Brian with an I

Kicking Ass and Reading Poems

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:32:00 +0000

If you're in Phinney Ridge tonight, I will be on a panel of local event curators discussing the whos, whats, whens, wheres and, most importantly, whys of curating poetry events. We will also have a short reading of our own work. Oh, and drinks at some bar Lebo loves after.

Here are the details:

UNTITLED [INTERSECTION], 2008 - FRIDAY 26 SEPT 7P
"ARTISTS & CURATORS"
..................................................................................................
A PANEL OF KICKASS POETRY CURATORS is coming together for a combined
READING & PUBLIC FORUM about our passion for presenting. 7P, Friday 26
September, at The Phinney Neighborhood Center in Greenwood, Untitled
[Intersection] presents its first stellar event of Fall 2008. We hope
you'll join us.

Panel: JENNIFER BORGES FOSTER (Seattle Poetry Festival), BRIAN
MCGUIGAN (Cheap Wine and Poetry/Hugo House), JED MEYERS
(NorthEndForum/Bai Pai), MICHAEL SCHEIN (LitFuse/Tieton) & ROBERT
TOMLINSON (Gallery One/Ellensburg).

Why do they do it, how do they find talent, where is the money, how do
they build audience and does it curb or invigorate their own writing
practice? Hmmm. This discussion hopes to attract poetry curators and
their adoring fans, other kinds of events curators and all around
poetry lovers. If you curate an event and you are not on this panel, I
hope you'll consider joining the discussion. I the format works, I'll
run something like it again next spring. You've got something to say.
We'd love to hear it.

"Bus Bitch"

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:30:00 +0000

The latest "Bus Bitch" is up! Read it!

What I Did During My Summer Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:53:00 +0000

It's been a couple of months since Brian with an I has been updated, but with the fall steadily descending on Seattle, I am back-- beginning with some highlights from my "summer vacation."

1. I started writing for another blog, (I know what you're thinking: you don't even post enough on this one, Brian.) The Rainier Valley Post. I write an irregular column called "Bus Bitch," combining my daily life of riding Seattle buses with my wry knack for complaining about them (If you know me, you know I can complain about damn near everything.). You can read the very first "Bus Bitch" here. And more here, here, here, here, here and here. Or read them all here. Read!

2. "Bus Bitch" prompted me to learn more about the buses and bus system in Seattle, which lead to me joining a board of SE Seattle community members who will provide advice to Metro and Sound Transit on bus reroutes for the Rainier Valley in preparation for light rail starting in 2009.

3. I took a week off in July and immersed myself in books, movies, poetry, articles, etc. about gentrification, revitalization and the history of Seattle and New York, the primary places I am writing about and from. The research is for my first full-length poetry manuscript entitled "Eat the Rich."

4. Two of the poems inspired by my week of research in July were rejected by The New Yorker, Poetry and Rattle. Fuckers!

5. I went to Montana for a wedding in August. Not much going on in MT, but they do love their casinos and vanity plates. Photos forthcoming.

6. And lastly, "Cheap Wine and Poetry" absolutely killed it at Bumbershoot this year. We had poems of eggs and love (Rebecca Hoogs), a fairy tale about eating a young girl's heart (Bret Fetzer), amazing poetry from a slam legend (Karen Finneyfrock), African flute and a hearty "Fuck McCain" (Eben Eldridge) and raps about the white girl blues (Marya Sea Kaminski). If you missed it, come to Hugo House on Thursday night where "Cheap Wine and Poetry" will have its very first ladies' night.

That is the report on my summer vacation. More Brian with an I coming your way...

The Post says you should be there too

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:51:00 +0000

The Rainier Valley Post, Seattle's most informative hyperlocal blog covering the entire Rainier Valley (Who cares what's north of I-90, RVP says.), has given my reading this Friday some love.

Right back at you, The Post.

I'm reading this Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:40:00 +0000

That's right. This Friday 7 p.m. at Bookworm Exchange in Columbia City, I will be reading all new work-- like, so new I haven't even written some of the stuff yet-- from my manuscript in progress, "Eat the Rich." The poems are mostly focused on street/city life, gentrification and its effects. Definitely timely and, especially in Seattle, a hot button issue. You know me, I like to press the button, over and over again.

Also reading Friday is John Burgess, whose new book of poems, "A History of Guns in the Family," is now available from Ravenna Press.

You should be there.

Fill 'er up!

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:00:00 +0000

This is just too good to pass up: Our economy has gotten so bad that a Nevada brothel has begun offering free gas with the purchase of, well, you know.

Poetry Kills

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:45:00 +0000

A boy was beaten to death in India after giving an older girl from an upper caste a love poem he had written for her.

Damn; that's all I can say.

Jacking for Art

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:19:00 +0000

If you live on Capitol Hill or hit Broadway regularly, you may have noticed that there is a lot of constructing going on. A lot! It may even sadden you: Good-bye Taco Bell and your diarrhea-inducing chalupas and that little smoke shop where some of us may have purchased our very first rolling papers (Oh my!). And then, of course, there's Jack-in-the-Box, where many have scarfed a burger at 3 a.m. hoping it absorbs all the booze consumed that evening.

Now that Jack is closed and preparing for demolition to make way for the Capitol Hill light rail station (Don't hold your breath!), it had been covered in art-- vinyl banners designed by illustrator Bob Rini.

Unfortunately, Bob's work was recently stolen, and he's right: the pieces are probably hung in some kid's dorm room next to a Marley poster and something that looks really fucking cool under a black light. Guess it goes to show you: Don't mess with Jack.

Oy

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:50:00 +0000

I know I've been MIA for awhile here. I have been hard at work on a new manuscript of poems entitled "Eat the Rich," which has kept me busy researching a lot and writing some. Over the next year or so, I will be posting about the progress of this collection as well as ideas and thoughts that may come up as I work on the poems.

In the meantime, if you'd like to see how things are coming along so far, I will be reading from the manuscript next Friday, July 18 7 p.m. at Bookworm Exchange in Columbia City with fellow poet John Burgess.

This is a special reading for me since I live on Beacon Hill (Maybe 10 minutes from the bookstore.) and haven't read on the south side before. As an added bonus, I will be mostly reading poems about poverty and gentrification-- very fitting considering Columbia City was once part of the Garlic Gulch, a neighborhood of poor and working class Italians, then, due to redlining, became a bastion of Seattle's Black community and now is a bastion for Seattle's yoga mommies. They will be in for a treat from my reading, and you will be too.

In Memory of Crysta Casey

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:09:00 +0000

Local poet Crysta Casey passed away on June 24 after a long battle with lung cancer. A death notice is here.

Crysta was a fixture in the Seattle poetry community.I got to know her through Hugo House, read with her several times, and had her at "Cheap Wine and Poetry." I have always loved her poetry; she wrote with a point and to the point and gave an inlet to a world we might not know about otherwise.

Crysta will be buried Wednesday, July 2nd at the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent at 2 p.m. There will be a flag ceremony and gun salute. It would be a good idea to get to the cemetery by 1:30 p.m., I hear.

Frost: Worse Than Prison?

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:45:00 +0000

A group of high school kids broke into Robert Frost's old home and threw a kegger, reports the AP. As punishment, many of the high schoolers were sentenced to attend a class about Frost and his poetry. That'll show 'em!

Good-bye Adcock

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:45:00 +0000

Joe Adcock, the Seattle PI's theater critic for the last 26 years, is retiring for a life in Virginia with his family.

Brendan Kiley has a great article about Joe and the state of art criticism in this week's Stranger too.

TOMORROW: "Cheap Wine and Poetry"

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:40:00 +0000

That's right, folks. Tomorrow night, May 29 at 7 p.m., "Cheap Wine and Poetry" celebrates its three-year anniversary with poets John Burgess and Jourdan Keith, solo performer Jennifer Jasper, and "The Stranger" columnist David Schmader.

You should be there!

TONIGHT: "Ballads Under New Regime" 7:30 p.m. at Richard Hugo House

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:25:00 +0000

Poet (and my good friend) John Burgess gets around. I see him at damn near every poetry reading in this city, supporting all the good work going on in Seattle's scene. And now tonight, it's his turn to hit the stage. Or maybe, I should say, it's yours-- your turn to support his work.

Tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Richard Hugo House, John will be performing as part of a poetry and music collaboration with Jed Myers, on guitar and harmonica, and David Rizzi, on percussion. John will read from a new set of poems, "Ballads Under New Regime," which is part of his new collection, "A History of Guns in the Family."

"Ballads..." acts as John's response to "the Bush era madness. The indifference, uncaring for the people and environment and our world, the war and hatred years we've experienced." He says this performance is his way of taking a public stand.

John Burgess performs as part of a poetry and music collaboration, "Ballads Under New Regime" with Jed Myers and David Rizzi tonight 7:30 p.m. at Richard Hugo House.

If you can't make it tonight, see John Thursday at the three-year anniversary of "Cheap Wine and Poetry."

Vote for Barker

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:56:00 +0000

My good friend and "Cheap Wine and Poetry" stage manager Steve Barker was recently nominated for Farmhouse Magazine's Reader's Choice Awards.

Read Steve's story here and vote for him here.

TOMORROW: Come see me read!

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:56:00 +0000

Tomorrow night, Wednesday, May 21, 7:30 p.m., I will be reading as part of the Jack Straw Writers Program Reading Series at Jack Straw Productions (4261 Roosevelt Way NE in the U-District).

I will be reading from new work that is a bit different than what you probably know me for: the self-deprecating average American male who can't seem to leave the seat down. This new work is less on the humorous side, focusing more on class, gentrification, and other issues of urban life. More than likely though, the seat will still be left up; no matter what the poetry is about.

Joining me on May 21st will be prose writers Janna Cawrse, Waverly Fitzgerald, and Ghida Sinno, all writing really interesting work about sailing around the world on a honeymoon, exploring flowers in Capitol Hill, and 9/11, respectively.

For a preview of what to expect from the reading and Jack Straw's podcast series on the Writers Program, check here.

For more info about Jack Straw: www.jackstraw.org.

Paychecks, Pints, and Pergo

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:03:00 +0000

About two years ago, I made the decision to forgo my hopes of pursuing an MFA in poetry and started working full-time. I had applied to MFA programs the previous three years and hadn't had any luck, and once I began working at Hugo House, I felt like I wanted to stick around there for awhile. After reading The Three Ps of Post-MFA '08, I think I made the right choice.

Trina, Kelly, and Laurie recently graduated from the University of Montana MFA program (where Richard Hugo taught) and are now living the post-MFA life of PhD's, publications, and panhandling-- the three Ps. They write of their uncertain lives with honesty and sincerity, and as the jealousy of their MFA experience in me grows, I can remind myself that at least I got to celebrate St. Patty's Day.

Actually, in the last 2-3 years, I have done a lot: got married, bought a house, even have my own office now (Freshly primed today! I have the latex in my nail bed to prove it!). But I still don't have that MFA. Damn.

Uh Oh

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:27:00 +0000

Nate Lippens, local freelance critic and former staff writer at "The Stranger," has been accused of plagiarizing several reviews written while on staff there and while freelancing for the PI.

Brian with an I recognizes that plagiarism is a very serious accusation, and therefore, we (as if this blog is run by anybody but me. Psst.) will not pass any judgment on Nate until all the facts are in.

Truthfully though, haven't we all stolen something?

Burnside Review Announces 2008 Chapbook Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:50:00 +0000

Burnside Review-- a journal that I have submitted to a couple of times, but have yet to be published in (Fuckers!)-- seeks submissions to its annual poetry chapbook competition. The judge is Paul Guest, and the deadline is June 30th. Full guidelines and more info can be found here.

If you've never seen an issue of Burnside, it is a quality small press journal, and the editor, Sid Miller, is a nice guy. We shared table space at a press fair a couple of years back, so I got to check out the journal thoroughly and was impressed. I will submit again-- and hopefully you will too.

Put Back Some of the Cheap Stuff with Us at "Cheap Wine and Poetry" on May 29, 7 p.m.

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:09:00 +0000

"Cheap Wine and Poetry" celebrates its three-year anniversary on Thursday, May 29, 7 p.m. with features David Schmader, Jennifer Jasper, Jourdan Keith, and John Burgess.

You should be there. Here are the details.

Fuck Freehold Theatre

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Wed, 14 May 2008 20:14:00 +0000

A few months ago, I took a class on solo performance with Marya Sea Kaminski at Freehold Theater. Marya was amazing, one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. I’ve told her this before; she has forever changed my work as an artist and my approach to art-making by forcing me to think about what my action is as an artist and within each piece and what I want from my audience as a performer. Simply put: Marya is someone any fledging performer should work with.

During the class, I developed several ideas for solo performance pieces I wanted to write, and in the end, I set about writing a piece called “I Still Haven’t Fucked an Asian,” a story beginning with my recent marriage and my disappointment with never having had sex with an Asian woman and then foraging off into our society’s stereotypical view of Asians and other races and the violence— physical as well as verbal, psychological, and other forms of violence— we do toward each other in our everyday relationships. Yeah, quite a heavy topic, I know, but something I felt inspired to tackle, mainly because of Marya.

I decided to do the show extemporaneously, meaning no script. Just me, some notes, and my stories strung together by the threads of love, race and violence. I had 10 weeks to “write” and rehearse and then perform 15 minutes of the show for our class’s public recital. So, not a lot of time.

The performance itself went fine; I felt like I did a good job on stage for a first-time solo performance, but more than that, I felt like I had grown as an artist— as one whose work sought to challenge, to ask questions, and ultimately, make people feel uncomfortable, which I more than accomplished.

As I was on stage, I could see the discomfort in some of their eyes; sure, many laughed, and several came up to me afterwards expressing their interest in my work or thanking me for putting so much of myself out there. But just as many didn’t laugh; they squirmed in their seats or stared at me with disgust. Some even looked to the back of the room at a small group of Asian women— all laughing—as if to ask, “Is it okay for me to laugh too?”

So this morning it came as no surprise when Robin Lynn Smith, Freehold’s artistic director, called me personally to say that my show wouldn’t be included in the taped copies of the recital sent out to the rest of the students in my class. In fact, it was sort of a victory for me, as she explained that people had complained about my work being objectionable, which was my action from the outset, to make my audience feel uncomfortable. I had accomplished something, albeit at the expense of being censored.

But then the conversation degenerated into an argument— this post is called “Fuck Freehold Theatre,” after all— as we discussed race and its context in my piece and the views of race in Seattle and our country. Robin accused me and my work of being racist and stated boldly that I had no place talking about anyone’s race other than my own, especially coming from a place of privilege as a white person. As you can imagine, I found this blatantly racist and offensive.

Robin, basing her judgments about me from stereotypes, assumed because my skin is white that I am, in fact, white, but I am not. I’m of mixed race; my mother’s family is Irish, Spanish, and German, and my father’s family, whom I have never met and have had no contact with, is Puerto Rican, making me a “mick spick,” what I was often called growing up. When I explained my heritage to Robin, she could only muster an “oh” and then backtracked talking about how Freehold supports all races through its Diversity Scholarships. She may not have realized it, but she was at fault for the same exact thing she was accusing me of: perpetuating stereotypes of race, making assumptions and judgments about me based on the color of my skin.

While Robin may not know this, being of mixed race is a challenge in our black and white society. We try to box people in; countless forms ask us to choose: white or black or Hispanic or Asian without consideration for those of mixed race. And within each race, there is a hierarchy; light-skinned Black folks vs. dark-skinned Black folks or fresh off the boat/over the border vs. second, third, and fourth generations. Even in my own experience, I grew up in a mostly Latino or non-white neighborhood, but I was never able to feel accepted within the Latino culture because I don’t speak Spanish, don’t have a connection to my Puerto Rican roots, because my skin is light, because I’m a “juero” or a “gringo,” because I’m not full blood. Makes you think of that whole 3/5ths thing, eh? And Robin is coming from that same stereotypical line of thinking by telling me I can’t make art about race if it’s not about white people. She put me and my art in a box too— and closed the lid.

Furthermore, as artists, our goal should be to challenge, to ask questions, to make people think outside of the box, another one of my actions through my solo performance. This has been a goal of art for centuries— from Aristophanes to Karen Finley. Why make art that doesn’t challenge? Then aren’t we all just Britney Spears or some other homogenized, yet “socially acceptable” crap?

In the end, I would have no problem with Robin’s comments or Freehold’s censorship if it were strictly about my work, but when she made it personal and accused me of being a racist and told me what I can and can’t speak about based on her own assumptions about my skin color and ethnicity, I knew I had to take a stand.

That’s why with this post I am renouncing Freehold entirely and telling anyone who’s interested in the organization not to bother. Their director Robin Lynn Smith is a racist, even more racist than I am, apparently. And because of that, I urge you all to say fuck Freehold. You won’t see me take another class there again— even from the very great Marya Sea Kaminski.

Bush-- In Support of Troops-- Gives Up... Golf?

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Wed, 14 May 2008 04:13:00 +0000

Another what the fu... moment: Bush hasn't played golf since 2003 in support of the troops, reports the Huff (The Huffington Post, for you newbies) from an interview with Yahoo.com.

Blogger's note: Brian with an I isn't a political blog at all. I'll leave the poli-medy to John Stewart and Stephen Colbert. But this story was too what the fu...; I had to let you all know. Thanks to hot tipper JT Stewart.

THIS THURSDAY: Jack Straw Kicks Off Its Writers Program Reading Series

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:34:00 +0000

This Thursday, May 15th at 7:30 p.m., Jack Straw Productions kicks off its first of three readings as part of its Writers Program Reading Series.

The first reading features poets Merna Ann Hecht and Kevin Kraft and prose writers Wendy Call and Jennifer Munro. I am very familiar with Wendy's and Jennifer's works and promise you they will be a delight.

The second installment of the Jack Straw reading series is on Wednesday May 21 at 7:30 p.m. and features Janna Cawrse, Ghida Sinno, Waverly Fitzgerald, and Brian McGuigan. Wait, that last name there is familiar.

And finally, the third installment is on Thursday May 29th, and as much as I'd love to promote the final reading, it is the same night as the three-year anniversary of "Cheap Wine and Poetry" featuring The Stranger columnist David Schmader, solo performer Jennifer Jasper, and poets John Burgess and Jourdan Keith, and truthfully, I know you all will be there instead.

So, to recap: this Thursday, I will see you at Jack Straw. Next Wednesday, I will see you at Jack Straw again. And the following Thursday, I will see you at "Cheap Wine and poetry," and hopefully, you will be as drunk as I am.

Bumbershoot and the Cheap Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Sat, 10 May 2008 15:05:00 +0000

It's official: "Cheap Wine and Poetry" is doing Bumbershoot!! We'll be hitting the Leo K stage on Labor Day weekend for a full program of poetry, cheap wine, and other hilarities.

Unfortunately, because of Bumbershoot rules and that damn liquor control board (Narcs!), we won't be able to serve the cheap stuff in the theater. We will persevere though; we only ask that the true "Cheap Wine and Poetry" fans hit the three-buck-Chuck beforehand. You know we will!

Stay tuned for more details about "Cheap Wine and Poetry" at Bumbershoot.

What happened to a toilet paper roll and a piece of foil?

noreply@blogger.com (Brian) — Sat, 10 May 2008 05:52:00 +0000

Even worse than a guy who makes a PBR can casket, three kids who make a bong out of a severed head. A bong. Out of a head. How?

Now I'm not saying I've ever seen a bong, like, up close or anything, but based on what I've read on Wikipedia about bongs, I can say it'd be pretty fucking hard to smoke pot out of a severed head. This wasn't just any old severed head either. It was cut from the body of an 11 yr-old boy who died in 1921.

Back to Wikipedia: according to the Operation section of the bong entry, one needs to form a "seal" with the mouth in order draw the smoke in and get a "rip" from a bong. And, like any other bong, a severed head would need to be properly sealed with one hole for the mouth, and perhaps another for a carb. Looking in the mirror, I count 7 holes in my head, and if my head were detached from my body back in 1921 and buried for almost 90 years, there'd be maggots and worms and other things creeping all over the holes. These three kids must have been pretty damn desperate to get stoned.

And then there's the question of where to put the water, so the bong provides proper smoke filtration. My guess is the skull where the brain would be, but it would have to be completely sealed or else the water would leak and the smoke wouldn't fill the skull properly.

Not only would the kids need some kind of putty (I suppose gum could work.), they'd need water to fill the skull, and if they were real deal stoners, a few ice cubes for an extra cooling effect. This head-bong thing just ain't adding up.