{brave new 2005}

I haven't analyzed a poem in months. ack! soon, soon. I'm scheduled to spend some serious time on a train this weekend, so if I can wrest Roger's laptop from him, getting one done is a goal. along with all the other stuff I'm supposed to do. a day without staring at a computer screen? pshaw. who needs it.

meantime, here's a plug for Mondays for months to come:

louderMONDAYS / 13 Bar Lounge / 35 E. 13th St, Union Square / 7 p.m. / $5 ($4 with student ID) / 2-for-1 drinks all night / best in NYC poetry… open mic, slam, featured poets

February 7: the instigator of the louderEDGE format gets a taste of it herself… MARTY MCCONNELL features on this night celebrating risk-taking, exploration, and edginess. Member of four NYC national slam teams, Marty stretches words over bone and boundary hoping to break it all down and build it all back up new, accompanied by the amazing Scott Williams on flute and saxophone. Bring your own edgy work to share on the OPEN MIC!

FEBRUARY 14: a Valentine’s Day show with no cheesy theme – just a great feature out of Milwaukee, the dashing DASHA KELLY, plus the OPEN MIC and OPEN SLAM! Dasha’s been featured on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, runs Milwaukee’s hottest poetry spot, and was a multi-year member of Milwaukee’s national poetry slam team. Ditch the candy hearts and chocolate and spend the night with US!

FEBRUARY 21: It’s an UPPERCASE sandwiched by two magnificent mini-features: the legendary BUCKY SINISTER out of San Francisco and upcoming rockstar poet KATHERINE ZWICK in from Chicago! plus our very own OPEN MIC goodness. Our UPPERCASErs are a mystery, but Bucky is not: author of “King of the Roadkills” and the forthcoming “Whiskey and Robots,” the former fundamentalist turned bad boy turned poet extraordinaire, he’s a fabulous counterpoint to our other second feature: Katherine Zwick, the Chicago poetry scene’s up-and-coming woman with a raging pen. Grab your notebook and join us.

FEBRUARY 28: Join us for the OPEN SLAM and OPEN MIC and a feature set by individual national slam champion the mighty MIKE MCGEE who marries laughter with pathos in a stew whose taste you’ll want to carry home. Mike is a multi-multi-champion with a heart as loud as his pen – and that’s saying something. And remember: after this, there are only TWO MORE open slams to qualify for the semi-finals in April. What are you waiting for?

MARCH 7: Were you there for the huge Q2 2005 launch party in January? If you were, you know where you need to be this Monday. And if not – you need to be at Bar 13, work by a queer writer in hand, ready to rock that poem along with your own, or simply sit back and take it all in. This edition of Q2 is a book launch for the amazing new anthology BULLETS & BUTTERFLIES: a queer slam anthology, and will feature readings by its contributors including ALIX OLSON, CHERYL BOYCE TAYLOR, EMANUEL XAVIER, REGIE CABICO, and more!

MARCH 14: Mixing it up for our second-to-last qualifying slam of the season, we present the EDGE SLAM where all poets are required to perform only poems that they have never slammed at Bar 13. And to make the evening complete, we have a wonderful feature in BJ WARD, author of “17 Love Poems with No Despair” and “Landing in New Jersey with Soft Hands,” he is published all over the place, teaches, reads, and generally impresses the hell out of folks like us who love great poetry. And rounding out the night as always, we have the OPEN MIC.

MARCH 21: We’re groovin’ on up… to a double-whammy of a feature with SCOTT WOODS and ROSS GAY featuring for our GrooveNation format – bring a poem by a writer out of the African diaspora to share along with your own on the OPEN MIC – then sit back and thrill to the splendid differences between our features. SCOTT WOODS out of Columbus Ohio has been featured on NPR and at venues around the country, runs the Columbus slam, and charms listeners on sight. ROSS GAY is a Cave Canem fellow, wildly and widely published, and will stun you into consciousness with the force of his fierce and honest craft.

That’s enough for now… a quick overview of the rest of the spring:

March 28: featured poet Mike Henry out of Austin, last qualifying slam of the season
April 4: louderMONDAYS anniversary show
April 11, 18, 25: semi-final SLAMS + mini-features
May 2: louderEDGE
May 9: SLAM THIS finals!