Monday, September 21, 2009

Story/Stereo Recap

I have long admired Charles Jensen as a poet, and I have long admired him as one of the few bloggers guaranteed to make me laugh out loud, but now I have an entirely new reason to admire him -- his vision. Story/Stereo is a smashing success. I am so pleased to have been part of this series' debut.

I had the pleasure of reading with the charming, and talented Neil Smith, author of
Bang Crunch who read an excerpt of his new novel. I am eagerly anticipating its release. We were introduced by Howard Norman, whose thoughtful reading of our books and generous praise were enough to make a grown woman blush. I followed Neil and the band Roofwalkers followed me. Roofwalkers put on an amazing show! I am now one of their biggest fans. The band did one of the coolest things I have ever had the pleasure to experience. They recorded one of my poems and mixed it with one of their songs. I hadn't anticipated this and was completely floored -- I still am to tell you the truth. We read in the black box theater of the Writers' Center, and we had a great crowd, a crowd that included fellow bloggers -- the lovely Deb Ager and the lovely Sandra Beasely.

Afterwards several people who purchased Lit Windowpane mentioned that they had never attended a poetry reading before and how much they enjoyed themselves. That's when it struck me that Story/Stereo and its innovative concept to feature literature and music is exactly what poetry needs. Now more than ever we need to bring people to poetry who have never been to poetry before, people who have never even considered poetry before. Kudos to the consummate host, Charles Jensen! Kudos to Matt Byars and Chad Clark who helped curate the musical component! Kudos to the Writers' Center! I hope Charles' vision is imitated far and wide.

_____

I had a great time, truth be known I am still smiling.

4 comments:

Pam said...

Sounds like a great evening! And I love the idea of having music & poetry on the same bill as a way to spread the word. I'm there! :D

A. D. said...

Is he really as tall as they say he is? :)

Argh, I'm planning a trip to Boston in October. Sure wish I had checked your reading schedule before early-Oct flights doubled in price. Hmm . . .

Suzanne said...

Yes. In fact he's tall & handsome.

I wish you had checked too...if by some miracle you end up in Boston on the 2nd, I hope I see you! xo

A. D. said...

I'll check with my host(s)—and with Kayak.

Word verification: uppers