| CAMBRIDGE POETRY FESTIVAL Feb 3-4 and March 10-11, 2001 By Douglas Holder I am hopeful that I witnessed the beginning of what will become a tradition. I am talking about the Cambridge Poetry Awards and Festival, sponsored by the Cambridge Center For Adult Education, in Cambridge, Mass. On a cold afternoon in early Feb. I joined an animated audience at the Blacksmith House in Harvard Square, to hear the nominees for the awards read and strut their lyrical stuff. The audience, for this prelude to the March festival ( where awards are bestowed), was peppered with a cast of characters from the local scene, including: Brother Blue, Jack Powers, Buddah, Diana Saenz, C.C.Ashagra, Sue Millerz,etc...I didn't get a sniff of ACADEMIA in this gathering, although the gates of Harvard Yard were just a stone's throw away. Working the pre-performance crowd, I tried to solicit some folks views on this ambitious grassroots effort. Jeff Robinson, the main organizer, told me that the importance of the festival was not so much the awards presented, but the exposure given to the poetry community. Diana Saenz, the founder of the Boston Poet & Bostonpoet.com, told me this gave her the chance to see people who she ordinarily wouldn't. The bigger venues often don't include local folks, so this was a way to hear them. As always the ubiquitous spinner of tales, Brother Blue, waxed eloquently telling me that this was like Blake's idea of the simple wild flower, that the true poet can see the world in. Every event, person, etc...is connected to the cosmos, therefore important. He told me when he spoke to me he was in a way speaking to God, WOW! Jack Powers, founder of the Stone Soup Poets summed it up with,".... by liberating the word, we liberate ourselves...this is the purpose of this gathering." Ren Jender, the founder of the AMAZON SLAM POETS, was the M.C. for the nominations. There was a preponderance of female poets reading this afternoon, many of them Lesbian. Jender started the ceremony with a piece about David Bowie, and how he offers a sleek feminine alternative to men who act and look "like a side of beef." Other poets who were impressive were the hilarious Zilla McCue and Valerie Lawson. McCue was on cue with her ribald poems about the absurdity of cubicle life in the corporation, and the horror of wearing slips. Valerie Lawson presented a beautiful piece about her daughter playing hockey, that evoked poignant memories of her own girlhood. Certainly all this was good poetic foreplay for the March festival. On March 10 2001, after a stormy week, the snow finally broke, and the sun made a fleeting appearance for the Cambridge Poetry Festival. Before the opening reading I spoke to Reggie Gibson, a young black bard and national slam champ, who participated in last year's festival. Gibson recently moved from the mean streets of Chicago, to the staid suburbs of Belmont, Mass. He read a stunning piece about his adolescence in the "city of broad shoulders" He captured the hot summer nights, with his friends, "...swimming in passion...sweat was a friend of ours." If you could remember what it felt like to be a teenager, Gibson will bring it back to you... right in your face. Mark Goldfinger, Richard Cambridge, Liz McKim, Cathy Salmons, and others all delivered compelling performances as well. Richard Cambridge read a poem for Noah Washington, a recently deceased Black Panther, that had the audience in a reverent hush. Cathy Salmons's ( a key organizer of the festival along with Deena Anderson) poetry was accompanied by a mandolin. She performed a musical piece about her marriage, and the intimacy this poet and her husband achieved in spite of their prolific solo travel across the country. Throughout the opening Ren Jender, proved to be a very capable and agile host. During the afternoon there was an eclectic selection of workshops and readings. One of the "headliner readers" was the Pulitizer Prize winning poet, Vietnam vet, Princeton University professor, author of 8 books, and coeditor of THE JAZZ POETRY ANTHOLOGY, Yusef Komunyakaa. Like last year there was a number of workshops being offered, including: "Getting the Word Out". This three member panel dealt with running a spoken word venue or label. Patricia Smith, the controversial journalist and slam poet, along with Reggie Gibson, headed a" Slam Workshop.". Kevin Bowen, director of UMASS Boston William Joiner Center of War and Social Consequences hosted a workshop, "Translation and the Immigrant Voice." This forum dealt with the trials and tribulations of translating poetry. Elizabeth McKim ran an open mike poetry reading for children over at Lesley College. This gave kids a rare experience, namely to stand before a captive audience and perform original works of poetry. The afternoon proved to be a feast of poetry, meaningful dialogue and just plain old fashioned fun. The Award ceremony on Sunday was held at Harvard's Longfellow Hall. Jimmy Tingle, the M.C. and local born and bred comedian, added a generous dose of levity to the proceedings. There was a large number of poetry award categories presented, from EROTIC MALE to UP AND COMING POET. Patricia Smith, the Life Time Achievement Award winner, performed two dramatic pieces on the BLUES and the tunnel vision poets employ in their quest for all mighty FAME. Jose Gouveia, the winner of the POET OF THE YEAR prize, stressed the need for the poet to leave his ego at the door and do something for the community, or the "word" will mean nothing. Other poets of note who were recipients of awards were Buddah ( Poet Who Makes You Think, among others), Bobbie Land ( Humorous Poet), John Nardizzi (Erotic Male), Jeremy Scher ( for his book, CITY OF BEGININGS), Valerie Lawson (UP And Coming Poet), and a host of others. The festival ended on a positive note, with local poets finally getting the recognition and respect that is their due. Hopefully years from now this festival will be a regular and established ritual for the local poetry community. Douglas Holder is editor of the Ibbetson Street Press magazine, 33 Ibbetson St., Somerville, MA 02143, $4 for sample issue, check made out to Doug Holder. HOME PAGE & ARCHIVES
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