MUSELETTER #45

8/20/2000

We bring poetry news from both coasts in this week's Museletter: Larry Jaffe reports events from all over California, from Sacramento to San Diego, and Shann Palmer keeps you up to date on poetic doings in & around Washington, DC & Richmond, Virginia. May summer poems alight on your minds like perfect butterflies!

Margy Snyder & Bob Holman
Poetry Guides

LOS ANGELES

The Poetry of Bicycling
I have found myself into the poetry of bicycling for the past couple of months. This has become a most exhilarating program, not just for exercise, for getting away from the bric-a-brac of life that floods us on a daily basis. I ride by the LA River, which used to be this concrete edifice devoid of life and now thanks to the Friends of the Los Angeles River and other concerned folks it has turn into a veritable psychic feast that feeds the soul and environment. [Visit LA River Connection's virtual tour to sample the feast online.] It has this wonderful bike path that eventually will connect my part of town (Los Feliz) not just to downtown la la land but all the way to Long Beach. As soon as I hit the pedals I feel like a kid again. It has become poetry to the pedal, bicycling my way through life.

Exile Books & Music To Close
Unfortunately, Exile Books & Music will close its doors for good on Thursday, August 31st. As a performance venue and stalwart indie bookshop, Exile Books & Music has given San Fernando Valley poets an important spotlight for their performances and their books. We are all very sad to see Tom closing up shop, but it has been the usual uphill battle for this remarkable place, particularly with a Borders Books opening within a mile of the location. Amelie Frank and Richard Modiano, hosts of the Poetry in Exile reading, are scouting the area for a new location.

Sacramento Update
I just returned from my sojourn in Sac where poet-about-town Michael Grosse put together two days of poetry with local poets & some great guys from Las Vegas (Shannon, Stephan, Andy, Anna and Karen), along with yours truly; went the unconventional poetry route. Friday night was a warm and intimate reading at a lovely tea/coffeehouse called SereniTea, owned by Shannon Sutherland who really wants to back up the Sac poetry community. It was a warm intimate read, a great way to break the ice. Saturday afternoon was the Virgin Megastore Poetic Adventure with 3 hours of poetry and DJ music blasting its way through the store. Later that evening poets met panties in a wonderful reading at Buffalo Exchange, where poets read their work and models modeled their… clothes. It was quite different but a great way to expose poetry to the folks who normally do not get to hear or see it live. Kudos to Michael and the Sac poets who made us feel at home and showed us their handiwork.

Also, James Lee Jobe has created a 2-month poetry calendar for the Sacramento area on a trial basis. You can email him your spoken word events if you wish to be included. No music events or political rallies, please.

Hosting a Poetry Reading?
There is a new online email group for poetry hosts, intended solely to discuss the ins and outs of hosting a reading. It covers everything from grants and sponsorships to features and poetry sluts. To subscribe to PoetryHosts, send an email to: poetryhosts-subscribe@egroups.com and tell `em the info on your reading.

Poetic License Events
As well as our regular Tuesday night Poetic License at Restaurant Zen, Poetic License is now hosting Burbank Barnes and Noble's Last Friday of the Month Poetry Open Mic. This is the last Friday of every month except December. Sign-up begins at 7:30 pm and the reading starts at 8 pm. You must sign up in person; at present you get 8 minutes to read; there are rules written on the sign-up sheet you must read and agree to. Burbank Barnes and Noble is located across from Ikea in the North end of the Media Mall on San Fernando Road south of Burbank Boulevard. (Note: The next reading is Friday 8/25.)

Zen PL upcoming features:

• August 22nd - Amelie Frank
• August 29th - Jerry Quickley
• September 5th - Jack McCarthy
• September 12th - Lizzie Wann
• September 19th - Brandon Backhaus
• September 26th - Brett Axel & Jeanne Spicuzza

Readings Happening In & Around La La Land

• Midnight Special Bookstore: Hosted by Pete Justus, a weekly read at Midnight Special Bookstore on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica - Fridays, 8 pm.
  
  
• Da Poetry Lounge: Open mic spoken word poetry sponsored by Dante, Gimel, Shihan, and Poetri - Tuesday nights at 9 pm (be sure to get there early for the sign-up list). Free admission, donations accepted. 544 N. Fairfax Blvd., LA (cross street is Melrose). Voted one of the best places in town!
  
  
• Words: 2nd Wednesday of the month, 9 pm - 2 am - Club Fais Do-Do, 5257 W. Adams Blvd., 323.954.8080 - hip hop poetry, etc.
  
  
• Gary Justice and the Conscious Vibes Poets: Spoken word feature, Friday, August 18th, 8 to 10 pm, at Exile Books & Records, 14925 Magnolia Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403. Dancing with the machine available here! $5 cover charge, courtesy coffee available, the first 10 people to attend get free admittance to the Freak Jam (see below). For more info call 818.989.1885, go to: www.garyjustice.com, or write to garyjustice@earthlink.net.
  
  
• 2gallery3 Art Show: Hosted by Michael Sonksen. We are opening a gallery/press/performance space at 3660 Pico. 2gallery3 Art Show on 8/18 is a poetic showcase, “Take the Word Back!” It features 9 hot poets, including John Hensley, Jim Bolt, Seven, Libby, Michael Sonksen, Phillip Martin, John Kinney, BessKepp and Anissa. It's gonna be hot. No cover charge.
  
  
• R.O.K. Network: Sponsored by Rick A. Mendoza, Orlando Alan, and Karin Anna Cheung. R.O.K. Network, a cutting edge entertainment networking group for collaborating on projects and also singles meeting singles, are having their third event at Zabumba Restaurant on Saturday, August 19, at 7 pm. Free admission. Zabumba is located at 10717 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, 3 doors West of Overland Avenue in West LA. Get ready for Brazilian cuisine and dancing to Carioca band; a small fee may be charged at around 9 pm.
  
  
• Freak Jam - Music, Rhythm and Poetry Jam: Sunday 8/20, 6 - 10 pm at the Numero Uno Pizza banquet room, North Hollywood, Victory Blvd. at Coldwater Canyon Blvd. Two-hour open reading, and rhythm and drum circle. Bring poetry or tribal drums,$3 cover charge. For more info call 818.989.1885, go to: www.garyjustice.com, or write to garyjustice@earthlink.net.
  
  
• “Boys' Nite Out” at Highways: Four guys, four stories, one event at Highways Performance Space on Sunday, August 27 at 8:30 pm. Four performance artists, LeVan D. Hawkins, Ricardo Peralta, Ian MacKinnon and Aaron Hartzler. Admission is $12. Highways is located at 1651 18th Street, ½ block north of 18th and Olympic in Santa Monica. For reservations, please call 310.315.1459. For more information contact: Danny Williams, Eagle/Hawk Productions, 323.654.1021, allrgt@aol.com, or Mary Milelzcik, Highways, 310.453.1755.
  
  
• Enter the Dragon: It's your reading! Make it what you want. Next and Last - Friday, September 1 - Friends, N8 and toe knee are putting Enter the Dragon to bed for an indefinite amount of time. We hope that you will join us for a night of poetry and music. N8's leaving town and knee and Jose have to focus on other things for a while. Please contact ARTScorpsLA, 213.617.3877 for other events which they are planning. ARTScorpsLA is located in the Chinatown promenade (that means you gotta get out and walk around) between Hill and Broadway, North of College.
  
  
• Bakstreet Poetri and Cometri: Sponsored by Roni, at the world famous Comedy Store, in conjunction with the Poetic Funk band. September 11, 8:30 pm, $5 donation, 8433 Sunset Blvd. (across from the House of Blues), West Hollywood, CA.

Cows on the Freeway
G. Murray Thomas, publisher of NEXT Magazine and SoCal poetry stalwart, is releasing his new book in conjunction with a number of readings. Cows on the Freeway, Thomas' first full-length (over 100 pages) book of poetry, is now available from iUniverse Press. He will be reading Thursday, August 31, 8 pm @ Exile Books & Music, 14925 Magnolia, Sherman Oaks. As noted above this is the last day of Exile. Murray also will be featuring at the following locations:

• Friday, October 6
  8 pm @ Midnight Special, 1318 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica
• Saturday, November 18
  7 pm @ Barnes & Noble, 7777 Edinger Avenue, Huntington Beach
• Friday, December 1
  8 pm @ Laguna Poets, Wells Fargo Bank, 260 Ocean Avenue, Laguna Beach

Late Breaking News from San Diego
Recently the San Diego Police Department pushed for an ordinance classifying coffeehouses as entertainment facilities, which would force them to obtain a cabaret license. This is the latest report from Fred Longworth, a poetry host in San Diego:

Wednesday 8/16, at 3:30, at San Diego Police headquarters, room 213, there was a hearing regarding the Omnibus Entertainment Ordinance. Around 80 people were in the audience, most of whom were poets, coffee house owners and musicians. On the City’s side were reps from the PD and the City Attorney’s office. The SDPD backed down on several key points. Of course this was done before the meeting so they would not look weak in the meeting.

1. Poetry will be entirely exempt from the tougher regulations of the new entertainment ordinance. I cornered them on this point.
2. People 18-21 will not be excluded from coffee houses as originally threatened.
3. Coffee houses will not need bouncers at the door as originally threatened.
4. The City Attorney/SDPD seems to be waking up to the idea that a single set of regs for entertainment venues regardless of size, or regardless of whether alcohol is served, is silly. They will probably fall back to less stringent rules for places that don’t serve booze, and looser rules for venues with seating less than 50. Possibly the db level or watts consumed will be used to differentiate smaller clubs from larger ones.
5. The matter of whether all-night coffee houses will be allowed is still open, as is the matter of distinguishing between a cover charge, a suggested donation, and a tip jar.

Clearly, the backpedaling of the City Attorney/SDPD was the result of strong pressure brought by the coffee house community. Hooray!

There’s a big meeting October 4, in Council chambers, at 9 am. This will be a formal meeting of the Council’s Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee. This is where the final regs will be drafted. This is a must attend meeting for all concerned parties.

--Larry Jaffe

VIRGINIA/DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

People are coming back home from the Rivah (what locals call a vacation at any of the rivers in Virginia) and other summer events, though at my house we camped. . . in front of the air conditioner! Poetry is springing up like fall flowers.

Something Old & Something New in Richmond
Poetic Principles begins at the Virginia Museum on September 14th with Donald Hall (6 pm, three to five dollars). He'll be reading from his latest book Without. The next listed features are Elizabeth Sewell on September 26th and Jack Agueros on October 10th. Season tickets are available at the museum for $15 and $5 at the door for individual events (less for members).

At Virginia Commonwealth University, Commons Capitol Ballroom, September 15th at 8 pm, Joel Brouwer will receive the third annual Levis Prize. Poet Larry Levis was teaching at VCU when he died; this award was established to honor his accomplishments. Mr. Brouwer will read from his winning collection, Exactly What Happened.

The bookstores resume monthly schedules:

• Border's Books and Music, Broad Street, the last Tuesday of every month, open mike.
• Barnes and Noble, Libbie Place, Third Tuesday of every month, refreshments, poetry and the monthly events newsletter Pertinent Poetry News. We began with a great group last Tuesday. Next month, one lucky attendee will receive a free season ticket to the Poetic Principles series for this year.

Kim Holzer Leeds and Shann Palmer are doing a reading at the Fountain Bookstore, 1312 East Cary, in historic Shockoe Slip on a Thursday in September, probably the 21st or 28th. Check their Web pages for more details or call 804.788.1594.

Sunday Poetry will begin at Shockoe Expresso, 104 Shockoe Slip, 804.648.3734, on 2nd and 4th Sundays from 2 to 4 pm. Poetry Roundtable, open readings and features are planned. Come to the first session September 10th for more info.

D.C. Doings
The folks from the slam are back and ready to do it all again next year! Kudos and snaps to the 2000 DC National Poetry Slam Team: Scott Kirkpatrick, Denise Johnson, David Lankford, Tonya Matthews & Twain Dooley. Join the weekly events at Julio's Rooftop Pizza, 1602-4 U Street, NW, Washington, D.C. (202.483.8500) on Sunday nights 7 - 11 pm. Open mic and slam sign ups begin at 7.

Check out CafedeSoul.com for Internet rebroadcasts of certain Myth dates, including a WebTV rebroadcast of the Myth Grand Slam Championship Finals! For more info, anything else, directions, whatever, email Nicki Miller at GalAengus@aol.com; she'll set you straight. Nicki sends hugs to all those who were sponsors for the DC Team -- it takes a whole village of poets to raise one team. There's still work to be done; come to the events and check it out!

Upcoming DC Slam events:

• August 20:
  Poets traveling from the National Poetry Slam, Jayne Fenton Keane/Australia. . . & more
• August 27:
  Traveling poets
• September 3:
  Michael Brown/Boston & Valerie Lawson/Bridgewater
• September 10:
  Noel Jones/NYC and Big Poppa E (aka Eirik Ott)/Chico
• September 17:
  Tehut-9 & Ainsley Burrows/NYC
• September 24:
  Rich Medina/Philly

For other spoken word and open mike events in the DC area see the Style section of the Washington Post. While you're there, check out this article on poet E. Ethelbert Miller, a mainstay of African-American writing in the DC area.

Northern Virginia & the Beltway
Ray Campbell hosts a weekly reading in Reston, Virginia, Wednesdays from 7 - 9 pm. It is usually a small intimate crowd; he and co-host Nikki White make sure that everyone gets a fair share of time. They welcome new people and encourage the shy ones. Contact POETRAY76@aol.com, LAPoets (Lake Anne Poets) for more info.

For more events listings in the greater DC area, Dean Blehert has recently updated his calendar at Words and Pictures, and check these additional resources for information:

• Washington Arts Community News Poetry News (featured in their Beltway quarterly poetry journal) and regional links pages
• The All Virginia Network literary events calendar (There are also some informational links on writing groups and contests at allnva.com.)

Check your local bookstores for calendars and information, and if you don't find anything going on, start something! The About.com site has Larry Jaffe's article on starting a reading, plus a couple of pertinent How To checklists. Or send me an email & I'll give you some tips.

To the West
The Roanoke Poets just got back from the National Poetry Slam, too. For reports, info and readings check their online calendar.

Calling All College Poets
For the next Virginia/DC Poetry Currents, I would like to include information from colleges and campus groups. Events are still being planned; if you know of any, if you are doing any readings, please let me know at shannp@sprynet.com or call 804.266.2249 and we can help get the word out.

--Shann Palmer

READER-SUBMITTED POETRY NEWS BRIEFS

From zkot pen:
Le Chantier, kafé - bistro - virtuel
The Expatriate Yourself Poetry Contest
We figured a lot of poets might have a burning need to roam around the world, but often find themselves in a routine that doesn't afford them the possibility of international travel. Well, whoever wins this contest is going to be expatriated for a while, since first prize is a Round Trip Airfare from the US to South America. Come down here, meet new people, learn a new language, work on your writing, take photos, be a tourist, get lost in the Andes, whatever you want. Visit Le Chantier for details.