After receiving an e-mail from someone who did not remember submitting poems to the site (in early 2001, I still have his original e-mail archived), I found myself looking at an archive.org copy of the site from more than seven years ago. This was from before 9/11 happened, before the site found itself collapsing under hundreds of submissions every week from inexperienced poets who were jumping on the poetry bandwagon as this nation struggled to deal with its newfound rage and grief. This was before the site had to be closed to submissions and rewritten from the ground up thanks to the sudden closing of our original host server, basic page formatting that was written exclusively for the original host server and was not compatible with any new host, and an update system that could not be maintained under the surge of traffic and submissions that the site had begun receiving.
It was a very different time, back then. I've always been very hands-on in building the site. Even today, while I may not have written the programs that operate the site, I have read through every script and studied every line of code to make sure it all operates the way I want it to. But back then, the pages were created in Notepad (with occasional help from Netscape Composer). Each page was its own creation, hand-crafted to take the reader on a journey through various emotions.
Comparing the site then to today, the best analogy I can come up with is this: PoetsHaven.com 2008 is like the perfect cake bought at the best bakery in town. It is nearly perfect. The edges are straight, the frosting is even, and the decorations are photo-realistic. PoetsHaven.com 2001 (and earlier) is like the homemade cake. Some parts are thinner than others, but where the cake dips you get a thick gob of rich icing. It's sometimes imperfect, but heart went in to every bite.
The site is drastically more professional today. While I would certainly never go back to running the site the way it was run back then, there are aspects of it I miss. Back then, I could name every poem and author I had ever published. I could even recite a good 40 to 50 percent of the poems on the site. Today, I find myself unable to remember how to spell the name of a writer I only published a few weeks ago, and unable to remember the titles of the poems I published by that author. I no longer have the personal connection with every item I publish. I review the work, decide if I want to publish it or not, and then click "Accept" or "Delete." In the drive for professionalism and efficiency, have I lost the key aspect that made the site my labor of love for the art? Is my professional detachment from the work being published part of what is driving me to build a new, more personal experience with the Poet's Haven open-mic events and the podcasts?
Check it out for yourself:
PoetsHaven.com 2001
PoetsHaven.com 2008
My mind is still racing, and now I want to go bake a cake...
--VX
September 13, 2008
September 7, 2008
Scribbles Open-Mic Results...
It was a pretty good night at Scribbles Café in Kent.
Dakota Kincer played some tunes, not all of which will be in the podcast. ("Myself and I" was previously featured in the podcast, and his cover of Weezer's "Say It Ain't So" cannot be used due to licensing restrictions. This is why you gotta be there!)
A handful of talented poets read, including a pretty amazing NINE year old girl! While I have knowingly published writers as young as 11 on PoetsHaven.com, young Miss Campbell Budzar is certainly the youngest poet to have read original work for the podcast.
Just a side note: This is why, despite the number of venues The Poet's Haven is scheduling "yellow" unmoderated events with (as well as a few adults-only "red" shows), we will still have "green" moderated events from time to time. I've always taken pride in The Poet's Haven's openness to young poets who are just getting started in "the scene." The "green" shows not only allow poets with families to perform in front of their kids, they also allow the youngest writers a chance to share their work.
It will be a few weeks before any of tonight's (or last night's, depending on how you interpret the clock) material will be featured in the podcast. The next two weeks will see more material from the August 23 Phoenix show, including John "Jesus Crisis" Burroughs, Parker Amsel, Robin Crawford, and more.
Plenty more shows are in the works. I've got something cooking for mid-October that I'll be announcing as soon as the details are worked out. November 1st will be the special Halloween event at Muggswigz in Canton, OH. Something else may be happening later in November, as well. December 6, we will return to the Phoenix in South Euclid for the first of three open-mics booked there, the others coming up in February and May. Several other gigs are being lined up for the first half of 2009 that I cannot yet reveal.
Stay tuned, space cowboys!
--VX
Dakota Kincer played some tunes, not all of which will be in the podcast. ("Myself and I" was previously featured in the podcast, and his cover of Weezer's "Say It Ain't So" cannot be used due to licensing restrictions. This is why you gotta be there!)
A handful of talented poets read, including a pretty amazing NINE year old girl! While I have knowingly published writers as young as 11 on PoetsHaven.com, young Miss Campbell Budzar is certainly the youngest poet to have read original work for the podcast.
Just a side note: This is why, despite the number of venues The Poet's Haven is scheduling "yellow" unmoderated events with (as well as a few adults-only "red" shows), we will still have "green" moderated events from time to time. I've always taken pride in The Poet's Haven's openness to young poets who are just getting started in "the scene." The "green" shows not only allow poets with families to perform in front of their kids, they also allow the youngest writers a chance to share their work.
It will be a few weeks before any of tonight's (or last night's, depending on how you interpret the clock) material will be featured in the podcast. The next two weeks will see more material from the August 23 Phoenix show, including John "Jesus Crisis" Burroughs, Parker Amsel, Robin Crawford, and more.
Plenty more shows are in the works. I've got something cooking for mid-October that I'll be announcing as soon as the details are worked out. November 1st will be the special Halloween event at Muggswigz in Canton, OH. Something else may be happening later in November, as well. December 6, we will return to the Phoenix in South Euclid for the first of three open-mics booked there, the others coming up in February and May. Several other gigs are being lined up for the first half of 2009 that I cannot yet reveal.
Stay tuned, space cowboys!
--VX
September 4, 2008
Vertigo on Politics...
Anybody who has visited my profile on MySpace has probably noticed that I've got "Obama for President" at the top of my "friends" list. Anybody who knew me offline four years ago saw the Kerry / Edwards stickers all over my car. It's no secret that I'm pretty much a true-blue liberal. Sure, I differ with the Dems on quite a few issues. (For a big one, I believe abortion is murder. However, I do not want to see it made illegal, just unnecessary thanks to widely and freely available birth control. I also think most of the new Dems elected to Congress two years ago have proven themselves to be a bunch of worthless, spineless pussies who are too afraid to speak the truth and stand up against the Executive Idiot and his puppet masters.)
That said, I'm about to admit to something surprising. Eight years ago, I voted for Bush. Yeah, yeah, I know, stop screaming... Lemme explain... See, out of all the inalienable rights I hold true and dear, the ones I believe are the most important are those guaranteed by the First Amendment. Freedom of Speech. Freedom of the Press. Freedom of Assembly. Freedom of Religion. (Bet ya thought you'd never see me capitalize THAT word!) And no matter how much I knew Darth Bush and Emperor Cheney getting elected would fuck up this country on a financial level, I could not bring myself to vote for Al Gore, champion of censorship in music, and especially Joe Lieberman, champion of censorship in EVERYTHING (most notably video games and film). Nobody could have expected something like 9/11/2001 to give the reds free reign to throw out any rights they didn't see the need for. (Ya know, the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment, Eighth Amendment...)
That said, here's what frightens me now. Since John McPain (who I wouldn't have minded 8 years ago, but like the Dems the past two years, he has spent two Bush terms being a spineless follower, NOT the "maverick" his campaign wants us to think of him as) announced his VP candidate last week, we've seen plenty of stories about her political record (and about how little a record it is) in Alaska. Out of it all, one very frightening detail jumps out at me. To quote Time Magazine:
That said, I'm about to admit to something surprising. Eight years ago, I voted for Bush. Yeah, yeah, I know, stop screaming... Lemme explain... See, out of all the inalienable rights I hold true and dear, the ones I believe are the most important are those guaranteed by the First Amendment. Freedom of Speech. Freedom of the Press. Freedom of Assembly. Freedom of Religion. (Bet ya thought you'd never see me capitalize THAT word!) And no matter how much I knew Darth Bush and Emperor Cheney getting elected would fuck up this country on a financial level, I could not bring myself to vote for Al Gore, champion of censorship in music, and especially Joe Lieberman, champion of censorship in EVERYTHING (most notably video games and film). Nobody could have expected something like 9/11/2001 to give the reds free reign to throw out any rights they didn't see the need for. (Ya know, the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment, Eighth Amendment...)
That said, here's what frightens me now. Since John McPain (who I wouldn't have minded 8 years ago, but like the Dems the past two years, he has spent two Bush terms being a spineless follower, NOT the "maverick" his campaign wants us to think of him as) announced his VP candidate last week, we've seen plenty of stories about her political record (and about how little a record it is) in Alaska. Out of it all, one very frightening detail jumps out at me. To quote Time Magazine:
If I wasn't already decided on the Dems this election, this would seal the deal! CENSORSHIP AND BANNING BOOKS IS THE CALLING CARD OF FASCISM! We can NOT allow this Republican party to maintain any control over the government. It is time for the people to take back the rights the founding fathers deemed so incontrovertible that they had to add them to the Constitution as Amendments, they so believed the rights to be self-evident that they originally did not believe they needed to be written out.Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. "She asked the library how she could go about banning books," he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. "The librarian was aghast." That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn't be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor.
August 19, 2008
Open-Mic Ratings
Some conversations last week about censorship and free expression got my brain spinning... I have decided to implement a ratings system for the Saturday Night With The Poet's Haven open-mics. Here's how the ratings break down:
Family Friendly These events are open to ALL AGES and the material featured is MODERATED by Poet's Haven staff. No explicit language is allowed and content must fall within "PG-13" restrictions.
Warning: Contains Language These events are open to ALL AGES, but the material featured is UNMODERATED and may contain adult language and content. Poets are asked to avoid anything explicitly "XXX" pornographic, but "R" rated content is perfectly welcome. Parental advisory.
Adults Only These events are held in locations with an age restriction, such as a bar. These events are UNMODERATED and may contain adult language and content. Poets are asked to avoid anything explicitly "XXX" pornographic, but "R" rated content is perfectly welcome.
Family Friendly These events are open to ALL AGES and the material featured is MODERATED by Poet's Haven staff. No explicit language is allowed and content must fall within "PG-13" restrictions.
Warning: Contains Language These events are open to ALL AGES, but the material featured is UNMODERATED and may contain adult language and content. Poets are asked to avoid anything explicitly "XXX" pornographic, but "R" rated content is perfectly welcome. Parental advisory.
Adults Only These events are held in locations with an age restriction, such as a bar. These events are UNMODERATED and may contain adult language and content. Poets are asked to avoid anything explicitly "XXX" pornographic, but "R" rated content is perfectly welcome.
August 11, 2008
Vertigo / Poet's Haven on Facebook and MySpace
Anyone out there who uses Facebook, you can find me at:
http://www.facebook.com/vertigoxx
MySpace users, you can find me here:
http://www.myspace.com/vertigoxx
MySpace users, you can find the MySpace mirror for the podcast here:
http://www.myspace.com/poetshavenpodcast
I'm still just getting started using Facebook, so I haven't done much networking there yet. Compared to MySpace, I've found much of Facebook to be overly complicated and over-thought. MySpace offers more control over how your profile and information is presented. However, the way Facebook's events are set up and the way invites work is drastically better than MySpace's similar offerings. (Plus, everything else aside, MySpace's parent company is still evil incarnate.)
http://www.facebook.com/vertigoxx
MySpace users, you can find me here:
http://www.myspace.com/vertigoxx
MySpace users, you can find the MySpace mirror for the podcast here:
http://www.myspace.com/poetshavenpodcast
I'm still just getting started using Facebook, so I haven't done much networking there yet. Compared to MySpace, I've found much of Facebook to be overly complicated and over-thought. MySpace offers more control over how your profile and information is presented. However, the way Facebook's events are set up and the way invites work is drastically better than MySpace's similar offerings. (Plus, everything else aside, MySpace's parent company is still evil incarnate.)
Vertigo's Poetry Overload...
Since I was unable to make it to the Deep Cleveland open-mic Friday night, and since I need to spend a weekday in Kent, here's what I've planned for this week:
Thursday, I'll be heading to Brunswick for the Brunswick Art Works Open Mic at Insights Coffee at 7:00. The featured poet will be Natalie Palmieri.
After that, I'll be dashing up to the Tremont district of Cleveland, for the Literary Café's monthly poetry extravaganza at 9:30. The featured poets will be David Hassler & Michelle Krivanek.
Even with gas back down around $3.60 a gallon, it's still cheaper to get a hotel room than to drive back to Massillon and then back up north the next morning. I'll probably crash for the night somewhere in Fairlawn or Stow.
On Friday, I'll be zipping around Kent distributing fliers for the September 6 open-mic at Scribbles Café. I'll also be stopping at a café in Akron that I won't name at this time, in hopes of getting a meeting with the manager to schedule a Poet's Haven open-mic there in October or November. I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing Friday night, but I do know of a few bands playing shows that I would like to see.
Saturday morning I'll be sleeping in. LOL I'll probably still be wiped out from Thursday, starting at my day-job at 7:00 AM and ending at the Lit well after 1:00 AM.
Saturday night, I'll be heading to Lake Anna After Dark in Barberton for Nadelaine's Poetry Nite. I'm telling everyone, you need to check this place out. It is phenomenal.
Then by Sunday, I should be at a poetry overload. I'll probably spend the day watching Law & Order and CSI reruns.
Then Monday, its back to the day-job and time to start the countdown to Saturday Night With The Poet's Haven at the Phoenix Coffee Co. in South Euclid on Saturday, August 23!
Thursday, I'll be heading to Brunswick for the Brunswick Art Works Open Mic at Insights Coffee at 7:00. The featured poet will be Natalie Palmieri.
After that, I'll be dashing up to the Tremont district of Cleveland, for the Literary Café's monthly poetry extravaganza at 9:30. The featured poets will be David Hassler & Michelle Krivanek.
Even with gas back down around $3.60 a gallon, it's still cheaper to get a hotel room than to drive back to Massillon and then back up north the next morning. I'll probably crash for the night somewhere in Fairlawn or Stow.
On Friday, I'll be zipping around Kent distributing fliers for the September 6 open-mic at Scribbles Café. I'll also be stopping at a café in Akron that I won't name at this time, in hopes of getting a meeting with the manager to schedule a Poet's Haven open-mic there in October or November. I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing Friday night, but I do know of a few bands playing shows that I would like to see.
Saturday morning I'll be sleeping in. LOL I'll probably still be wiped out from Thursday, starting at my day-job at 7:00 AM and ending at the Lit well after 1:00 AM.
Saturday night, I'll be heading to Lake Anna After Dark in Barberton for Nadelaine's Poetry Nite. I'm telling everyone, you need to check this place out. It is phenomenal.
Then by Sunday, I should be at a poetry overload. I'll probably spend the day watching Law & Order and CSI reruns.
Then Monday, its back to the day-job and time to start the countdown to Saturday Night With The Poet's Haven at the Phoenix Coffee Co. in South Euclid on Saturday, August 23!
July 27, 2008
The Cleveland Shuffle...
Okay, personal blog entry here. I know I don't do many of these. So much of my life is tied up with Poet's Haven related stuff, that the promo posts pretty much sum up what I've got going on. But when I have a weekend night that isn't tied up with open-mic stuff or website work (and you'll soon be seeing a promo post about why I can say website work is tying up a chunk of my time right now), I try to go out and have fun. Whether this is seeing a band play somewhere, going to a movie, or just hanging out in a club with a DJ spinning dance music, I like to go do something.
This past Saturday, I went to a dance-party-slash-boat-ride on the Goodtime III. (This was after spending Saturday afternoon zipping around Cleveland distributing fliers for the August 23 open-mic.) The boat has three levels. The lower level had a band playing. They were okay, pretty good when they covered blues tunes but not so hot when they covered 70's and 80's disco dance music. The top level was just for hanging out. The middle level was a dance club. The DJ was okay, though I was slightly annoyed when he started repeating songs during a short 2-hour trip. Okay, Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back" twice I could see, its still a hot dance song, but playing Rick Springfield's "Jesse's Girl" three times? Anyways...
Now let me tell you about the Cleveland Shuffle...
About half-way through the trip, the DJ spun the Cleveland Shuffle. (Or would it be clicked, in this day and age of using a laptop with MP3s instead of vinyl or CDs?) Every time I'm somewhere, be it club or concert, if the Cleveland Shuffle comes on, there will be a fight. EVERY TIME!
My new-year's eve, I got to experience mace. I went to a club with a hard-rock/metal band playing. After the ball-drop, the band took a break and the club's DJ started spinning tunes from the likes of Snoop Dogg and the aforementioned Timberlake. Not quite the music that the crowd that was there for the rock band was expecting, but nobody complained. Hell, there was even a few hot chicks dancing on the bar. Then the DJ turned on the Cleveland Shuffle. Two minutes into it, the fight broke out. Some drunk dude said something stupid to another drunk dude, and fists started flying. One of the guys got shoved into the bar, knocking one of the hot chicks down, smacking her face as she fell. These guys were right in front of the entrance. The club security reacted quickly, spraying them both with mace and kicking them out of the bar, and I imagine into the custody of the police who were sitting in the parking lot most of the night. Problem was, there was now a cloud of mace filling the bar, and I was trapped on the other side of it. I finally pulled my shirt up over my face and darted through, out to the smoker's patio for the fresh air (that's funny, coming from a staunch NON-smoker). That was my new year's.
Couple months go by, then I'm out with some friends at another bar. There was a DJ playing music for people to dance to, nothing big. The DJ played the Cleveland Shuffle. Five minutes after the end of the song, two drunk women start trying to pull each other's hair out. A bartender and the bouncer at the door quickly separated them and kicked one out, then the other once the first was gone. Hey, it's drunk people on a Saturday night, nothing unusual, but still, it was right after the Cleveland Shuffle. This is just a goofy dance song where the lyrics are the steps for the dance. You think if people were gonna fight, it would be during something with violent lyrics or something fast and heavy.
So there I am Saturday night and the DJ spins/clicks the Cleveland Shuffle. My eyes go wide, and I have to get as far away from the dance floor as possible. Nothing happens. Hey, okay, it's all good, right?
An hour later, the party's over and everyone's getting off the boat. And that's where the fight was starting. From what I could see, it looked like two drunk women starting it, and then their boyfriends getting involved too. Cleveland police were there, and separated the two groups, friends of the people fighting also helped keep them separated, and then a bunch of guys from the boat's staff came out and assisted the police. Drunk people on a Saturday night, whaddya expect? One side got driven off by their DD, the other side got put in a cab and sent on their way.
This is the third time I've witnessed a fight start somewhere this year, and all three times it's been somewhere where they played the Cleveland Shuffle. So here's what I'm calling for: All clubs and bars in north-east Ohio (or at least the ones I visit) should put a moratorium on playing the Cleveland Shuffle! Despite the innocent nature of the song, it must have some sort of subliminal messages, if every time I hear it I then get to witness violence.
And now it's Monday, time to start another lousy work week... Ugh... G'nite all.
--VX
This past Saturday, I went to a dance-party-slash-boat-ride on the Goodtime III. (This was after spending Saturday afternoon zipping around Cleveland distributing fliers for the August 23 open-mic.) The boat has three levels. The lower level had a band playing. They were okay, pretty good when they covered blues tunes but not so hot when they covered 70's and 80's disco dance music. The top level was just for hanging out. The middle level was a dance club. The DJ was okay, though I was slightly annoyed when he started repeating songs during a short 2-hour trip. Okay, Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back" twice I could see, its still a hot dance song, but playing Rick Springfield's "Jesse's Girl" three times? Anyways...
Now let me tell you about the Cleveland Shuffle...
About half-way through the trip, the DJ spun the Cleveland Shuffle. (Or would it be clicked, in this day and age of using a laptop with MP3s instead of vinyl or CDs?) Every time I'm somewhere, be it club or concert, if the Cleveland Shuffle comes on, there will be a fight. EVERY TIME!
My new-year's eve, I got to experience mace. I went to a club with a hard-rock/metal band playing. After the ball-drop, the band took a break and the club's DJ started spinning tunes from the likes of Snoop Dogg and the aforementioned Timberlake. Not quite the music that the crowd that was there for the rock band was expecting, but nobody complained. Hell, there was even a few hot chicks dancing on the bar. Then the DJ turned on the Cleveland Shuffle. Two minutes into it, the fight broke out. Some drunk dude said something stupid to another drunk dude, and fists started flying. One of the guys got shoved into the bar, knocking one of the hot chicks down, smacking her face as she fell. These guys were right in front of the entrance. The club security reacted quickly, spraying them both with mace and kicking them out of the bar, and I imagine into the custody of the police who were sitting in the parking lot most of the night. Problem was, there was now a cloud of mace filling the bar, and I was trapped on the other side of it. I finally pulled my shirt up over my face and darted through, out to the smoker's patio for the fresh air (that's funny, coming from a staunch NON-smoker). That was my new year's.
Couple months go by, then I'm out with some friends at another bar. There was a DJ playing music for people to dance to, nothing big. The DJ played the Cleveland Shuffle. Five minutes after the end of the song, two drunk women start trying to pull each other's hair out. A bartender and the bouncer at the door quickly separated them and kicked one out, then the other once the first was gone. Hey, it's drunk people on a Saturday night, nothing unusual, but still, it was right after the Cleveland Shuffle. This is just a goofy dance song where the lyrics are the steps for the dance. You think if people were gonna fight, it would be during something with violent lyrics or something fast and heavy.
So there I am Saturday night and the DJ spins/clicks the Cleveland Shuffle. My eyes go wide, and I have to get as far away from the dance floor as possible. Nothing happens. Hey, okay, it's all good, right?
An hour later, the party's over and everyone's getting off the boat. And that's where the fight was starting. From what I could see, it looked like two drunk women starting it, and then their boyfriends getting involved too. Cleveland police were there, and separated the two groups, friends of the people fighting also helped keep them separated, and then a bunch of guys from the boat's staff came out and assisted the police. Drunk people on a Saturday night, whaddya expect? One side got driven off by their DD, the other side got put in a cab and sent on their way.
This is the third time I've witnessed a fight start somewhere this year, and all three times it's been somewhere where they played the Cleveland Shuffle. So here's what I'm calling for: All clubs and bars in north-east Ohio (or at least the ones I visit) should put a moratorium on playing the Cleveland Shuffle! Despite the innocent nature of the song, it must have some sort of subliminal messages, if every time I hear it I then get to witness violence.
And now it's Monday, time to start another lousy work week... Ugh... G'nite all.
--VX
July 13, 2008
What Y'all Missed!
You know, not everything that goes on at a live Poet's Haven open-mic event gets to go in the podcast...
Last night's open-mic included an amazing reading by T.M. Göttl, an amazing performance by Mike and Abe of Split Pea/ce, and amazing readings by La Princesse de L'amour, Elizabeth Hendricks, and Mello (a poet featured in episode four, except I fucked up his name; I'll post about that soon enough). But that wasn't all. We were also treated to a surprise concert by John Anderson! In addition to some of his original songs, he also performed several covers/reinterpretations. It was a spectacular performance that, sadly, won't all be in the podcast! You had to have been there!
And you also missed out on me DeeJaying before and after the poetry! (Well, after was only until the slick DJ VEL arrived and took over.)
A huge THANK YOU to all last night's performers and to Amanda and Ninja Joe for being the street team, handing out fliers at the Lake Anna Arts Festival.
Our next open-mic events will be August 23 at the Phoenix Café in South Euclid, OH, and September 6 at Scribbles Café in Kent, OH. I'm also working on booking an event in Cleveland on September 20, as well as more open-mics in October, November and December.
As for the podcast, I'm taking a couple days to catch up on some house-work. My randomly scattered work areas are all being collected together into one nice office area. No more running between three rooms to go between my primary system, audio system, and hardware workbench. I'll start putting the next episode together Tuesday or Wednesday, and should still have it ready for downloading by the end of next weekend. (Okay, I may also be slightly delayed by the new Batman movie, and I'd like to maybe go to the regular monthly poetry night at Lake Anna After Dark on Saturday...)
Y'all'll be hearing from me soon!
--VX
Last night's open-mic included an amazing reading by T.M. Göttl, an amazing performance by Mike and Abe of Split Pea/ce, and amazing readings by La Princesse de L'amour, Elizabeth Hendricks, and Mello (a poet featured in episode four, except I fucked up his name; I'll post about that soon enough). But that wasn't all. We were also treated to a surprise concert by John Anderson! In addition to some of his original songs, he also performed several covers/reinterpretations. It was a spectacular performance that, sadly, won't all be in the podcast! You had to have been there!
And you also missed out on me DeeJaying before and after the poetry! (Well, after was only until the slick DJ VEL arrived and took over.)
A huge THANK YOU to all last night's performers and to Amanda and Ninja Joe for being the street team, handing out fliers at the Lake Anna Arts Festival.
Our next open-mic events will be August 23 at the Phoenix Café in South Euclid, OH, and September 6 at Scribbles Café in Kent, OH. I'm also working on booking an event in Cleveland on September 20, as well as more open-mics in October, November and December.
As for the podcast, I'm taking a couple days to catch up on some house-work. My randomly scattered work areas are all being collected together into one nice office area. No more running between three rooms to go between my primary system, audio system, and hardware workbench. I'll start putting the next episode together Tuesday or Wednesday, and should still have it ready for downloading by the end of next weekend. (Okay, I may also be slightly delayed by the new Batman movie, and I'd like to maybe go to the regular monthly poetry night at Lake Anna After Dark on Saturday...)
Y'all'll be hearing from me soon!
--VX
July 9, 2008
SCENE MAGAZINE!!! (And Please Note Corrections...)
Hey, everybody!!! (Or at least everybody in north-east Ohio...)
Make sure you pick up this week's issue of Scene Magazine. The Poet's Haven gets plugged on page 15!!!
NOW TO CORRECT EVERYTHING THEY GOT WRONG:
The Poet's Haven is not doing monthly open-mics at Lake Anna After Dark. Our open-mics are traveling all over north-east Ohio. Lake Anna After Dark DOES have a regular monthly open-mic, produced by a woman named Nadelaine. July's regular poetry night at After Dark will be July 19. The Poet's Haven will be back at Lake Anna After Dark for another one of our recorded open-mics in October or November. I may also be promoting some other events at this club. Nadelaine can be contacted on MySpace at:
http://www.myspace.com/nadelaine_poetrynite
The DRESS CODE for July 12's open-mic is a venue restriction. No plain t-shirts or hoodies, no ball caps, and no sagging jeans. The reasons for this dress code are two-fold. One, the place is a high-class joint. This is NOT a dive-bar, this is one of the classiest night clubs I've ever visited. Two, yes, apparently the new way gangs identify themselves is by what color plain t-shirt they are wearing. While the Lake Anna district of Barberton is definitely not gang territory, nearby Akron has seen a recent resurgence of gang activity. As a preemptive measure, the venue instituted the dress code. This is something I have no issues with, as polo golf shirts are easy enough to change into. It is included on the flier so that everyone can be aware before making the trip to B-town. (I do not want to hear that poets could not enter the club because they were wearing a plain black tee.)
MATURE THEMES AND ADULT LANGUAGE WILL BE ACCEPTABLE AT THIS EVENT!!! Anyone who is at all familiar with this website knows I have no problem publishing work that contains words like "fuck," "shit," etc. Language at our ALL AGES open-mics must be kept within PG-13 boundaries, because the audience is not limited to adults. Our April 4th open-mic had a 3-year-old in the audience. The all-ages shows are safe to bring your kids to if you cannot get a babysitter or if they enjoy seeing mom or dad perform on stage. The July 12 event is 21-AND-OVER. This is because the event is taking place in a bar, a place that serves alcohol. Because the audience will be adults-only, there will be no restriction on language or content, within reason. The content must pass the same guidelines found on this site for text submissions. Nothing more. Racism will get you bounced. Being vulgar just to be vulgar will get your poem cut out of the podcast and might result in you being asked to leave the stage. Using R-rated words? Not a problem.
The WEBSITE ADDRESS should have been just www.PoetsHaven.com, but at least I found out about the strange way they listed it soon enough to verify that it would load okay. So you came right to the forum and not to the home page? Shouldn't be a problem, the links to navigate the site can be found on the left side of the screen.
Also, the phone number they printed is for the night club. DO NOT call that number to contact The Poet's Haven. (My number can be found by clicking Contact Publisher.)
UPCOMING POET'S HAVEN OPEN-MIC EVENTS:
July 12 @ 7:00 PM - Lake Anna After Dark in Barberton, OH (21+) Featuring T.M. Göttl and Split Peace
August 23 @ 8:00 PM - Phoenix Coffee Company in South Euclid, OH (east of Cleveland) (ALL-AGES)
September 6 @ 8:00 PM - Scribbles Coffee Co. in Kent, OH (ALL-AGES) Featuring Dakota Kincer and TBA
September 20 - TBA (Cleveland) (TBA)
Mid-October - TBA (ALL-AGES)
October 31 - TBA (TBA) - Halloween Poetry Bash
November 1 - TBA (TBA) - Halloween Poetry Bash
Mid-November - TBA (TBA)
December - TBA (ALL-AGES)
The Halloween Poetry Bash will be Friday and Saturday nights, one at an ALL-AGES venue, the other at a 21+ venue. Poets should come in costume, and these open-mics may be released online as a video or videos in addition to the normal audio podcast.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Vertigo Xi'an Xavier
publisher, The Poet's Haven
http://www.PoetsHaven.com
Make sure you pick up this week's issue of Scene Magazine. The Poet's Haven gets plugged on page 15!!!
NOW TO CORRECT EVERYTHING THEY GOT WRONG:
The Poet's Haven is not doing monthly open-mics at Lake Anna After Dark. Our open-mics are traveling all over north-east Ohio. Lake Anna After Dark DOES have a regular monthly open-mic, produced by a woman named Nadelaine. July's regular poetry night at After Dark will be July 19. The Poet's Haven will be back at Lake Anna After Dark for another one of our recorded open-mics in October or November. I may also be promoting some other events at this club. Nadelaine can be contacted on MySpace at:
http://www.myspace.com/nadelaine_poetrynite
The DRESS CODE for July 12's open-mic is a venue restriction. No plain t-shirts or hoodies, no ball caps, and no sagging jeans. The reasons for this dress code are two-fold. One, the place is a high-class joint. This is NOT a dive-bar, this is one of the classiest night clubs I've ever visited. Two, yes, apparently the new way gangs identify themselves is by what color plain t-shirt they are wearing. While the Lake Anna district of Barberton is definitely not gang territory, nearby Akron has seen a recent resurgence of gang activity. As a preemptive measure, the venue instituted the dress code. This is something I have no issues with, as polo golf shirts are easy enough to change into. It is included on the flier so that everyone can be aware before making the trip to B-town. (I do not want to hear that poets could not enter the club because they were wearing a plain black tee.)
MATURE THEMES AND ADULT LANGUAGE WILL BE ACCEPTABLE AT THIS EVENT!!! Anyone who is at all familiar with this website knows I have no problem publishing work that contains words like "fuck," "shit," etc. Language at our ALL AGES open-mics must be kept within PG-13 boundaries, because the audience is not limited to adults. Our April 4th open-mic had a 3-year-old in the audience. The all-ages shows are safe to bring your kids to if you cannot get a babysitter or if they enjoy seeing mom or dad perform on stage. The July 12 event is 21-AND-OVER. This is because the event is taking place in a bar, a place that serves alcohol. Because the audience will be adults-only, there will be no restriction on language or content, within reason. The content must pass the same guidelines found on this site for text submissions. Nothing more. Racism will get you bounced. Being vulgar just to be vulgar will get your poem cut out of the podcast and might result in you being asked to leave the stage. Using R-rated words? Not a problem.
The WEBSITE ADDRESS should have been just www.PoetsHaven.com, but at least I found out about the strange way they listed it soon enough to verify that it would load okay. So you came right to the forum and not to the home page? Shouldn't be a problem, the links to navigate the site can be found on the left side of the screen.
Also, the phone number they printed is for the night club. DO NOT call that number to contact The Poet's Haven. (My number can be found by clicking Contact Publisher.)
UPCOMING POET'S HAVEN OPEN-MIC EVENTS:
July 12 @ 7:00 PM - Lake Anna After Dark in Barberton, OH (21+) Featuring T.M. Göttl and Split Peace
August 23 @ 8:00 PM - Phoenix Coffee Company in South Euclid, OH (east of Cleveland) (ALL-AGES)
September 6 @ 8:00 PM - Scribbles Coffee Co. in Kent, OH (ALL-AGES) Featuring Dakota Kincer and TBA
September 20 - TBA (Cleveland) (TBA)
Mid-October - TBA (ALL-AGES)
October 31 - TBA (TBA) - Halloween Poetry Bash
November 1 - TBA (TBA) - Halloween Poetry Bash
Mid-November - TBA (TBA)
December - TBA (ALL-AGES)
The Halloween Poetry Bash will be Friday and Saturday nights, one at an ALL-AGES venue, the other at a 21+ venue. Poets should come in costume, and these open-mics may be released online as a video or videos in addition to the normal audio podcast.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Vertigo Xi'an Xavier
publisher, The Poet's Haven
http://www.PoetsHaven.com
July 5, 2008
Attention Poets!
Poets! If you are not able to make it to a live Poet's Haven open-mic event (maybe you live in California or New York, and Ohio's just too far to go at $4 a gallon) you can still read for the Saturday Night With The Poet's Haven podcast. Just call 1-888-811-0041, introduce yourself, and read your work just like you would at an open-mic. Its even toll-free (to help with that painful $4 a gallon).
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