National Poetry Slam Events have always felt false to me. Three hundred people shaking hands and telling each other how wonderful they are. This is MY shortcoming, not the event's. I just don't believe there are that many nice, friendly people in the world writing slam poetry. On the other hand, I CAN and DO believe that sixty individuals who have no support group save each other (no teams, no entourages, no coaches) can be honest when they have a little love fest. Tonight was a love fest.
I arrived a bit early to the iWPS on account of how angry I was becoming at a certain institution, and how sitting in my house was not helping things. So by 6:30 I was in the back office of the Bijou Theatre in Worcester, filling poet bags with special gifts (no, not the smelly kind you find in diapers). I was playing catch up with asthecrowflies, javabill, newpoetik, and rwgill as I packed the bags. When I was done, I noticed a lot of really cool poets I hadn't seen in ages had begun to trickle in poetryslam, buddywakefield, lowhumcrush, hairy_lamb and a whole mess of people without LJs. After unsuccessfully trying to hook up my wireless modem in the hotel (hotel is having some issues, not my computer, for a change), Jose de Gouveia, java_poet, randomcelestial & I headed back to The Bijou to catch the end of The Last Chance Slam. Congrats to hairy_lamb for winning the final(?) spot. Runner-ups for the next available slots include Kit (formerly Laura Yan of the girlsnqueers, which confused the fuck out of me when we "met"), Mekai (probably spelled wrong...sorry), and anselicious. I'd like to say how wonderful a slam it was, but I was so overwhelmed by the volume of cool people I've been missing, that I didn't give it the attention it deserved. A little bit apres-slam, the birthday girl, aurorabell showed up, and mom_star, imsonshyne, asthecrowflies, lowhumcrush, Zork, and a cute gay boy whose boyfriend was downstairs (sigh), holed up in a hotel room eating cake and drinking until we were kicked out of our room. Is that a new slam event record? All we were doing were singing happy birthday, discussing vaginal birth stories, dry thumbs, and smoking out the windows of the non-smoking room. Seriously, it was under an hour. They didn't kick us out of the hotel, though, they just moved us downstairs. During the move, asthecrowflies & I bunny hopped home to chez Macmillan, where we chatted with javabill into the dangerously close to the slam time limit hours of the morning. I also had the pleasure of seeing rialisticprose, thesilentone, badgary, january_embers, Just Cause, Jesse from Worcester sometimes Burlington, Corbet Dean, ted_badger, and buddy_wakefield, who asked me if the bar he'd wandered into was a gay bar. Not being from Worcester, myself, I was unable to confirm or deny that the bar down the street from the Bijou is full of attractive gay men. ("well, I'm delirious, so maybe they weren't attractive"-- Buddy Wakefield) Another highlight: hot_rod_poet suggesting a new series of Poet Bingo Cards. I promise the next entry will have less LJ User tags, and more exciting info, like scores, gossip, and internal drama. akamuu Worcester Review Reference Free since 2001. Current Mood: content Current Music: Bisquit purring Link Leave a comment | 14 comments Thu, Feb. 10th, 2005 08:56 am (local) theryk: hey!you didn't even mention me, bitch. Of course I wasn't there (will be tonight though...) still, aren't I always in your heart????? Link Thread - Delete - Spam - Screen - Freeze - Track This - Reply Select: Thu, Feb. 10th, 2005 09:13 am (local) akamuu: Re: hey!Always. At least, ever since you wrote that love sonnet chain about me. Link Parent - Thread - Edit - Delete - Screen - Freeze - Track This - Reply Select: Thu, Feb. 10th, 2005 10:05 am (local) theryk: Re: hey!oh yeah....that love sonnet chain...uh, I got it right here...no wait...i must've left it in my other pants.... i'll get right on that, chief... see you tonight? Link Parent - Thread - Delete - Spam - Screen - Freeze - Track This - Reply Select: Thu, Feb. 10th, 2005 09:50 am (local) radioactiveartAnd I gather I wasn't there either... Link Thread - Delete - Spam - Screen - Freeze - Track This - Reply Select: Fri, Feb. 11th, 2005 04:04 am (local) akamuuSorry, Tony. I'd swear that I wrote you in, along with The Delaware crowd. Forgive me. It was lack of sleep, not lack of your importance. Link Parent - Thread - Edit - Delete - Screen - Freeze - Track This - Reply Select: Thu, Feb. 10th, 2005 11:09 am (local) asthecrowflies: for your records, DearMekai (probably spelled wrong...sorry) i have it! i saw her name in print! it's Mecca. xoxoxoxoxox Link Thread - Delete - Spam - Screen - Freeze - Track This - Reply Select: Fri, Feb. 11th, 2005 04:04 am (local) akamuu: Re: for your records, DearWooha! Thank you. Link Parent - Thread - Edit - Delete - Screen - Freeze - Track This - Reply Select: Thu, Feb. 10th, 2005 12:25 pm (local) johnpowersMay I repost your post? Link Thread - Delete - Spam - Screen - Freeze - Track This - Reply Select: Fri, Feb. 11th, 2005 04:02 am (local) akamuuAbsolutely. Link Parent - Thread - Edit - Delete - Screen - Freeze - Track This - Reply Select: Thu, Feb. 10th, 2005 02:32 pm (local) hot_rod_poetwow. ya'll take this name-dropping thing seriously... Link Thread - Delete - Spam - Screen - Freeze - Track This - Reply Select: Thu, Feb. 10th, 2005 04:10 pm (local) sapienzaserious as death. Link Parent - Thread - Delete - Spam - Screen - Freeze - Track This - Reply Select: Thu, Feb. 10th, 2005 04:11 pm (local) sapienzawow! it's like i was there! thanks, adam. the lj version made me smile. Link Thread - Delete - Spam - Screen - Freeze - Track This - Reply Select: Fri, Feb. 11th, 2005 04:07 am (local) akamuuGlad I could make you smile. Wish you were here. Link Parent - Thread - Edit - Delete - Screen - Freeze - Track This - Reply Select: Fri, Feb. 11th, 2005 07:49 am (local) sapienzame, too. i haven't seen you in far too long. GOOD LUCK!!! i have a good feeling about all this. Link Parent - Thread - Delete - Spam - Screen - Freeze - Track This - Reply Select: Wed, Feb. 16th, 2005 04:59 pm (local) icarusboySo I'm all late and wrong responding, but it took a hot minute to find your LJ. There was possibly-going-to-a-potential-gay-bar-with-maybe-they-were-and-maybe-they-weren't-attractive-gay-men without me? Ouch.
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