Tag: reading

Party Crasher! Things Poets Do

The Year of the Trilogy

So, I don’t know what to read first. The Divine Comedy or The Red Night. Am I looking for “a nonlinear course through time and space” or something a bit more structured?

It won’t surprise you to learn I admire Burroughs. That he speaks to me. That it’s his yardstick by which I judge my work by. I wade in the stream that Burroughs forged with the precum of defeated and angry masturbation, in the tears that followed as they mixed into the semen and mucus. Throttled and rattling for death the river roars… and I am wading in the tributary.

The Devine Comedy, on the other hand, is foreign and strange. From all accounts it’s linear and planned. Not to mention it’s one of the more important works in the Western canon. I’ll be reading a 19th century English translation of the 14th century Italian—weird, right? It should shake up my words some. It might lend form to them.

Kitchen Sync

Introduction

So, I mentioned it in passing, but haven't written about the poetry reading.

On March 25, I performed at the Kitchen Sync open mic in Denton, TX. The poets in attendance were very welcoming, kind, and talented. I had a blast, and I was on fire.

I'm planning on going back this month, but I'm in Oklahoma City…yeah, weird. Even weirder, I got cast in a couple small bit roles in a community theatre production of The Laramie Project. I'm very excited, I've always wanted to do theatre and here I go, weee! It's a six-to-eight week obligation and so I may not be able to make it down, but I'll try, there's something special happening in Denton.

Here's an approximation of the introduction I performed (I improvised a lot). I'm not sure if it's through, but I suspect it is. I feel good about it.

Main Content

Hello, I’m Franklyn Monk

The one that disappeared a little after every defeat and

slunk down into that hole
where I turned in and around myself
and popped out the other side

The undoing unbeing before you

as convincing as I am

illusionary. I don’t exist!

Except maybe as a ball of calm in a sea of chaos
or a knot of chaos in a sea of calm.

I can’t tell.

The only thing I know with certitude
is I have a voice,
and I like to use it.