EMBRACING MY INNER CLIT: I was the special guest at Atlanta's usually all female poetry reading, Cliterati, last night. I had a ball. These are potent women and the poetry and spoken word is strong. Theresa Davis' poem about the giant Jesus statue "holding up the sky" on a highway in Ohio was brilliant and co-host Karen G. saluted the memory of slain poet and activist Ken Hunt. Phoenixyz was on a roll with her spoken word and invited me to come read at her event, House of Poets, at Red Light Cafe. I plan to take her up on this. Cliterati is held the second and fourth Thursday of every month at Tower II, a local lesbian bar. I had never been to Tower II, but it was pretty cool and the music playing before the show would make for a good 80's dance night.
I was encouraged to read my "dirty" stuff, so that meant getting to haul out the Bitch poem (previously posted here), Sex In My Parents' House and Why I Want to Be Pam Grier. I love whipping these out (hmmm....maybe not the best choice of words) because they are good examples of the direction my work has taken: more humor, more self-effacing, less mopey. The next collection of poetry is going to be so completely different from Better To Travel, I think a lot of people will be surprised. Sex, politics and naming names. That's my headspace right now.
It was also a treat that three of my good friends - Tina, Malory and Mandie - all turned out to hear me read. Thanks, guys.
On another note, I am glad the Supreme Court and all the other courts have agreed that Terri Schiavo should be allowed to die in peace and dignity. The religious right is promising "hell to pay" if Jebediah and Dubya Bush let Schiavo die, which translated means: you won't be getting elected president in 2008, Jebediah. The news outlets also have been doing presidential approval polls and Dubya's approval rating has slipped to 45 percent, in part because of his idiotic move to get involved in the Schiavo case in the first place. I guess pandering to the base doesn't always quite work.
Also, Terri's parents said Terri tried to say "I want to live" when they removed her feeding tube a week ago today. What she said was "Ahhhhhhhhh" and then "Waaaaaaaaaa." If she could speak coherently, what if she was trying to say "I want to die"? Would we be in this mess still?
I was encouraged to read my "dirty" stuff, so that meant getting to haul out the Bitch poem (previously posted here), Sex In My Parents' House and Why I Want to Be Pam Grier. I love whipping these out (hmmm....maybe not the best choice of words) because they are good examples of the direction my work has taken: more humor, more self-effacing, less mopey. The next collection of poetry is going to be so completely different from Better To Travel, I think a lot of people will be surprised. Sex, politics and naming names. That's my headspace right now.
It was also a treat that three of my good friends - Tina, Malory and Mandie - all turned out to hear me read. Thanks, guys.
On another note, I am glad the Supreme Court and all the other courts have agreed that Terri Schiavo should be allowed to die in peace and dignity. The religious right is promising "hell to pay" if Jebediah and Dubya Bush let Schiavo die, which translated means: you won't be getting elected president in 2008, Jebediah. The news outlets also have been doing presidential approval polls and Dubya's approval rating has slipped to 45 percent, in part because of his idiotic move to get involved in the Schiavo case in the first place. I guess pandering to the base doesn't always quite work.
Also, Terri's parents said Terri tried to say "I want to live" when they removed her feeding tube a week ago today. What she said was "Ahhhhhhhhh" and then "Waaaaaaaaaa." If she could speak coherently, what if she was trying to say "I want to die"? Would we be in this mess still?
Comments
Sounds like a grand time. Congrats!
On Schiavo,well, by now we've gone 'round the not-so-merry-go-round. But I will say that my chief concern (what I think is the key and the reason for reserve) is this weird fact I found:
- Mr. Schiavo informed a medical malpractice jury, from which he was seeking millions of dollars in 1992, that he would care for his wife for the rest of his life, that she would live a normal life span, and that she would be provided rehabilitation and therapy. As soon as the money was in the bank, however, he refused all therapy and started to refuse medical treatment such as antibiotics. In other words, Schiavo’s story changed when he went to court in 1998 seeking her early death, casting serious doubt on his testimony that Terri would “want to die.”
My take is more specific than the loud protests and religious hype and politics. It's the raw, suspicious, stinking core. That's all.
Let's thank goodness for our own lives - and appreciate them more,at least.
-D.