Weekend Update

Another busy, poetry-filled weekend and no time to post until today. On Saturday, we had the biggest crowd yet for Poetry Atlanta Presents... with Beth Gylys, James Iredell and Khadijah Queen. Literally standing room only. The new Wordsmiths Books space on the Decatur Square is gorgeous and the staff, esp. Russ and Zach, are so accommodating. Because of the location, Wordsmiths gets a lot more foot traffic now, so some of the folks listening just happened to be in the store or walked in to browse. Love that. And, of course, the three poets were top notch. Thanks, guys. We'll have the next Poetry Atlanta Presents... in July.

Later that evening, BFF Joy came up and we went to dinner at Agnes & Muriel's. I had been craving their salmon croquettes and they were delish! We were going to see a movie, but decided to come back to my place and watch something on my Netflix stack. We chose 2 Days In Paris, written, directed and starring the brilliant Julie Delpy. She and Adam Goldberg had good chemistry as a bickering couple visiting her parents in the City of Lights. It was funny and sad and the city looked gorgeous. I really must go back there soon. 

On Sunday, I had to rework some parts of a Poetry Atlanta grant, and I cannot wait until the process is over. We should know soon if we're getting any cash at all from this organization and then I'm putting away my grant-writing pen for awhile. I worked on a couple of new poems (my first in a month or more) and I also revised a poem I've been asked to write for the Atlanta Pride Celebration program. At first, the committee put restrictions on me as far as content and when I balked, they eased up and told me to write whatever I wanted. Since the theme of this year's Pride Celebration is "Your Vote, Your Rights, Your Future," I couldn't help but get political. While I was revising, the Doctor Who episode "The Sound of Drums" (about a maniacal alien taking over the planet, which isn't too far from what we have today in reality) was on in the background and that phrase got worked into the poem. You just never know where inspiration is going to come from. I'm not sure if the committee will actually use the poem, but I was honored to be asked. 

Last night was the big championship slam at Java Monkey to decide who will be on the team for National Poetry Slam in Wisconsin this summer. The place was absolutely packed to the rafters and two or three deep on the street, despite the return of cold weather. This year's team: Amena Brown, Gypsee Yo, Chas, Shannon Leigh and Bryan Pattillo. Congrats, guys!