in baseball they say, “you are only as good as your last start.” ok, i’ll buy that for a dollar. after a year of highs (first show of ’04 with 21 open micers, the NY Times article, the anniversary celebration, Algarin featuring) and a year of lows (fighting the Yankee playoff game, fighting the weather, fighting hecklers, and… well… YOU fill in the last blank) the last acentos of the year turns into an amazing celebration of all we try to do.
some old faces came back to let us know that the blue ox is still their poetic home with our regulars in the place to be as well. my hosting was pretty sharp but thats easy to say with great open micers and a fun crowd. also on point– my time management skills, not always my strongest suit, as i was always aware of the clock and knew how long to ramble between poets. a lil egg on my face for the night with the returning raj catching me out there when he signs up as “Geko Jones” aka ‘que cojones’… lol
the open ends with mah three favorite poets/road buddies with rich readin from the new chapbook and reminiscing on the year, jess comin thru with the new sheet and fish also reflecting on the year that was acentos and covering a poem from my chapbook. all i can say is thank ya brudher.man for being as big in heart as you are in talent.
did i mention that pat rosal is all kinds of kick ass? i know he reads this so i wont try to make him blush too much but pat really came through with guns blazing and showing everybody why he is one of the louderARTS fave poets. normally, i would tell folks not to talk too much about their poems before hand but pat’s work has so many levels and nuances that allow him to banter on the origins of the poems without giving the “secret” of the poem away.
the one thing i have yet to master in my hosting travels is the closer. no snazzy catch phrase (is ‘peace/progress/poetry’ still available? :-) ) no cool end speech. most times, i am just trying to get the F out of dodge before fuckin anything up. this time around, just as i fumble through my mental rolodex for a cool way to end the show, help comes from the most unexpected spot as the blue ox bartender requests a moment and lets out one of the most heartfelt testimonials on the power of poetry i have ever heard. if you know anything about the acentos crew, you know that we do this for the people, not the people who appreciate poetry, but THE people and hearing that we made one more person change their tune from “what the F you mean ima pour drinks at a poetry reading” to ‘let me tell you- these nights give me goosebumps’ really brings it home
okey doke, mah arm is about to snap with all this self.patting but its been a good night (and an even better year) so ima gonna enjoy it… at least until the next acentos