Bass in your face / Not an eight track

Some audio that’s been keepin’ me busy lately:

Douglas Kearney on Fishouse Poems
– Great talk on process, form, and reading poems out loud.
Highlights for me include “Live/Evil” and “The City Vs. John Henry.”
I suggest you head over to his website and download his free chapbook.

KUHF-Arte Publico Press Author of the Month: Javier O. Huerta
– Great interview, wonderful insights, and excerpts from Some Clarifications y otros poemas. The interviewer moves this podcast through with sharp questions and personal commentary that measures up well to Javier’s expert talk and fine poems.

Patricia Smith interviewed by Belinda Subraman
– It is always a treat to hear Patricia’s poems, but I wish Ms Subraman had done some more research on Patricia before hand. I was wincing when she tried to stuff Patricia’s broad poetics into the box of slam poetry. Patricia blurring that line and reminding the listener that consideration for audience should be something on the mind of all (slam, performance, experimental, narrative, formalist, confessional, political, visual, flarfist, humorous, serious, insert your label/title here) poets was the jam.

Latino Poetry Review’s inaugural audio segment
– Francisco has a great talk with María Meléndez about LPR, Javier and Corky’s Craft, and why some poems don’t make it into the manuscript. I’m looking forward to the next segment.

Acentos Live!
– or the Bonchiche News Network meets NPR meets Radio WADO.
Rich keeps Acentos moving forward with a roundtable discussion on the current direction of the series with Emiliano Bourgois-Chacon, Jose Olivarez, Bonafide Rojas, Urayoan Noel, LiYun Alvarado and Acentos host John Rodriguez. (Bios can be found here.)
Me, I’ll take a little step back and say this session sounds a lot like kicking it late night by the window of the Blue Ox Bar with Matt, Juancho, and Tata, as I ask Guy for advice on how to thwart the white male gate keeper/defender of the ivory tower who only wants classical poetry that doesn’t take a political stance. In that case, it turned out to be the actual owner of the venue who was Caucasian, did have the keys to the door, really did love rhyming olde English couplets, and continually begged me to tone down the ethnic poetry. Ah, memories.

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3 Comments

  1. That’s exactly what I had in mind while this thing was taping. SO fun.

    Dude, we missed you at the Nuyo thingy. It was rather surreal. See you soon, homie.

  2. I really think the person who interviewed Patricia Smith didn’t engage at all in anything Smith was saying. In this way, it was very clinical. If Smith was dispelling any assumptions the interviewer had of “performance poetry,” etc., the interviewer made no indications that she has learned anything from Smith.

    Conversely, I really enjoyed the interview with Javier! Not only because I have come out of it with more insight into his work and process, but also because the interviewer really combed through Javier’s work to get to those gems of lines, images, ideas. The interviewer presented his reading responses and gave Javier the space to respond to these. Good stuff here.

  3. Barb,
    Yeah, those interviews have me appreciating the difference a well-read interviewer who is open to learn and dialogue can make.

    Rich,
    Congrats on the Nuyo award but I am actually glad not to have been there. My relationship with the Nuyorican Cafe, as a non-Nuoyorican poet and as a former slammer, is complicated. I do have many fond memories of the Cafe and some of the folks there but the most nagging memory is how little support the Cafe gave to Latino poets who did not have performance aspirations. That lack of support leading directly to my formation of Acentos.

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