Sunday, September 26, 2004

On Top of the World

Oh my goodness, what a day. Word on the Street was tremendous fun and I loved being a feature poet. Lots of friends showed up from work, the neighbourhood and Shoreline. Mom and Dad came too, which is a bonus. They were supposed to be in Rupert but my brother's family has the flu, so they stayed home.

It was just incredibly, wonderfully, exciting and exhilarating to be on stage. I love it at the slam for sure, but even more when I get to do a whole set, without strict time rules. The Liars of Orpheus played gorgeous musical accompaniment that enhanced the poems very well. Those guys sure know how to do it! Performing with musicians was the part that made me most nervous. Here's what I did to get over it: On Saturday I picked out the most distracting music I could think of - a Michael Kaeshammer cd - and played it nice and loud while I practised my poems. At first I kept losing track of my words and looping phrases and missing sections, but then I got used to it, and tried working the rhythm of the poem around the music. After about half a dozen tries throughout the day it was working. So when the band played at Poet's Corner and they were playing along to what I was saying, it was easy and fun.

Afterward I got lots of recognition, hugs and congratulations. Lavish praise and appreciation. That feels spectacularly good - like flying, actually.

Lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky me. Ahhhhh

Question: What was good for you today?

mompoet - blessed magnificently and blissed maximally

No comments: