Apocalyptic Rabbit Speaks

Brooke and I went out to the Sumner & Dene Gallery for the inaugural night of a new poetry series in town, hosted by Adam Rubenstein & Jessica Dalzell. It was a great time, and, the feature poet, Stephanie Roth, was very good, to boot. One of the better poets I’ve heard around town here also paid me a compliment after the reading was over (I had participated in an open mic right before the feature) regarding my poetry and I remember feeling stunned, pleasantly, a little bit. It felt so good. Even though, of course, I know I need to write (and read!) more.

Afterwards there was some Sam Adams Seasonal Beer and chip french fries at the neighboring Blackbird’s Buvette. Oh, and there was a cool bluegrass band playing last night.

Talk about a well-rounded evening! Whew!

I saw the film The Darjeeling Limited last night. What a film. Definitely rent this movie ASAP. I’m no expert film critic but this film was beautiful, funny, sad, and thoughtful all at the same time. I suppose you’d want all that in a film, wouldn’t you?

So Brooke and I went to the newly-reopened Blue Dragon last night for their [re]inaugural poetry reading. I understand on very good authority that the Blue Dragon was a great venue and a wonderful home for performers of all kinds in this city. I really like the place. It’s a little place, very charming on the outside, and on the inside, where the performances happen, is a great, great room. Great stage positioning and sound. Mr. Ken Gurney hosted a two-hour poetry open mic and I heard a lot of very good work from quite a number of new faces. I’d say at the height of attendance throughout the night there were close to 20 people there. In the first hour, I read “Quite Contrary” (my IWPS one-minute poem, the one about answering the random call at the payhone? have you heard me do it?) and  ”Maiden Forms“, and, in the second hour, I read “Paramecium” and then I debuted a new poem, a parody/commentary on the deluge of new drug/pharmaceutical commercials called ”Maybe It’s Time“. The crowd, which seemed predominantly “non-slam” in its bent (I heard one woman remark after someone brought up poetry slams that “they have medications for that”), seemed to like my work. I can’t wait for the next poetry event due at the Dragon: the poetry slam. I think it’s going to be very cool.

So, I’m having a fantastic time in Albuquerque. The city is so beautiful; at some point I’m going to take a bunch of pictures of all the amazing sights that I have seen thus far and post them up on here so all my Delaware and Massachusetts friends and family can see how it is out here. The job search is going slowly, but both surely and well. I’m being very diligent and treating this job search (in a manner of speaking) like the job that I have now. But I’ve had interviews already and will get more. The poetry scene out here is wild. I went to a poetry slam (IWPS format!) at a place called Blackbird’s Buvette in downtown Albuquerque last night and had a blast. I didn’t advance very far (thanks in part to drawing a “1″ in the lots), but that’s okay. Last night was like a lot of slams out here - fantastic and very high quality. There’s some wonderful competition out here. So far, since I’ve got here, I have competed in three slams, all of which were qualifiers to get into the semifinals competition to make the 2008 Albuquerque Poetry Slam Team. I placed third overall in the first slam I competed in (at Mas Poetry, at Winning Coffee by UNM), getting 5 points there. Then I won (!) a slam at a place called Out Ch’Yonda in the Barelas part of ABQ, getting 20 points there. Then there’s the 1 point I earned last night from just having competed in the slam. So, I’ve got 26 points total. The points are not the point. Green chiles are the point.

Also, I found this video clip on the Onion online today and I had to share it.

And yes, I agree with the FCC spokesman’s premise.*

*or, Salma Hayek.

from www.theonion.com posted with vodpod

So….I’m still job-hunting and looking for work out here. Yesterday I had a brief job interview with an auto dealership and I have to take a pee test tomorrow for said job. It’s an auto sales job with a guaranteed $2000/month for the first two months. I’m kind of hoping this works out, even though the job requires quite the bus trip to make it there. But I’m still looking.

Lots of cool poetry stuff out here, too.

So far, so good!

I made it. I’m here and working on a new life, a new love, a new career, a new trail of poetry madness….

 wish me luck, ok?

and drop me a line sometime….

It’s 5:15 pm on Thursday, February 14th, 2008. It’s Valentine’s Day, and this is going to be my love letter to Delaware. Tonight my friends in the band i, Fanblades are playing at Mojo 13 with my friends in the band, The Collingwood. Things start tonight at 8 pm there….please come, if you can. I’d like to see you.

It’s been a long time for me here in Delaware. Ten years of so much living; I’m going to miss you all.

Please let me say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to every single poet who ever read at the Tuesday Night Poetry Open Mike & Slam, in all of the locations that it has been in over the years. I can barely comprehend the sheer breadth of work that I’ve been so privileged to hear. Thank you to every friend I’ve every made in Delaware, through poetry and through work. So much has happened, so much amazing poetry has been heard over the years. I know that I am forever changed by my experiences here in Delaware, and by everything I’ve seen and heard as a poetry night host. Thank you to all the poets in the “academic” community here in Delaware, thank you Newark Arts Alliance, thank you Soulstice, thank you Crimson Moon, thank you O’Friel’s, thank you to the Second Saturday poets, thank you to the hip-hop poets, the rap poets, the student poets, the older poets, the crazy poets - thank you all. Thank you to my kindred poets in neighboring Baltimore and Philly and New Jersey - much love, my people, much love. My heart is full of love and thanks to all of my friends here in Delaware - a man could not have better friends than you all have been to me. I could name some people, but, if you are a friend of mine, or have been, then you know that and you know that I love you and am grateful for your friendship.

If you can, please come to a going-away-and-good-luck party taking place at the house of Matt & Hannah & Nigel & Sadako tomorrow night, Friday night…. you can email me at rabbitinvasion@gmail.com for details on how to get here if you can make it.

Good luck to you, Delaware. Love and good luck to Delaware poets and to the Delaware Poetry Slam.

May the spirit of a little stone bunny rabbit guide you, and bring a smile to your face.

Well, this is the post that I did not imagine that I would compose on here for a long time.

Fool that I am, I’m hoping that folks can get out to the Crimson Moon this coming Wednesday, the 6th of February.

I’m going to be moving away, and I’d like to see people before I go. I’m going to try to hit the stage
for the open mic on the night of the Klute’s feature at the reading, so please come, if you can! The Klute, of course, is certainly reason enough to get your behinds off the couch and come out for a night of poetry, drink, and comraderie - but, come also so that I can see you before I go.

I don’t know when I’ll be back again.

8 pm (doors open at 7:00) at The Crimson Moon
1909 W. 6th Street (Between N. Union St. and N. Lincoln St.)
Wilmington, DE 19805

$2 cover
$5 minimum purchase
21+

My Back Pages
by Bob Dylan

Crimson flames tied through my ears
Rollin’ high and mighty traps
Pounced with fire on flaming roads
Using ideas as my maps
“We’ll meet on edges, soon,” said I
Proud ‘neath heated brow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I’m younger than that now.

Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth
“Rip down all hate,” I screamed
Lies that life is black and white
Spoke from my skull. I dreamed
Romantic facts of musketeers
Foundationed deep, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I’m younger than that now.

Girls’ faces formed the forward path
From phony jealousy
To memorizing politics
Of ancient history
Flung down by corpse evangelists
Unthought of, though, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I’m younger than that now.

A self-ordained professor’s tongue
Too serious to fool
Spouted out that liberty
Is just equality in school
“Equality,” I spoke the word
As if a wedding vow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I’m younger than that now.

In a soldier’s stance, I aimed my hand
At the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not that I’d become my enemy
In the instant that I preach
My pathway led by confusion boats
Mutiny from stern to bow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I’m younger than that now.

Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats
Too noble to neglect
Deceived me into thinking
I had something to protect
Good and bad, I define these terms
Quite clear, no doubt, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I’m younger than that now.

If you are going out shopping for furniture, don’t go to a store when there’s only 15 minutes left in the store’s business day.
Don’t complain, and don’t FUCKING get management involved when you don’t get your way.

You should have come earlier,

BITCH!