Hello
At-Large Poets
I'm still
in Florida, but keeping a finger on the pulse of poetry in Austin.
Here is the APAL Poets Guide:
1.
Tuesday, June 30 - Ruta Maya Coffee House, 4th and Lavaca, APAL open
mic sign up at 6:30 pm. Hosted by Sara Sutterfield Winn and Mark
Maslow. FMI e mail swinn_at_mail.utexas.edu or maslow_at_flash.net
2.
Tuesday, June 30 - Slam at Electric Lounge, 305 Bowie. Sign up as
early as 8 pm. Someone WILL win $50! $2 admission. FMI call 476-FUSE.
3.
Wednesday, July 1 - BYOB: Blast Your Own Breath at Movements Gallery,
211 E. 6th St. Tammy Gomez hosts, 9-10:30 pm.
tejana.tongue_at_mail.utexas.edu
4. Friday,
July 3 - Mojo's Daily Grind, 2714 Guadalupe. APAL open mic hosted by
Marie Fleischmann. 8-10 pm.
5.
Saturday, July 4 - Quackenbush's will be closed for Independence Day.
Go to the lake. Watch the fireworks.
6.
Tuesday, July 7 - Ruta Maya Coffee House, 4th and Lavaca. APAL open
mic, hosted by Sara and Mark. Sign up by 6:30 pm.
7.
Tuesday, July 7 - Electric Lounge, 305 Bowie. The magnificent,
exciting weekly SLAM! $50 cash to winner. sign up as early as 8 pm.
$2 admission. 476-FUSE.
8.
Wednesday, July 8 - BYOB: Blast Your Own Breath at Movements Gallery,
211 E. 6th St. Tammy Gomez hosts, 9-10:30 pm.
tejana.tongue_at_mail.utexas.edu
9.
Saturday, July 11 - Saturday Night Live Poetry in the Afternoon at
Quack's, 2120 Guadalupe. APAL open mic, hosted by Diane Fleming, sign
up at 3 pm. Featured poet: RD Perin. FMI e buddydog_at_texas.net.
10.
Saturday, July 11 - Barnes & Noble at Westlake, 7-9 pm, presents
Austin International Poetry Festival readings from the 1997 anthology
"di-verse-city" and 1998 anthology "di-verse-city
too". See announcements section. FMI, e wigg119_at_flash.net.
11.
Monday, July 13 - Southside Poetic Action Series, Jovita's Restaurant
y Cantina at 1619 South First, from 7-9 p.m
Featured
Poetry - Theme this week is Summer. (Those of you in Southern
Hemisphere, use your imagination).
Next
week's theme: Independence Day/4th of July. Please submit poems in
the body of e mail.
1. First
up is Audrey Kaufman of Dublin, Ireland. Glad to have her at large.
Scarlet
sunset
on the
stairs
a dog
forever waiting
2. Chris
Vannoy recently moved to St. Pete from San Diego. He is "a
tireless advocate of words both written and spoken, he works
endlessly to raise up words from page to eye and from mouth to air."
-- from his chap book, Temporary Tattoos, as are the following
pieces. See chap book listings.
Sand Dance
I will
brush the sand from your feet
They will
dance in my hands.
soft ripe
fruit
Take me
down by the water Caley
where your
boat waits
loaded
full of mangos and key limes
their ripe
smell reminds me
of late
summer squalls that churn the oceans around us
The
hurricanes will be coming soon
here will
be safe harbor.
©
1997 by The Poet's Tree Press
3. Frank
Pool is the Austin International Poetry Festival chairman. Here is an
excerpt from his recent piece, Solstice:
solstice
(xviii)
all the
way from windy Troy
to the
bowers of Austin,
to the
scrub oak
and chalk,
scrabble
dust
flies
heat
of the
globe
broiling
itself with
carbon,
the black brakes
of the
bicycle; the daughter’s new
and
shining wheels show no pollution.
great
tragedies in shining days
burnished
high in the sun,
the holy
orchestra
in its
returned
circles
closes,
lights
the cycles
and
rhythms
of drums
and flutes
railing
against the silence
in the
prescience of the masks
of the
mythic dead and present actors.
retrieved
in a flashing finding gesture
of losing
and finding our lifetime
all in an
undersea moment,
the golden
ring.
a thousand
hot
years
cannot be
time
enough for us
when
eternity’s shining gold
dropped on
the reef at Cozumel,
lies on
edge with living coral fronds,
beside the
crevices of unredeemable black.
Frank
Pool
MrPool_at_aol.com
4. A
haiku, one of my own.
blossoms
of plum trees
hurry to
wear spring fashions
fruit
awaits summer
Books/Chap
books
Temporary
Tattoos, A book of love poems by Chris Vannoy, © 1997 by The
Poet's Tree Press. Contact Chris at CVannoy727_at_aol.com. 42 pages, 37
refreshingly readable poems. Also available is Soft Fists of Rain.
Both priced at $7.
From David
Alvey of Aardvark Studios:
<Aard
Labor: Motherhood from a Father's Perspective> by David L. Alvey
32-pg chapbook tracking pregnancy from the <Positive> test
result thru labor and delivery.
<Kids
Talk> features winning poems by kids 5-to-18 from Aardvark
Studios/Parent Talk 1st annual Kids Poetry Contest
Available
for $5 ea, plus $1 shipping/handling from:
Aardvark
Studios, PO Box 542913, Dallas, TX 75354-2913
Announcements:
1. APAL
free poetry workshop every Sunday at Quackenbush's Coffee House, 2120
Guadalupe. Starts at 2 pm. Bring 10 copies of an original poem.
2. On
Saturday, July 11, at 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble at Westlake will
host
the first
of two summer poetry readings for the Austin International Poetry
Festival's anthologies, di-verse-city and di-verse-city too. Editor
Scott Wiggerman will host the readings, which feature many of
Austin's best talents. Among the readers scheduled for the Barnes &
Noble reading are Gloria Amescua, Richard Cole, Molly Todd, Peggy
Lynch, Harriett Parker, Cindy Huyser, Larry Cordle, Robin Britton,
Patricia Fiske, Christine Gilbert, Joddy Murray, and Frank Pool.
Poets will be reading their poems from the anthologies as well as
other original poems.
3. Artists
of a Different Caliber
This is a
touring art exhibit featuring work that turns guns into beauty. They
are seeking poetry (and poets) with work that speaks of alternatives
to violence. If you've got poetry that uses words against violence
then submit your work to Carol Koss
1819 B NW
42nd Street
OKC, OK
73118-2229
or e-mail
cpkoss_at_aol.com
4. From
Tammy Gomez
************************************************************
"In a
Rape Culture, the Oppressors think there are
NHI - No
Humans Involved.
We're
Going to Set Them Straight."
************************************************************
The debut
performance of "NHI -- No Humans Involved" took place on
Friday,
June 19th,
to a capacity audience (standing room only) of over 100 people.
The 12
vignettes that comprised our performance were compelling, visually
spellbinding,
and very politically dramatic.
From the
moment you climbed the stairs to Movements Gallery, you became
part of
the performance: the crowd control team interrogated, segregated,
and
otherwise enforced an atmosphere of tension that was crucial to
establishing the tone of the NHI show.
Performances
about the CORPORATE COOK, the female BODY ALARM, and the high school
kid who wore a PEPSI-COLA T-SHIRT on Coke Day all drew hearty laughs.
But other
vignettes, like the GLOBAL SWEATSHOP, BOTTOM RUNG OF THE
(CORPORATE)
LADDER, and the KEN SARO-WIWA tribute pieces were astonishing and
emotionally stirring.
By the end
of the hour-long NHI performance, the whole house was brought down.
All the participant/performers (23 people!) then gathered onstage to
receive
thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
As Tammy
Gomez, producer/director of NHI, told the audience: "we are
Austin artists and activists...........humbly in the service of the
truth! so may it be conveyed by our work and all the work that you
do."
Thanks to
the following folks who helped make NHI -- No Humans Involved a
grand
success at Movements Gallery on Friday, June 19th, Austin, Texas:
Emily
Kenyon
Sherry
Milam
Carrie
Zell
Miller III
Tamara
Ford
Anita
Pantin
John
Dolley
Louisa
Spaventa
Ariel
Carl Smith
Elaine
Wolff
Patricia
Greene
Diana
Garcia
Torrence
Gettrell
Lydia
Armendariz
Barbara
Timko
John
Cutaia
Darren
Michael
Crampton
Amanda-Lee
Plaisance
Dylan
Jones
Leandro
Cecilia
Gonzalez
Nikki True
Rene
Rene
Renteria
and the
Movements Gallery staff: Andrew Barron, Keith, and Zeek!
Peace,
Relaxation, and a Speedy Recovery to all the folks who skipped meals,
sleep, and time with significant others in order to make NHI a
RIGHTEOUS success! Much love, Tammy Melody
Gomez
_at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at__at_
for info
on Tammy Gomez:
http://www.hyperweb.com/tammyg/tammy.html
5. "Hi
Stazja!
The
"Neruda" reading that I'm organizing for next Saturday, now
has a
website:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/neruda/
Gary
6. Jeff
Knight won the slam at Electric Lounge Tuesday night. Congrats, Jeff!
7.
Calling for volunteers, needed for Slam Nationals in August. APAL is
assisting Mike Henry and Phil West (Slam Master) and here is what is
needed:
1.
Distribute packets to businesses and possible sponsors. Solicit
donations, sponsorships from these people. The packets will be ready
in a few days. The packets contain information about the slam and
information about sponsoring or donating money. Also, businesses that
might donate items, services to silent auctions will be needed - so
anyone who knows of a business willing to do this
should
speak up.
2.
Volunteer during slam week. There will be lots of volunteer
opportunities. Sonya Feher is the volunteer coordinator. 326-9692 or
sfeher_at_mail.utexas.edu
3. House
out-of-town slam poets. Mark Maslow and Rev. Wyrdsli have already
offered housing. Contact Phil West for this, pony_at_mail.utexas.edu.
8. APAL
staff meetings will be held at Ruta Maya Coffee House on Tuesday
evenings, following the APAL open mic reads. Anyone wanting to
actively participate is welcome to attend. See hosts Sara Sutterfield
Winn or Mark Maslow for more information.
9.
Forwarded by Daphne Gottlieb
The
Unarhymers
Brothers Geoffrey and Aaron Kuffner were arrested in New Orleans in
June and charged with terrorism as the ones who had recently mailed
or hand-delivered suspicious packages to local government and news
media offices. The packages were harmless (but nonetheless
frightening enough that two offices had to be evacuated), and each
contained a four-page manifesto, "Violent Acts of Consciousness
Have Only Begun." According to police, the men's goal was to
call attention to public ignorance of poetry and that among their
demands was that all state inaugural speeches be written in iambic
pentameter. Times-
Picayune,
June 20, 21
10.
Special thanks to Krysten Tyner for doing a terrific job at the Ebony
Sun Java House in my absence. Ivan Miller and his Austin Ebony Poets
featured, and word has gotten to me that it was a memorable evening
Have a
great week! Write a poem.
Anyone
wanting off the mailing list, e me.
Much love,
Stazja
Subj: Re:
Austin Poets at Large #34
Date: 98-06-30
21:58:31 EDT
From: pero_at_earthlink.net
(Alice Pero)
To: Stazja_at_aol.com
. A haiku,
one of my own.
>
>blossoms
of plum trees
>hurry
to wear spring fashions
>fruit
awaits summer
>
Dear Staz,
I really
like this haiku.
What an
amazing amount of work this newsletter is! Can I submit poems to it?
I hope
things are going well at Flag.
Love,
Alice
Subj: Re:
Austin Poets at Large #34
Date: 98-07-04
11:04:44 EDT
From: realbigdeal_at_hotmail.com
(Fussy Spice)
To: Stazja_at_aol.com
Stazja...
I'll be
reading next week at Barnes & Noble.\
Wanted to
offer the lyrics to a new song to you to use in the PAL
e-mailout
I like it alot. Hope you do, too
Telephones
Big fat
tires hot hard run
Edgy ghost
in the noonday sun
Putting
miles between myself
And the
things I've done
This
gravel cracks in the stinging heat
Wheel
tracks from Tucumcari speak
They
follow everywhere I've been
I cross
them going back again
There's a
telephone on a wall
The rain
reminds me of your skin
I'm here
to make a call
Outside a
liquor store in Santa Rosa
And my
hands lift the receiver
And the
coins fall on the pavement
The
afternoon is fading
Into
purple in the canyons
The smell
of gasoline is choking
And I'm
dusty dry and cold
These
roads are just a chessboard
And the
black queen's singing softly
I see her
in my mirror
She's
older than I remember
There's a
telephone on the wall
On a night
long ago in Texas
When the
heat settled like a blanket
On the
street by your apartment
My hands
lifted the receiver
And I
dialed so very quickly
The moon
is just a thumbtack
It pins
the night upon the ceiling
And the
mesa howls so sadly
As if it
can't remember
I have
lost all understanding of time; of inspiration
I crawl
into the back seat
Where it's
deep and big and empty
There's a
telephone on a wall
Covered
with graffiti
In Tucson
Arizona
Late on
Thursday morning
And the
quarters drop like paratroopers
On a
mission I have sent them
There's a
telephone on the wall
And it
rings in Albuquerque
Someone's
not at home
But they'd
like to call me back
And the
number was abandoned
I'm sorry
there's no listing…
Big fat
tires hot hard run
Edgy ghost
in the noonday sun
Putting
miles between myself
And the
things I've done…
(for
Cindy)
-words/music
Larry Cordle-Copyright 1998 Barbary Coast Music, Inc.
ASCAP. All
rights reserved. Used by permission.
Whaddaya
think ?
L.C.
Subj: Re:
Austin Poets at Large #34
Date: 98-06-29
15:56:44 EDT
From: cq_at_offworlds.com
(cq)
To: Stazja_at_aol.com
(Stazja McFadyen)
>In a
message dated 98-06-29 11:55:48 EDT, you write:
>
><<
> Both
very nice. :) CQ >>
>
>thanks,
chris
>
Hey, I
callz em az I seez em. ;)
Subj: hi
Date: 98-06-29
20:54:27 EDT
From: TigerIily
To: Stazja
hi stazja
...
just read
the newsletter ... looks great ... sounds like you're keeping a pulse
on everything in a stazja way :).
how are
you doing? how's the auditing? any timeline on going home? can
feel you wanting it more and more.
got in
late last night. had a great time. however, sunburned and yes
bug-bitten ... seems if there's one it will find me ... had to get
some benedryl today because i was so swollen in places from bites ...
ugh.
printed
off thesis today ... scheduled to hopefully get her approval tomorrow
... this will be very good ... much more to do but this will be a big
piece.
hope you
are doing well, drinking iced tea, and finding things to smile about
when you least expect it.
Lily
Subj: Re:
Austin Poets at Large #34
Date: 98-06-29
20:58:59 EDT
From: audreyk_at_iol.ie
(Audrey)
Reply-to: audreyk_at_iol.ie
To: Stazja_at_aol.com
thanks ...
great meeting all you poets!!
Audrey