Sunday, March 30, 2008

Poetry Ink at Robin's Bookstore

It felt like I participated in a little part of history at the Poetry Ink event at Robin's Bookstore in Philadelphia on Sunday. This annual gathering of over 100 poets for a day of reading has been happening for 12 years now, and this year, my name was on the list too!

Thank you, Larry Robin, for the great opportunity to make a little history!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Art really does Matter

A Friday night I won't soon forget...

I happened to be in town to catch a Spoken Word event held through Concordia's Art Matters festival at the Hive on the Loyola Campus. And umm... thank God!

Michelle (I can still hear her saying it: Meeeeeeeeshelllll) was so warm and inviting and the Throw Collective and Capital Poetry Collective made me feel like I found home in the middle of a crazy winter storm, and when I walked in, mom was warming me up a cup of hot chocolate and dad was roasting marshmallows by the fireplace, as if they knew I was going to show up at any moment.

The event blew my words right out of my mouth (and those who know me know how hard that is to do) and inspired me beyond the realm of inspiration into pure spirituality.

Yes, I did get up and speak my own word. The energy, the encouragement, the laughter, the finger-snapping, the music, the letters put together to form words with the hope and the inspiration and the peace and the heightened sense of just being... wow. I stumbled upon a little piece of paradise and got a new sense of resolve that *this* is where I was meant to be.

I bow down in grace and appreciation. Thank you, Michelle, for a Friday night to remember. Thank you, Concordia, for succeeding in proving that Art really does Matter.