writeme.com or trww_at_bigfoot.com call me at
(940)691-5576, or write me at Walker / 3305½ Garfield St. /
Wichita Falls / TX / 76308.
Thanks and
Best Wishes!
Walker