New Heavyweight Poet Crowned!

Dateline: 6/16/98

The current Poetry Channel newsletter, under the energetic tutelage of the one and only SofaSurf Poet Extraordinaire, Miz Juliette Torrez, is so chockfull of noize that we had to Feature it. The BIG news is a brand-new Heavyweight Champeen -- read on!

--Bob Holman

Taos, New Mexico.

Hey y'all. I'm not quite home yet but I figured I'd get this special edition of Poetry Channel out before catching Greyhound. It's quieter around the place now; all the poets have gone and even the chihuahuas are more subdued. I spent some time chasing loose rabbits and runaway peacocks. The menagerie had gotten bigger since I got here -- the back yard has become a petting zoo of lambs, goats, chickens and a very molty turkey.

grown women giggling like schoolgirls. . .

So I suppose you want to know the outcome of the bout between Sherman Alexie and Jimmy Santiago Baca. Sherman came out swinging from the first round, endearing himself to the audience with his humor and honesty, grown women giggling like schoolgirls

at his poem about a red-ribbon shirt. (What a romantic! Sigh.) His poems about the slaughter of wild ponies, how to write the great American Indian novel, his family, their fires, basketball. . . well, let me just tell you, it was great. (Please keep in mind: I've been looking forward to seeing Sherman read at Taos for a couple of years now. I recommend Reservation Blues* and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.*

Jimmy Santiago Baca, of course, had a large, loud and loyal following and he did not disappoint. He knows this place and its people; his work strikes a chord in our hearts. He said early in

An early concession?

the Bout that win or lose, he would not be returning to Taos -- he's planning on living on an island with his sons. An early concession? I don't know; he was still in better spirits than last year. (The sound system robbed everyone's voice of bass, but the recording got them crystal clear.)

I'm happy to announce that Sherman Alexie won the World Heavyweight Poetry Bout in a 95-95, 96-94, 96-94 decision. After a two-year reign, Baca can now step down and move to that island paradise of which he dreams.

For those of you who haven't been to a Poetry Bout before, it goes ten rounds, five minutes per poet per round; three judges mark the score card following each round. The tenth round is improv, where the poets pull words out of a hat and construct a poem around it. (Sherman got 'chaos.' Jimmy got 'snapbeans.') The judging is silent and the scores are compiled at the end. It makes the show faster, with more room for poetry.

What is it about competitive poetry events. . .

What is it about competitive poetry events that people love and love to hate? Events like the Bout and the Slam pack the house and pull in audience to poetry events that they might not otherwise attend. Maybe the operative word here is 'competitive.'

As American audiences, you love it, you want it and then you holler to the skies when it doesn't go the way you think it's supposed to. Even I growl and boo. I have to remember this mantra: poetry wins, poetry wins. . . .

Which brings me to the Tag Team competition, a new event at the Circus. (In the past four years, the Circus has added three competitive poetry events). Once again at the Taos Poetry Circus, there was

controversy (believe me, they're used to it): Was the Tag Team event a bout or slam? Ringmaster Anne MacNaughton says it was a bout. Ntozake Shange and Jimmy Baca versus Patricia Smith and Sou MacMillan in an 8-round, 3-judge event.

. . . that people love and love to hate?

The contrast was striking. The audience was awed by the two-voice collaborative pieces by Patricia and Sou. They were like avenging angels and the audience sat up with anticipation each time they approached the microphones. When they went solo, the audience had a chance to fall in love with each of them even more. Former Bout champs Jimmy and Ntozake, in all their finery, came at the Tag Team competition as if it were a bout: Not too much collaborative effort. In fact, it was non-existent. But the judges loved their work, loved them and gave the Tag Team to Jimmy and Ntozake.

the textbook study on duo-voice pieces. . .

The audience booed. They clearly thought it was wrong, and the outcome even prompted some goers to vow passionately never to attend competitive poetry events ever again. I wonder if the judges were more comforted by poets on paper. Sou and

Patricia completely memorized their work. (Stunning! Buy the tape for the textbook study on duo-voice pieces.) Ntozake looked a little under the weather. She was ill for much of the Circus. (If anyone knows how to get hold of her, please tell her I still have that Love and Rockets book and her deposit.) Patricia and Sou were very gracious -- it was their fans who were tweaked, including of course Danny Solis, who featured in the New Mexico Invitational reading with Robert Masterson and Mary McGiness. (Danny complaining? What else is new! We're peas in a pod, that way.)

Speaking of graciousness, did I tell you what Sherman Alexie did? After the Bout, when he was declared the champion, he not only gave Jimmy props but check this -- he returned his $1,000 prize to the festival organizers. He just handed the check back to them. I was blown away when I heard that. I mean, how often does that happen?

--Juliette Torrez

This report was excerpted from Poetry Channel #46. Subscribe here at poetry.about.com, send your announcements & contributions directly to Juliette & stop by any time to read the Web version of Poetry Channels.

*As a result of a commercial relationship between About.com, its Guides and Amazon.com online booksellers, these titles can be purchased directly from Amazon.com by following the link above. (Note: Amazon.com is solely responsible for fulfillment of book or CD orders placed through these links.)

Previous Features