I-Prov!!

All-music, all improv! the new 10pm show at ComedySportz Richmond-

This Friday, thereafter every 2nd and 4th Friday at 10pm

Reserve your seat now! Call 266-YESS or you might end up sitting with the piano player (that would be me).

Here's a taste ooo- here's another!

Poetry in Motion- vidpo

Here are some video clips of Ashbery work- they take pithy places and make poster riffs- you can click on the whole poem, or simply be happy with what's there.

makes me wish I was still teaching high school creative writing-

almost.

Someone at MTV reads poetry, imagine that!!

They appointed a poet laureate and will have a contest (for college students)

I think it's great, if a little strange. Does anyone else remember the poetry contest that introduced the perfume Poeme? All flurry and no big finish. The winners were a few famous poets (no doubt handpicked) and some others that were barely passable as poetry.

follow the money.....

poem removed for revision and submission...

You can always come hear it read at the next Shockoe Poets Open Mike

The longest running open mike in Richmond, includes regulars, virgins, new residents, and features. Every 2nd and 4th Sunday from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at Shockoe Espresso, 104 Shockoe Slip.

So many journals refuse to publish anything that has been seen anywhere, even on a personal blog, it has to be like this. I guess the ten to thirty of you who read my blog on a given day might not buy an issue of Seattle Esoteric Poetica (not a real zine) if it's full of poems seen in Richmond. Thanks you to the occasional strangers who comment, and the many friends, I appreciate your suggestions and time.

Sunday Poetry at Shockoe Espresso

104 Shockoe Slip

2pm to 4pm

Open mike, all voices welcome!

The longest running open mike in Richmond, no doubt about it-

The poets are gearing up for fall, some new venues, workshops, a renewed emphasis on taking your writing to the next level. As the Supertramp song asks- Where do we go from here?

Keep checking here and at FlashPaperPoetry for details...

Which wine with a bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich?

I'm tempted to say Ripple, but I'm not even sure they make that anymore. So I look on Google and found this great blog- Bacon Unwrapped. What great site! And thanks to the Atkins diet, I can eat bacon-

The wine will just be my cheat today- I had just bought a sweet little thing from the Little Penguin an Australian winery. This is a summer white- a chardonnay-riesling blend.

s'okay with a BLT. A nice unoffensive thing (the wine, not the sandwich).

guess I'll write a poem now.

The Write Church-

"On Friday, September 14, The Diocese of Virginia will join with the Library of Virginia and James River Writers in co-sponsoring a viewing of Philip Groning's film, "Into Great Silence." This critically acclaimed documentary, first released in 2005, charts the lives of the Carthusian monks, one of the world's most severe and ascetic monastic orders. Mr. Groning lived with the monks in their abbey in the French Alps for six months, filming their daily activities.
Also joining the viewing will be author Nancy Klein Maguire. In her book, An Infinity of Little Hours, Ms. Maguire explores the life choices of five men as they contemplate joining the order. Ms. Maguire will open the evening with a presentation on the rigors and rewards of the contemplative Carthusian life.
The viewing will take place at The Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad Street, in Richmond. Tickets will be on sale for $15, $10 for students, and include complimentary cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. For more information, visit www.jamesriverwriters.com or call 804-230-4575. "

poem removed for revision and submission.

SLAM RICHMOND TONIGHT!

From Tom Prunier...

Come one, come all to the final event of SlamRichmond's "Season Too," featuring a farewell performance by Team Richmond 2007 and a poetry slam judged by the team, open to the first 10 poets to sign up.

It all goes down tomorrow night (8/18) at ArtSpace Gallery , Zero E. 4th St., Richmond, VA 23224, at 8PM. Hosted by Team Richmond member Transition, this promises to be the blowout of all blowouts.

This is also the farewell to outgoing slam master Tom Sanchez Prunier, who will relinquish his post to a slam master to be named later.

The raffle will be in full effect, as will the Madmonkie Beer & Wine Bar, so come, bring a measly $5 to get in, and be inspired, be very inspired one final time...

bringing home the bacon, yeah, the bacon...

Poetry, poetry- here's a really funny post on Poetic Orientation

Thanks, C Dale

Do you love Dick?? That is Philip K.

What in the world did you think I meant????

A Simic poem

In the New Yorker, of course.

I just found out the daughter of my friend CE Chaffin has died- a young and beautiful woman with a five year old son.

CE was the editor of the well-respected webzine The Melic Review, which is still archived online. Started in 1998, it continued for a little over seven years publishing some of the best writing on the internet and a paperback 'best of' at the five year mark. I had the great pleasure of being an assistant poetry editor for awhile- it was quite a job!

The staff was not permitted to submit or publish poems to the zine, unless they had already been published elsewhere. I had nine poems in the zine over the years, one I was told was nominated for a Pushcart (though at the time that meant nothing to me).

His essays in the various issues are well worth your time, look for Logopoetry and his work on the Eliot Quartets.

God be with you, friend.

poem removed for revision and submission

Shockoe Poets- the longest running open mike in Richmond (maybe Virginia)

Today at 2pm, Shockoe Espresso in the heart of Shockoe Slip!

C'mon down!

since it's been in the news- here's a (rant) poem from ten years ago- it's full of factual info but I won't say what's not- (and I later found out it was Lake Squam in the movie, I was misinformed)

Lake Winnepesauke

It’s where they filmed that movie On Golden Pond
you know, the picture people rented Scott's Chris Craft
for the long shots across the lake's cold blue clear water
I had to look up, it made me dizzy trying to get that deep.
Looking down the bayou was never like staring at granite,
you could swim and never get a crab nibble or snake bite
but that was the iciest water this Gulf Coast baby
knew stuck a toe in, even Steve and Steve ( best friends
with the same name, imagine that!) slalomed in wet suits.
One night he said Put it on, I want to make love to someone
in rubber but I couldn't get into it in any case and he pouted off
telling me his girlfriend in Laconia would do anything for him
why couldn't I do this simple thing? somehow making it all
my fault that my abundant curves wouldn't conform to black kink,
but the real kick in the head was the long-distance call from his folks
in Boston saying they'd seen a woman in a tiny bikini on their dock
and maybe he'd just better keep his low-class trashy Texas wife
inside, Well, he decided it was nobody’s business, private property
so the next morning I went out stark naked. No one ever mentioned it,
not even crazy old man Shrimpton across the way, who was
having breakfast with the ducks around the dock.

Come to think of it, I never heard a loon that whole summer
at least not so anybody pointed out.

Now THIS would be fun...

but I haven't raised enough funds to do THIS yet...

and I have to go then so I can read for Terrain.org journal 10th anniversary
at this "swinging hot spot" in NYC!!

I'm picking up change wherever I see it and I think I'll put a tip jar on the keyboard at ComedySportz tonight!

Tonight at 10pm!!!

ComedySportz I-Prov!! The all musical improv show!

Featuring the musical stylings of MOI! Shann Palmer on the keyboard!

Call 266-YESS (It's cheaper if you reserve!!)

You won't believe it's made up on the spot- we're THAT good!

Letter to the anonymous clowns at the Richmond Times Dispatch:

editorial piece

response:

Dear Sirs:
Since the RTD is print media, I expect more in depth coverage of the research you cite in your brief 'humor' piece "Chewing the Fat" in the Tuesday Aug.7 editorial column.

Here, you present a 'blog' entry. Short, silly, and uninformative. Never mind, I was able to find out more information in better newspapers online.

And no one at those other papers insulted fans of modern poetry! We DO have diverse friends and interests - you might be surprised to know we attract even non-poets to our gatherings.

As I type this (fuming from your veiled insult and not mollified at all by the apologetic "Just kidding- maybe") the second SlamRichmond Team we've ever sent to the National Slam Competition in Austin, Texas is practicing to compete tonight in the first round. The team was able to attend through fund raising and help from poets and writers in the Poetry Society of Virginia, James River Writers, Artspace and art6 Gallery, Tuesday Verses, Mad Monkey Productions and many individuals (obviously NOT like you, penning your anonymous little bon mot to unsuspecting readers).

Why in the world do they do this? I don't even subscribe anymore except for the Sunday (my husband insists). Thanks. Ron Smith (well-known local poet and winner of the 2005 $10,000 Weinstein Poetry Prize) for bringing this to my attention.

The SlamRichmond team goes to Texas tomorrow!!

This is the second year we've sent a team-
here's an article from Austin, and I would hope the myspace link will be updated.

It's been an interesting two years. It's a lot of work to keep things going- fundraising, rehearsal, the qualifying bouts, Tom Prunier even attended LONG executive committee meetings for the Poetry Society of Virginia, but the PSV was always generous with grants and support!

James River Writers has also been supportive, and many many poets donated money and time to help.

Good luck, all of you! TEAM RICHMOND 2007 IS: Narrator (Grand Champion), Iman Shabazz, Daniel Jose Custodio, Tom Sanchez Prunier and Transition.

Charles Simic is the new poet laureate.

Did I mention that already? I wish i liked his poetry as much as I like Tony Hoagland's or Billy Collin's or a host of others. I hated his book Jackstraws.

I sat right in front of the podium at a reading at the Virginia Museum. Great vantage point. He fumbled and shuffled his papers as if he'd given the reading no thought, not thought at all.

I know a lot of poets do that, but it makes us seem as if we have little regard for the audience.

grumble grumble

I love playing piano for ComedySportz's Musical Improv shows!

It's way too much fun to be good for you- we had a great show tonight.

I turned in my packet for the Virginia Commission for the Arts. There were eight postal boxes on the floor full of them. Eight. I took a sideways glance and saw some familiar names. Imagine how many poems that is- say 150 people applied, put in an average of 20 poems each (I had 16).
That's 4,500 poems. If half are awful , that's still 2,225 poems. Let's say 10% of those are good and have a prayer. That's 223 poems in the competition (assuming I make it to that cut- and other than the fact the judging is not blind, I see no real reason why I couldn't).


Oh well. Hope springs eternal.

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;

Man never Is, but always To be Blest.

The soul, uneasy, and confin'd from home,

Rest and expatiates in a life to come.

Lo, the poor Indian! whose untutor'd mind

Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind;

His soul proud Science never taught to stray

Far as the solar walk or milky way;

Yet simple Nature to his hope has giv'n,

Behind the cloud-topp'd hill, an humbler heav'n.

Alexander Pope An Essay on Man

of course- it's also from Casey at the Bat by Ernest Thayer- for what it's worth.