[Newspoetry] Newspoetry Live, December

[William Gillespie]

Hey Newspoets!

1

Next Saturday in Chicago is GIG.
http://www.eliterature.org/gig/index.html Although the schedule is
complicated, I can use my pull as a minor international hypertext
celebrity to ensure that every Newspoet in attendance gets to read at
least one thing. Or sing. (I encourage Jofu to bring a guitar, there may
be an opportunity for a song between acts.) It has been requested that
Paul and I try to make it up Friday for the tech rehearsal.

This Saturday I encourage you to choose things that you want to read to
a confused Chicago audience with a potentially limited attention span on
stage with a PA and the text projected on a screen. Pieces for multiple
voices, pieces with an acoustic edge such as music, pieces that lend
themselves to onstage antics, pieces with a visually interesting markup,
songs, and "Horrible Stupid Crap Happens: World Can Go Fuck Itself."
Also WTO stuff (Paul, Danielle, Anne) in case anyone should doubt our
obstreperousness. Perhaps also (Paul, Molly) the Day on the CTA. (!)
We'll try to rig a newsdesk if possible.

I think we should also attempt a moment, perhaps in introducing the
site, to let the audience call out dates, forms, or titles.

GIG will have an Internet connection so nobody need bring printouts,
although printouts may prove useful to avoid having to read off a screen
behind you into a microphone in front of you. Take it from me.

I hope to do the Ventriloquist's Administration (with a real PA(!)) and
a song, but will happily back out if we run out of time.

Who's coming? Scott kinda needs a headcount kinda thing. And what are
you reading?: We can cache them into the browser the night before to
circumvent forseeable technical obstacles. We also need to figure out
travel and lodging.

2

Saturday the 18th at noon at WEFT on From Bard to Verse the lovable MC
Estabrook has consented to let us take over his program for the spoken
arts. I wanted him in particular to act as host, due to his encyclopedic
understanding of everything news and poetry. I am thinking of it as
1999-In-Review: A Quick Recap Before the Grid Goes Down. We take turns
reading (I think we should only read one poem at a time to make sure
everyone gets comparable amounts of airtime (that hour goes pretty quick
- the Labor Hour tends to end late : )), Carl talks to us, spontaneous
tangents emerge, we discuss the news. It would be nice to do it
chronologically but I think that would be too difficult to coordinate.

For this reason I encourage you to choose, for the radio show, poems
that pertain to the NEWS stories of the year (Kate!) and poems written
in classical forms (Mark, Dirk(!), Sigfried, Maiko - we should do an
investigation of the Haiku/Limerick (Heimlich), the Limerick/Pantoum,
and the Haiku/Villanelle/Sestina (Villatinaku). (FCC regulations
prohibit certain words such as "shit" and "fuck," which the Unknown has
pointed out is one of the most beautiful and complex and multilayered
and offensive words in the English language). As you know. Also perhaps
poems pertaining to local news and events (Peter - we've got to finish
"Georgie Ryan.") An echelon poem (Bill). WTO (Danielle). Supervalu
(Mike). Skirt Strike. Impeachment "scandal." Flight 990. Iraq. Kosovo
("Disappearing Cities"). I'll bring Brecht, Patterson, and Gricevich on
minidisc.

(another aside: Joe, use of yer laptop with updated site would be way
stellar for the radio show in a big way. way.)

(also, I'm doing the spoken arts show on Xmas. I'd actually like to do
an Xmas show that isn't cynical. But I can't figure out how. I'll
certainly play those dumb XTC Christmas songs. Help is welcome if
anyone's available.)

Peace love opinions and unusual formal techniques,
Willy G.