so Oscar asked me what I thought about Acentos, the Tuesday night reading in the Bronx. last night they featured Louis Reyes Rivera for an (ahem) intimate audience. as I explained to Oscar, I don't mind small readings at all -- but when I see greatness speaking to a small crowd, I can't help but think of all the people who *should* be hearing it.

so here's my take:

hm, thoughts on acentos.

I like the comfort level, the welcoming vibe. I think it's good to have a space entirely free from the slam.

I hope that as we re-start workshops, that people from Acentos will attend. there's a lot of potential, but a
long way to go (of course, we've all got a long way to go, myself included.)

I wonder about some ways to encourage regulars to develop new and different work. one thing we've talked
about doing at 13, but not implemented because we have so many formats already, is a response night, where
people read either tributes to poets/poems, or responses to work shared by others in previous weeks.

the biggest temptation for all of us is to keep doing what "works" and not try to bust out of our basic "style," which is a particular issue for people early in their writing life -- you think you've found your Voice, and you're not going to give it up for anything. which is lovely, but chances are you're missing out on a lot that experimentation could teach you.

I know it's my constant challenge: to push and push past the comfort zone. it's one of the reasons I value GK as my writing partner so much -- she'll look at a poem, say, it's quite good. unfortunately, I feel like I've read it before -- you're not doing anything *new* here.

so for Acentos I recommend not just bringing in the work of poets you know the crowd will respond to -- but crazy others as well. I recommend urging people to experiment with form -- maybe by doing it yourself, and reading the results there. I myself am terrible in form, but it's a worthwhile endeavor in any case.

while the crowd is still in its building phase, you have the opportunity to rally the regulars and say, let's try THIS. let's try THAT. to make it a community that challenges and pushes toward real artistic growth. That's the real movement.