New poetry slam venue: Metric Mondays at Locals Only

Metric Mondays, a weekly event, begins Monday, July 5, 8 to 10 p.m., at Locals Only Art & Music Pub,  2449 E. 56th St., Indianapolis. Open mic, local spotlights, national features, alternative acts, music, comedy, and a poetry slam. $5. Must be 21 or older.

July 5 show features:

National Spotlight--Dain Michael Down of Seattle. A storyteller through and through he cut his teeth on stages in the NJ/NYC slam scene for the better part of 3 years. He has been a member of the Slam Chops--Slam In the Schools Troupe from NYC and has most recently competed in the 2009 Individual World Poetry Slam and as a finalist at the 2010 South West Shoot Out in Dallas, Texas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Au9_Nry4A

Local Spotlight--Neena Ta'Ree, a member of the local poetry performance group Writer's Bloc. She is best known for her work with V.O.I.C.E.S., a community outreach program focusing on youth empowerment through self expression. http://www.eclecticsoulnow.com/

Music by The Last Domino.

Cancelled: Poetry in Motion series at Gallery One 36

The folks at Gallery One 36, 136 Main St., Westfield, report that its weekly summer poetry night on Fridays, Poetry in Motion, has been discontinued. It had beens scheduled to run through Aug. 27. The host, Gregg DeBoor, has reportedly moved to New York City.

Heads up: Poetry on Brick Street, July 1

Thursday, July 1
6:30 p.m. Poetry on Brick Street presents Kevin Marshall Chopson of Gallatin, Tenn., followed by an open mic at G. Simone's Cafe, 112 S. Main St., Zionsville. Free. For information, call Barry Harris at 317-733-1811 or Susan Miller at 317-587-1438, or send an e-mail to poetryonbrickstreet@cyberroad.com. Visit http://poetryonbrickstreet.org/. Every first Thursday of the month.

Kevin Marshall Chopson received his M.F.A. from Murray State University. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Tipton Poetry Journal, Concho River Review, Black Magnolias Literary Journal, English Journal, The Broad River Review, The Chaffin Journal, New Madrid, Poem, The Hurricane Review, Birmingham Arts Journal, The South Carolina Review, Baltimore Review and the Aurorean, among others. Originally from a small suburb outside of Detroit, he earned a B.A. in English Language and Philosophy from Eastern Michigan University. He now serves as a teacher of English at Davidson Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, focusing on American Renaissance literature, contemporary creative nonfiction, and poetry. Chopson also teaches writing as an adjunct professor at Volunteer State Community College. Cynthia Brackett-Vincent, editor of the New England journal the Aurorean, has called his work “beautifully imagistic.”


Artist’s statement: “As a lyric poet, the music of the language itself is as important to me as the figurative expression of the ideas. In regards to content, I compare my poems to painters’ still lifes, wherein I attempt to catch a glimpse of truth between the play of shadow and light in small scenes.”

Vollrath

The Vollrath used to have a music open mic on Tuesdays. It created a flyer that was posted at the Writers' Center inviting poets to read. But now I hear that there is no reading (at least not tonight). Can someone confirm that the Tuesday open mic is no more? Did it fizzle or move to anothe night?

UPDATE: The Indy Open Stage is on hiatus until Tuesday, July 6.

Heads Up: Indy Undergound on Wednesday, June 30

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30
8 p.m. Indy Underground, featuring readers Donald Ray Pollock and Andrew Scott, plus the rock band The Brick Windows, at the Irving Theatre, 5505 E. Washington St., Indianapolis. Free, but beer available for purchase.

Pollack grew up in southern Ohio in a holler named Knockemstiff. He dropped out of high school at 17 to work in a meatpacking plant, and then spent 32 years employed in a paper mill in Chillicothe, Ohio. His collection of stories, Knockemstiff, was published by Doubleday in 2008 and won the 2009 PEN/Robert Bingham Award and the 2009 Devil’s Kitchen Award for Prose. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Third Coast, Sou’wester, Granta, The Journal, The Washington Square Review, The Berkeley Fiction Review, Chiron Review, Folio, River Styx, Boulevard, PEN America, and Epoch. He graduated from the MFA program at Ohio State University in 2009, and is the recent recipient of an Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council. More information is available at http://www.donaldraypollock.com/.

Scott is the author of Modern Love, a story chapbook. His stories and other work have appeared in Esquire, Glimmer Train Stories, Mid-American Review, The Cincinnati Review, Night Train, The Writer's Chronicle, and other fine publications. He can be found at http://andrewscottonline.com/.

For a sample of The Brick Windows' music, visit http://www.myspace.com/thebrickwindows.

Review: Writer's Bloc

Nuvo arts blogger Chi Sherman checks out the Thursday open mic at Urban Element, 901 N. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis. For more information, click: here.

Cancellation: Spoken Soul Food Sunday at Midtown

CANCELLED: 8 p.m.-11 p.m., Sunday, June 27. Spoken Soul Food Sunday at Midtown Arts and Coffee Lounge, 519 E. 38th St. (just east of Central Avenue), Indianapolis. Host: aLLEN iMAGERY. Cover varies. 317-223-1288 or www.myspace.com/midtownartscoffee. Every Sunday. Special guest: Atlanta's Ken J.

Something about power lines being down that won't be repaired until Monday.

He's baaaaack!

Ben Rose (now Ben Kahlil Rose) announced on Facebook Thursday that he's planning to return to performing at local spoken-word venues. Welcome back, Ben!

Poetry from Anne Haines and Alice Friman

Bloomington poet Anne Haines and UIndy professor emerita Alice Friman in the Hamilton Stone Review. Click here.

Update: Dragon in Zionsville

UPDATE (6-23): John Sherman was added to the roster. He will be writing a poem on the same dragon I wrote about.

PREVIOUSLY:
This Friday (June 25) at 7 p.m., poets will read their works inspired by sculptures on display in Lincoln Park, Zionsville, during the Brick Street Gallery Walk. Participating poets include Joyce Brinkman, Mary Brown, Phoenix Cole, Barry Harris, Joseph Heithaus, Norbert Krapf, James Murdock, Laurel Smith, and myself.

My contribution to the evening is inspired by this dragon scuplture, created by salvage artist Greg Knipe of Home Place. To see and read more about his work with reclaimed materials, go to Salvaged Beauty Studio.  (Photo by Greg Knipe)

Value of poetry workshops: It's not all about you, but it is if you change your orientation

I've attended several poetry workshops over the years, and I've noticed something that I'd like to share with you, especially if you're a novice writer.

Usually, when a new poet shows up at a workshop, I see excitement in their eyes as they eagerly share their works. They might show up at the next scheduled workshop, but all too often they drop off once they've exhausted their cache of poems. To me, that attitude seemed selfish, but then again, what would motivate them to continue to attend?

It took me several years to figure this out, but I've concluded that the real value of the workshop process is not to have your own works discussed and analyzed, but in the sharpening of your own critical skills when discussing other people's works. And in so doing, you make yourself a better poet. That's why even when I don't have something to share with a workshop group, I still attend and hope to contribute to the discussion.

Do you find this true for others forms of workshopping? Your thoughts?

Winner of Indianapolis Poetry Grand Slam Final

I wasn't able to make it to the final last night, but I do know that Nsaychable won the event. Congratulations, and good luck in the national competititon.

Heads up: Indianapolis Poetry Slam Grand Finals on Saturday

Saturday, June 19
8 p.m. Indianapolis Poetry Slam Grand Finals, upstairs at the Elbow Room, 605 N. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis. The top 10 slam poets of the season square off. Special guest: Robby Q. $8. Must be 21 or older.

Local poet on Writer's Almanac

I just found out that a local poet will have one of her works read by Garrison Keillor on the July 2 installment of The Writer's Almanac. I'll reveal her name Monday June 28, when Keillor's staff will post the week's poems online. Any guesses who this might be?

ANSWER: Shari Wagner, author of Evening Chore. Here's the link: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2010/07/02

Review: Mary Sexson, Sunday, June 13

Nuvo arts blogger Chi Sherman was amused that local poet Mary Sexson was introduced as Anne Sexton, but the rest of the evening drew admiration. Her review of An Evening With the Muse is here.

Poetry in Free Motion Quilts

The Quilt Connection Guild will display the following quilts in a special poetry/quilt exhibit titled Poetry in Free Motion. Invited poets will write about one of the quilts. The poetry and the quilts will be displayed at the guild's 2010 Quilt Show, A Chain of Quilts, on Friday, Sept. 17, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m, and on Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday Sept. 18, at Greenwood United Methodist Church, 525 N. Madison Ave., Greenwood. Admission is $5. The seven poets are Joyce Brinkman, Barry Harris, JL Kato, Jennifer Lemming, Betty Moebs, Lylanne Musselman, and Shari Wagner. The quilters are Diane Billiard, Tina Brauer, Phyllis Fee, Linda Foernzler, Mary Hawn, Cynthia Holma, and Mary Kenworthy.

1.) Blessing, by Tina Brauer
Poet: Joyce Brinkman

2.) Eagle Creek Park Lake, by Diane Billiard
Poet: Jennifer Lemming

3.) Geisha Harvest, by Linda Foernzler
Poet: Shari Wagner

4.) Happy Snow People, by Mary Kenworthy
Poet: JL Kato




5.) I'm a Rock 'n' Roll Fan, by Phyllis Fee
Poet: Barry Harris

6.) Island Paradise, by Cynthia Holman
Poet: Betty Moebs

7.) Kagemusha, by Mary Hawn
Poet: Lylanne Musselman

Review: Midtown Cafe, Sunday, June 13

Blogger Gregg DeBoor enjoys the evening at Spoken Soul Food Sunday, hosted by Allen Imagery: http://projekdelerium.blogspot.com/2010/06/mid-town-review-june-13-2010.html

Heads up: Mary Sexson, Sunday June 13

7 p.m. Sunday, June 13: An Evening With the Muse presents Mary Sexson and an open mic at the Writers' Center of Indiana, 812 E. 67th St., Indianapolis (in the Cultural Complex Center just west of the Indianapolis Arts Center). Free. Host: Rohana McCormack, (317) 259-7900. Every second Sunday of the month.

Mary Sexson is the author of the book 103 in the Light, Selected Poems 1996-2000, published in 2004 by Restoration Press. The book was nominated by the Indiana Center for the Book for a Best Books of Indiana award in poetry in 2005. Her work has been included in the IndyGo Shared Voices/Shared Spaces poetry project, Arts Kaleidoscope, Masterpiece in a Day, and the Poetry in Paint project at the Garfield Park Arts Center. Her poems have appeared in Flying Island, Borders Insight Magazine, Grasslands Review, and the Tipton Poetry Journal. Mary is a lifelong resident of Indianapolis, and is a member of the Writers' Center of Indiana. (Photo by Paul Young)

Cancellation: Humpback Barn Poets

The Humpback Barn Poets in Muncie will NOT meet this Saturday, June 12.
The schedule will resume on Saturday, June 19, from 2 to 5 p.m. Art and Soul by Phoebe Gallery, 409 S. Walnut St., Muncie. Bring poems to share or simply come to discuss poetry. Contact Jeff Pearson jjopcelia@comcast.net.

The Contemporary World Asiatic Poetry anthology

OK, so I get to brag a little. Three of my poems have been translated into Japanese and appear in the Contemporary World Asiatic Poetry anthology, edited by Noriko Mizusaki (also my translator). The poems are "Festival of Dolls," "My Japanese Gown," and "Banzai."

John Wooden: How Poetry Shaped His Life

John Wooden wrote how he used poetry in his career as basketball coach and in life:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/07/john-wooden-how-poetry-sh_n_603263.html

UPDATE: Poetic Palate winner and other poems

Barbara Bennett won the $400 Top Chef Prize in Brick Street Poetry's Poetic Palate Experience for her poem "Pinot Noir" about her dining experience at Zionsville's Cobblestone Grill. Also pictured poetry judge Terry Kirts (left) and Board member Joyce Brinkman (right). (Photo by Barry Harris.)

UPDATE: Honorable mentions went to the following poets, whose works were judged the best at each restaurant (in parentheses).

Tony Brewer (Plum’s Upper Room)
Amy Genova (Serenity)
Anne Laker (Noah Grant’s)
Miriam Nidiffer (Eagle Creek Coffee Company)
Sarah Skwire (The Friendly Tavern)
*JL Kato (G. Simone’s Café)

*Note: not eligible for grand prize.

All poems eligible for the grand prize were judged in a blind competition by Kirts. Framed copies of the winning poems were delivered to the participating restaurants.

Here is Bennett's winning poem:

Pinot Noir
--An evening at the Cobblestone Grill,
Zionsville, Indiana

Across the street, two doors down,
I watch a wedding party strikes poses
in dusk-light on a porch. Laughing,

the bride twirls around in the full skirt
of her soft white gown, loosens
pins that hold back her dark brown

curls. One slender hand clutches
the ribbon-wrapped stems of roses,
garnet red, like her lips when they part,

revealing rows of pearls that rival
those fastened in her ears. Too bright
and clean, her unbearable love follows

me inside to a table draped in starched
white. There my friends and I gather,
tongues loosened by dark wine swirled

in crystal globes, the slender stems
clutched in our hands. Candle glow
throws shadows on butter-brick walls

and tiny lighted strands line the backs
of leather banquettes. Mirrors framed
like window panes reflect the half-smiles

of our just-bearable lives. Amid the crunch
of cornmeal-crisped salmon, the peppered
tang of spiced pecans and raspberry vinaigrette,

our stories scatter like pearls from broken
strings onto each other’s plates. Famished,
we devour them whole.


Here is the link for the other poems judged best at each restaurant:
http://jlkatocalendar.blogspot.com/2009/01/poetic-palate-other-poems.html

Heads up: The origin of Billy Pilgrim, June 8

7 p.m. Historian Grant Holcomb will tell the story of the real-life soldier whom Kurt Vonnegut used as the model for Billy Pilgrim, the central character in his novel Slaughterhouse-Five. The Athenaum, 401 E. Michigan St., Indianapolis. Free. Sponsored by the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library.

Debra Marquart at the Midwest Writers Workshop

Performance poet Debra Marquart will teach workshops at the Midwest Writers Workshop in Muncie. She will teach an intensive session on Thursday, July 29. Class size is limited (15-20 students)and fills up quickly.

Sessions on Friday, July 30, focuses on marketing and writing techniques that is valuable to writers of any genre. Participants in Part II also have the opportunity to send a 5-page manuscript to a Manuscript Evaluation Team. You may enroll in both parts, or just one.

Check http://www.midwestwriters.org/ for more details and registration.

Debra Marquart is a professor of English at Iowa State University. She teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing and Environment at Iowa State University and the Stonecoast Low-Residency MFA program at the University of Southern Maine. Marquart's work has appeared in numerous journals such as The North American Review, Three Penny Review, New Letters, River City, Crab Orchard Review, Cumberland Poetry Review, The Sun Magazine, Southern Poetry Review, Orion, Mid-American Review and Witness.

In the '70s and '80s, Marquart was a touring road musician with rock and heavy metal bands. Her collection of short stories, The Hunger Bone: Rock and Roll Stories draws from her experiences as a female road musician. Marquart continues to perform with a jazz-poetry rhythm and blues project, The Bone People, with whom she has released two CDs: Orange Parade (acoustic rock), and A Regular Dervish (jazz-poetry).

Marquart's work has received numerous awards and commendations, including the John Guyon Nonfiction Award (Crab Orchard Review), the Mid-American Review Nonfiction Award, The Headwater's Prize from New Rivers Press, the Minnesota Voices Award, the Pearl Poetry Award (Pearl Editions), the Shelby Foote Prize for the Essay from the Faulkner Society, a Pushcart Prize, and a 2008 NEA Creative Writing Fellowship.

A performance poet, Marquart is the author of two poetry collections: Everything's a Verb and From Sweetness. Her memoir, The Horizontal World: Growing Up Wild in the Middle of Nowhere, was published by Counterpoint Books in 2006. It received the Elle Lettres award from Elle Magazine and the 2007 PEN USA Creative Nonfiction Award. Marquart is currently at work on a novel, set in Greece, titled The Olive Harvest, and a roots memoir about emigration, geographical flight, and cultural amnesia titled Somewhere Else This Time Tomorrow. More information: http://www.debramarquart.com/.

Brick Street Poetry milestone

The Internal Revenue Service has notified Brick Street Poetry Inc. that the non-profit organization falls under IRS 501(c)(3) and that donations to Brick Street Poetry Inc. are tax-exempt.

If you would like to donate to Brick Street Poetry Inc. follow the Donate link on the bottom of the website
http://www.brickstreetpoetry.org/ or send a check to Brick Street Poetry Inc., P.O. Box 804, Zionsville, IN 46077. The group sponsors the monthly Poetry on Brick Street series in Zionsville, publishes the Tipton Poetry Journal, and organizes several poetry events throughout central Indiana.

Heads up: Friday, June 4

Two noteworthy special events.

5 p.m.-7 p.m. IPL Farewell at the Meredith Nicholson House, Indiana Humanities Council, 1500 N. Delaware St., Indianapolis. The party marking the end of the Indiana Poet Laureateship of Norbert Krapf will serve up poetry and jazz, a few more poems from the Airpoets group, and food and drink. Free.


5 p.m.-9 p.m. Twin Musings: Art and Poetry Reception. Artist Amy Kindred invited poets to submit works that would complement her paintings. The result is Twin Muses: Art and Poetry, which Kindred will sign while some of the poets, including Neil Cain, John Domont, Devon Ginn, and Barry Harris, give readings. The event takes place at Domont Studio Gallery, 545 S. East St., Indianapolis. 317-685-9634.

Meredith Nicholson, resurrected

Indianapolis Star columnist Dan Carpenter writes about his experience re-enacting Meredith Nicholson, one of five literary figures buried at Crown Hill Cemetery. Read about it here on the Indiana Humanities Council's Think.Read.Talk. blog.

Heads up: Thursday, June 3, Shari Wagner

6:30 p.m. Poetry on Brick Street presents Shari Wagner, followed by an open mic at G. Simone's Cafe, 112 S. Main St., Zionsville. Free. For information, call Barry Harris at 317-733-1811 or Susan Miller at 317-587-1438, or send an e-mail to poetryonbrickstreet@cyberroad.com. Visit http://poetryonbrickstreet.org/ Every first Thursday of the month. Shari Wagner’s poems and creative nonfiction have appeared in magazines that include The North American Review, Shenandoah, Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, The Southern Poetry Review, The Christian Century and Black Warrior Review. She is the author of Evening Chore (Cascadia, 2005) and co-author of A Hundred Camels: A Doctor’s Sojourn & Murder Trial in Somalia (Cascadia, 2009). This year she received her second Arts Council of Indianapolis Creative Renewal Fellowship. Shari lives with her husband and two daughters in Westfield and teaches for The Writers’ Center of Indiana and VSA of Indiana.

Etheridge Knight Youth Poetry Contest Winners

I meant to post the following information last month, but I overlooked it. This is doubly embarrassing, considering that I'm on the advisory board of Etheridge Knight Inc., the organization that sponsored this contest. My apologies to the winners of the 2010 Etheridge Knight Youth Poetry Contest. All the winners are from the Indianapolis area. They are:

Monica Johnson, sixth grade, George Washington Community School. "Where Monica Is From"

Brandi Ingram, eighth grade, Lynhurst 7/8 Grade Center. "Haughville"

Vienna Wagner, 11th grade, Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School. "Morning on a Roof in Queens"

Also, thanks to the Writers' Center of Indiana for publishing the poems online. (Just click the above hyperlinks).