the amplified bard

Public Poetry Winter Series Reading

2012-01-04T07:03:00.000-08:00

Public Poetry will be ringing in 2012 with a new Winter Series at Park Place Regional Library on Saturday, January 7 at 2:00 PM.

I will be one of the featured poets reading at this event. According to the press release:

"In addition to the featured poets - Outspoken Bean, Radames Ortiz, Loueva Smith and Randall Watson - we're delighted to have Ad Deum Dance Company (dance video) as our special guest at the start, as well as a talented student poet joining us."

The event will take place at:
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Park Place Regional Library, 8145 Park Place, Houston, Texas 77017
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 PM

Poem for the Holiday Blog Tour 2011

2011-12-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

I know I'm suppose to share a poem about the holidays for this Holiday Blog Tour 2011 but I have never been good at writing poetry centered around a theme. But one thing the holidays are about besides presents is family. One of the most important members of my family was my grandmother.

My grandmother was the matriarch and she loomed over us like a humid summer in Houston. She was big part in our lives, in my life. Don't get me wrong, she had her faults, plenty of them but she had her good ones too. For example, she showed me how to be man. On Sundays, she would sit in her rocking chair with her parrot, Pancha on her shoulder while watching Mexican boxing. She would tell me things like men, real men speak with confident, deep voices. So, the following poem is for her.

Enjoy your holidays and enjoy the time with your family.

Domingo Boxeo

Abuelita sits in rocking chair
with multicolored parrot on
left shoulder while knitting
a sweater three sizes too small
for a grandson pudgy around
the waist. On the television
two men circle each other in a ring.
Dusty-skinned Hispanic dancing
around,lashing jabs,tentative left hooks,
right crosses that dissolve in midair
or turn into harmless slaps.
This is domingo where abuela
refuses to stay in linoleum kitchen.
Her bones cringing from sunlight
forced into her veins. Her brittle
shoulders with Palmolive soap
stilling the stale scent death
with sweet perfume. Despite all
signs of danger, all threats of disease
her hands remain outstretched,
reaching for cursive shadows of sun.
In this garage apartment
rests center of my family, source of
masculine pride & identity.
When I was 9 with voice soft,
sweet like girl in summer rain
she yelled, Habla como hombre
Or when she picked ticks off
pitbull, making me step on
tiny crawling sacks of blood.
This is Maria Luisa Ortiz,
woman who walked on snow-covered
Chicago streets to garment factories
in warehouse district.
Woman who pulled weeds out of rose bush
gardens with hands chapped,
knotted with cuts, bruises & scars.
But on days like this, watching
boxing on old television screen,
I emerge with laughter: manly,
tough like abuela's hands.

*Be sure to stop on the next stop of the Holiday Blog Tour with Deborah Grace Staley

Holiday Blog Tour 2011 Begins

2011-12-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited to announce that the Holiday Blog Tour 2011 with 23 writers ranging from established to emerging writers has begun.

You can read some up-and-coming, some bestselling and some soon-to-be best selling authors. And they'll get you in the holiday spirit!

We have something for everyone, from poets to fiction writers and some memoir folks are coming to party too.

And if you're a really good reader, some will have a present for you. And if you're a super good reader, and read all the stories, there's a present for you, too. But you have to wait until the end.

First one up is Julia Amante, author of Evenings at the Argentine Club and Say You'll Be Mine. She starts us off with a great story about her first Christmas with her family together.

If you leave a comment on her post, you can be entered to win one of her novels.

The tour continues on Saturday, December 3rd with me! Be sure to stop by to read a poem I'll post for the blog tour.

Thanks to awesome writer, Icess Fernandez at the Writing to Insanity blog for putting this together.

Below is the rest of the lineup for the tour.

Happy Holidays!

Dec. 3 Radames Ortiz
Dec. 4 Deborah Grace Staley
Dec. 5 Zoraida Cordova
Dec. 6.Danielle Klenak
Dec. 7 Lupe Mendez
Dec. 8 Natasha Oliver
Dec. 9 Maria Ferrer
Dec. 10 Sidney Williams
Dec. 11 Toni Plummer
Dec. 12 Mayra Calvani
Dec. 13 Kristy Harding
Dec. 14 Thelma Reyna
Dec. 15.Sylvia Mendoza
Dec. 16 Regina Tingle
Dec. 17 Teresa Dovalpage
Dec. 18 Mirta Espinola
Dec. 19 Kim Brown
Dec. 20 Gwen Jerris
Dec. 21 Paula Altschuler
Dec. 22 Caridad Pinero
Dec. 23 Teresa Carbajal Revet
Dec. 24 Icess Fernandez Rojas

Dagoberto Gilb Book Signing Tonight in Houston

2011-11-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

Author Dagoberto Gilb will have a book signing for his new book "BEFORE THE END, AFTER THE BEGINNING" in Houston at Barnes & Nobles, Thursday, November 17, 2011.

The event is hosted by Nuestra Palabra founder Tony Diaz, publisher of AztecMuse Magazine and features performances by Nuestra Palabra Discoveries and poets - Radames Ortiz, Lupe Mendez and Jasmine Mendez.

Pulitzer-prize winning Richard Ford says the stories in BEFORE THE END, AFTER THE BEGINNING, are “quirky, confronting, intense, often darkly funny stories” which nevertheless reveal a “sense of profound human longing and a dream of harmony.”

The event is free and will be from 6:30pm - 8:00pm at Barnes & Nobles 7626 Westheimer @ Voss, Houston, Texas 77063.

Interview on the Front Row Radio Show @ Noon Today

2011-06-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

Today at noon on The Front Row radio show, poet Loueva Smith and me will be featured guests. We will read some poetry and talk about our upcoming reading this Saturday at the Kendall Branch of the Houston Public Library for the Public Poetry reading series.

To listen tune in to 91.7 KUHA FM or listen on the website.

Here is a description of the show.

"Wednesday, we focus on the International Festival-Institute at Round Top. We hear a concert performance by last year’s Texas Festival Orchestra, and speak with conductor JoAnn Falletta who talks about the concert she’ll direct this Saturday on Festival Hill. We’ll also hear from Bayou City poets, Loueva Smith and Radames Ortíz, who will read Saturday afternoon at the Kendall Branch of the Houston Public Library on this month’s installment of the Library’s Public Poetry Reading Series."

UPDATE: Up late tonight? The Front Row radio show will be rebroadcasted. Poet Loueva Smith and me will be featured guests. We will read some poetry and talk about our upcoming reading this Saturday for the Public Poetry reading series.

We'll be on at 11:45pm on 88.7 FM (central time)

Interview on Nuestra Palabra Radio Show Tonight!

2011-06-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight I will be on the radio to promote the upcoming Public Poetry reading this Saturday, July 2nd at the Kendall Library.

To learn more check out the information below:

"Nuestra Palabra Radio 2nite! Public Poetry Poets Radames Ortiz and Outspoken Bean give you a preview of their Saturday reading AND Wendy Call tells us why there’s NO WORD FOR WELCOME when it comes to Mexican villages and the global economy. Also, if you clicked our LIKE button, find out how we’re showing you some LIKE back fans. 7pm CST on 90.1 FM or www.KPFT.org"

Poetry Broadsides Published in Scythe Literary Journal

2011-06-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

A while back, I collaborated with two amazing artists, Kabuki Katze and Cristal Rivera to create a couple of poetry broadsides based on my poems "Relapse" and "[It's disturbing, she says. Walking out the door. Sleek like a mule]"

The broadsides have recently been published in the latest issue of Scythe literary journal.

You can view Kabuki Katze's poetry broadside here and Cristal Rivera's poetry broadside here.

The issue also features work by Bob Hicok, Jo McDougall, Alan May, Felino A. Soriano, Jason Hardung, Chris McCreary, Sally Molini and more.

Be sure to submit your poems for the next issue. Before you submit, check out Scythe's submission guidelines. to submit your poetry and fiction.

Charlie Sheen is a Published Warlock Poet

2011-03-04T08:13:00.000-08:00

We all knew Charlie Sheen is a warlock poet but did you know he's a published one too! Charlie Sheen self-published a book of poetry entitled A Peace of My Mind back in the day.

Here is an excerpt:

Afternoon chaos turned to laughter,
As the lady in grey pierces the surface of the private aquarium,
Peach body held tight by the warmth of day,
Eyes fixed to locate, steady flow consumed,
A charred eruption takes suddenly the safety from her glow.
No place to hide, clear water raging black,
Looking hard for shallow hope, it’s gone, she consumed it.
Mascara bleeding, eyes of fire turned to stone,
Forced smile fading, laughing jackal breaks the leash.

You can listen to Charlie read this poem by watching the trailer of the film Tale of Two Sisters directed by Adam Rifkin, the artist that illustrated Sheen's poetry book.

Monster (Drupal Remix) Rap Video featuring A. Hughes and D. Stagg

2011-03-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

For those of you who personally know me know that I am not only into poetry but I am also very much into technology specifically social media, search engine marketing and content management systems. So, I am pretty lucky that I work with a bunch of other tech geeks who share the same passions as I do.

My homies A.Hughes and D.Stagg recently dropped their rap video "Monster (Drupal Remix)." It's a remix of Kanye West's Monster.

The track gives love to Drupal, an open source content management system. You can download the mp3 here and watch the nerdtastic video below.

BTW, I make a quick cameo in it.

"Monster (Drupal Remix feat. A.Hughes and D.Stagg)" from Schipul - The Web Marketing Co. on Vimeo.

Check out "Word Around Town Ep. 4 Podcast" featuring poet Radames Ortiz and electronic musician Jonathan Jindra

2010-12-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

Jonathan Jindra and I were interviewed for the Word Around Town's December "A Little Poetry Podcast".

According to their website, "This podcast is your ongoing source for interviews, commentary and poetry recorded live in Houston, Texas with your hosts Stephen Gros and Teresa Juarez."

Below is a description of the show.

A conversation with Houston-based poet Radames Ortiz and his audio collaborator, the composer Trills (Jonathan Jindra).

Listen to a great discussion with poet Radames Ortiz and musician Jonathan Jindra. We discussed their upcoming multimedia collaboration of poetry and music; the way artists release CDs now and how they are marketed; the tools used to put together the project.

Click on this link to listen to the poetry podcast interview and to one of our sample tracks from our upcoming poetry cd.

PlasmaCar Racing at Schipul-The Web Marketing Company 2010

2010-12-02T07:19:00.000-08:00

This was my first year to experience the Thanksgiving PlasmaCar racing at Schipul - The Web Marketing company this year. Graphic artist and web guru, Ben Gillin put together this great video of the races. Enjoy.

PlasmaCar Race Day from Schipul - The Web Marketing Co. on Vimeo.

Alice Walker Discusses Why She Prefers Publishing on the Internet

2010-11-17T13:25:00.000-08:00

I found this interesting post from the Poetry Foundation blog regardingAlice Walker's visit to Google Headquarters as part of their authors series back in October. She talks about technology, poetry and her latest book of poetry, Hard Times Require Furious Dancing and why she chooses to publish some poems directly online through her website.

I love this quote from her talk:

"I decided to write new poetry and put it on the internet first because I wanted to go directly to people.

When you write a poem the feeling is of instantly wanting to share it because you automatically think of poetry, I think, as a medicine. And this is the medicine that comes to you in that moment and you just want somebody else to have it."

Artcrawl @ ESAL + Post-Artcrawl Rooftop Poetry / Music Performance

2010-11-16T09:20:00.000-08:00

November 20, 2010

In conjunction with the 18th Annual Artist's Warehouse ArtCrawl, Elder Street Artist Lofts residents will open their lofts / studios / spaces to visitors for an opportunity to view or buy their artwork and to engage in a dialogue on local art.

There will be guided artist tours of the lofts starting at 12pm and 3pm. Be sure to come out and support your local art scene and artists!

Later that evening there will also be an 8:00pm rooftop multimedia poetry performance featuring poet Radames Ortiz and electronic music composer Jonathan Jindra.

A DJ set by Midmir (Jonathan Jindra, Frank Dambra) will immediately follow the performance.

So, come hang out with a bunch of artists at one of Houston's historical buildings to experience some multimedia poetry and meet great local artists while enjoying the downtown skyline.

Artcrawl Elder Street is located off of Houston & Washington Ave. in First Ward.

FREE Event

Guided Artist Tours: 12pm, 3pm
Meet at 2nd Floor S entrance

The Free Poetry Foundation's iPhone App Gets Updated

2010-10-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

Today, the Poetry Foundation has released an update for their free iPhone poetry app. The biggest and coolest update is that they have added nearly 400 contemporary poems. Over one hundred of the poems come from Poetry magazine.

Poetry fans can now experience even more contemporary poets including the work of David Bottoms, Martín Espada, Tess Gallagher, Cathy Park Hong, Edwin Torres, Natasha Trethewey and Rachel Wetzsteon.

Other updates regard usability including a "Browse by Poet" search feature. However, according to the Poetry Foundation's press release, "Poetry fans can still maintain a folder of favorite poems; share poems with friends through social media or e-mail; and enjoy an engaging interface designed specifically for the iPhone. As always, the app is free to download and use."

The POETRY app is available in the Apple iTunes Store. For more information or to download the app, visit the Apple App store.

Bohemeo's Poetry Reading

2010-10-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

Bohemeo's Poetry Reading
Presented by Bohemeo's at Bohemeo's
October 21, 2010

Bohemeo’s, the East End’s first music and art coffee house, is hosting a Poetry Reading on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010 from 9-11pm.

Featured poets include:

R.T. Castleberry
Sarah Cortez
Radames Ortiz & Jonathan Jindra
Loueva Smith
Larry D. Thomas (former Poet Laureate of Texas)
Randall Watson
Ron Welch

Bohemeo’s address is 708 Telephone Rd., inside the Tlaquepaque Market. The website is: www.bohemeos.com and there are directions to the club on the website.

The event is free of charge. Each of the poets will have books for sale.

For further information, please contact bohemeo’s at www.bohemeos.com, 713-923-4277 or R.T. Castleberry at rcastl2335@aol.com, 713-529-0198.

Credit for event pic: (c) 2010 "Ganesh, remover of obstacles" by Chris Glenn: "I designed this image specifically as a mental focus for addressing anxieties, procrastination, and my avoidance of dealing with important issues until they become overwhelming."

Poem Published in Zócalo Public Square

2010-10-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Check out my poem in an issue of Zócalo Public Square.

According to their website, "Zócalo Public Square connects people to ideas and to each other in an open, accessible, non-partisan and broad-minded spirit. Through our web magazine, lectures, panels, screenings, and conferences, Zócalo takes on ideas that enhance our understanding of community—the forces that strengthen or undermine human connectedness and social cohesion."

Be sure to submit your poems by sending 2 or 3 poems to Colette at colette.labouff.atkinson@gmail.com

Poems Flow on the Webz with TextFlows

2010-09-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while browsing the Poets.org website, I noticed a new project they're sponsoring called Poem Flow. I knew it wouldn't be too long before poets began embracing mobile technology to share their poetry with the world. Poem Flow utilizes a great piece of software called TextFlows.

According to their website, "We offer an entirely new way to interact with the written word. We use motion and light to present text as an animated flow on a simple, uncluttered screen. Reading becomes easier, more effective, and fun; writing receives an added dimension of artistic expression."

Currently, the software isn't open to everyone yet but we will be able to create our own flows using their flow composer very soon. In the meantime, you can check out some copyright free flows which include poem flows by Barack Obama, John Berryman, Emily Dickinson and more.

Also, be sure to check out the Poem Flow iphone app and Billy Collin's poem flow below.

Two Poems by Radames Ortiz published in Mythium

2010-09-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

Check out a couple of my poems in the new print literary issue of Mythium: The Journal of Contemporary Literature and Cultural Voices. This issue also features work by Nikky Finney, Randall Horton, Jacinda Townsend, Kimberly Alidio, Radames Ortiz and others.

Be sure to submit your poems for the next issue. Before you submit, check out Mythium's submission guidelines. to submit your poetry and fiction.

Order your copy of the Mythium Vol. 1 No. 2 issue 2010 by visiting the Mythium website.

Poem Published in Ardent

2010-08-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

A poem of mine was recently published in an issue of Ardent. The issue features poetry by Deb Akers, Mike Alexander, David Barnes, Radames Ortiz and many more.

For submission guidelines go here.

Jonathan Jindra and Radames Ortiz will be performing at tomorrow's Spacetaker's Artist SPEAKeasy event

2010-05-18T18:08:00.000-07:00

Spacetaker's Artist SPEAKeasy
$FREE

Every third Wednesday of the month at the Artist SPEAKeasy, Spacetaker hosts two to three artists from varying disciplines to present, in an informal atmosphere, creative dialogs/talks/presentations about their work where the audience can glean further insight into the artist, the artist's aesthetic and creative process. The evening is designed not only to bring together artists and those who appreciate the arts, but also to introduce local artists to each other to encourage conversation and cross-disciplinary collaboration between artists and their chosen media.

Drinks and nosh are served at 6:30; formal talks are underway at 7:00. Guests are invited to come and go as necessary.

This month's Spacetaker Arist SPEAKeasy features the artists of "Additional Support" (Hagit Barkai, Kelley Devine & Jessica Jacobi) and Radames Ortiz and Jonathan Jindra who will perform tracks from their upcoming poetry cd.

How author Margaret Atwood uses Twitter

2010-04-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

"So what's it all about, this Twitter? Is it signaling, like telegraphs? Is it Zen poetry? Is it jokes scribbled on the washroom wall? Is it John Hearts Mary carved on a tree? Let's just say it's communication, and communication is something human beings like to do." --Margaret Atwood

More and more writers are finding interesting ways to promote themselves and their works on social networks, even the most established writers have jumped on board including Margaret Atwood.

She recently wrote about her experience with Twitter for the The New York Review of Books/NYR blog.

According to ShopBrief: "While promoting her book "The Year of the Flood," author Margaret Atwood took her publicist's advice and opened a Twitter account, quickly accumulating more than 33,000 followers. More than just being a platform for promoting her work, the service has helped her establish connections with her fans, Atwood writes"

Read more at about her twitter experience here. You can follow Margaret Atwood on Twitter here.

Check out "The Poet Tech Podcast" featuring poet Radames Ortiz and electronic musician Jonathan Jindra

2010-03-31T11:48:00.001-07:00

Earlier this month, Jonathan Jindra and I were interviewed for the Poet Podcast from the Cloudy Day Art Podcast Network. This podcast focuses on how poets use technology.

According to the website, "The Poet Tech Podcast is a podcast for poets and writers about how we use technology, in the broadest form of the word, to create and interact with our works. I’ll discuss everything from computer hardware and websites to pens and paper."

Below is a description of the show.

A conversation with Houston-based poet Radames Ortiz and his audio collaborator, the composer Trills (Jonathan Jindra).

I was able to record a great discussion with poet Radames Ortiz and musician Jonathan Jindra this past weekend. We discussed their upcoming multimedia collaboration of poetry and music; the way artists release CDs now and how they are marketed; the tools used to put together the project; being independent versus being with a label, and much more.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

ThoughtCrime Performance on Thursday, March 18th

2010-03-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

Hey fellow Houstonites

Tomorrow night, I will perform several tracks from my upcoming cd featuring music by Jonathan Jindra aka Trills, at a poetry series curated by Stephen Gros.

The series will feature 15 minute poetry performances with host-lead question and answer sessions after each performance.

Audience participation will be encouraged throughout the reading as well as social media interaction. Some performances will be recorded and posted on the web. Also photo coverage is encouraged.

Do MFA Programs Hurt Poetry?

2010-02-23T18:14:00.000-08:00

In this great video interview with poet and president of the Guggenheim foundation, Edward Hirsch, discusses the effect of MFA programs on poetry and gives advice to novice poets.

What do you think of the MFA debate? Have they done more harm than good to the state of poetry today?

Wired's "10 Literary Classics That Should Be Videogames" List

2010-02-10T11:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Electronic Arts released their reimagining of Dante's epic poem as an Xbox 360 and PS3 action/adventure game. *I plan on getting my copy early next week.

The folks at Wired posted this great article "10 Literary Classics That Should Be Videogames" which list the best literary tales that would make a good transition to video game mode.

Imagine playing as Kafka's Gregor Samsa in "Bug Mode" and dodging missiles hurled by a final boss or as Herman Hesse's Siddhartha in an RPG adventure game. Imagine these great literary classics coming to a PS3 or Xbox 360.

Which other books could be made into videogames?

Below is the trailer of Dante's Inferno:

Check out "Woodrat Podcast 5: Amplified Bards" featuring poet Radames Ortiz and electronic musician Jonthan Jindra

2010-02-09T11:33:00.001-08:00

Last Sunday, Jonathan Jindra and I were interviewed for Dave Bonta's Woodrat podcast series on his blog, Via Negativa. We were featured in order to promote our upcoming poetry cd due out later this year.

It was a great opportunity to discuss our collaboration but most importantly, it gave me a chance to to speak about poetry and new media.

Below is a description of the show.

A conversation with Houston-based poet Radames Ortiz and his audio collaborator, the composer Trills (Jonathan Jindra).

Topics include: How electronic music is composed; the arts scene in Houston; composing and improvising music to accompany poems; making the transition from ambient music to electronica that demands active listening; how Radames started writing poetry and why he chose not to get an MFA; turning a poetry reading into a multimedia experience and getting the audience involved; online reading, e-book readers and the supposed death of the text; the obligation of poets and writers to master multimedia tools; making and watching videopoetry.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Meet Brooklyn’s New Poet Laureate

2010-02-04T08:34:00.000-08:00

The New York borough, Brooklyn has announced its poet laureate. Tina Chang, the author of Half-Lit Houses, will be the fourth poetic ambassador to fill the position.

According to Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, “Ms. Chang has dedicated her life to poetry and is passionate about reaching and educating diverse communities.”

Chang has been promoting poetry among the community for many years. "I see myself as an ambassador and activist on behalf of poetry," Chang said. "Over the past decade, I've given myself over to poetry completely, engaging students, teachers, writers, librarians, the young, the aging, as well as many people of diverse cultural and social economic backgrounds."

Some of the programs Chang hopes to create include, an Adopt-a-Poet Day at Brooklyn middle schools, where established poets of varied backgrounds would host writing workshops and student poetry readings. Chang also has ideas for an interactive website to connect poets to their community, a virtual space where Brooklyn poets could promote their work.

Below is the poem she read to more than a thousand guests at the ceremony, held at the Park Slope Armory.

You can visit her website here.

Praise
Tina Chang
Brooklyn Poet Laureate

All night long there was digging, and the bodies like accordions
bent into their own dying instruments, and even after this,

after the quake, there was, in news reports, still singing:
A woman's clapping was followed by another who shuffled

and dragged her own apparition through the ruined streets,
though each one knew the anthem the other was singing.

History taught them better. No one was coming.
The film crews had their sights on the large hotels,

the embassies. So they set to digging with their hands
and with the shoes of those who were no longer alive.

And with that, night fell and fell again
like an old black pot tumbling to the ground.

When a man dies, the first thing that goes is his breath,
and the last thing that goes is his memory.

I once saw this civilization passing through a great white door,
people weeping, then the weeping was followed by the sound

of tambourines rattling the heavy air, something that sounded
like celebration only livelier and more holy, voices rising,

and then a marching into the dusty road of the next century.
When shelter is gone, find your solace on the ground.

And when the ground is gone, lift yourself and walk.
And after all the great monuments of your memory

have collapsed, with the sky steady above you,
you shatter that too, with song

Wonderful "Evolution of the Book" Chart

2010-02-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

If you need a refresher on the heritage of the ubiquitous ebook readers, then you will be interested in checking out this "Evolution of the Book" linear chart.

According to Fastcompany, "the chart shows how primitive Clay Sumerian Tablets (3500 BC) and Egyptian Papyrus scrolls (2400 BC) evolved into wax tablet codex (200 BC), Gutenberg's printing press (1440), and more modern dalliances like the Japanese cell-phone text novel."

Protraits of Poets Exhibition

2010-01-11T08:27:00.000-08:00

Nikki Giovanni photographed at her desk in her apartment on November 4, 1975 by Jill Krementz.

A poem is a way of capturing a moment, I don't do a lot of revisions because I think if you have to do that then you've got problems with the poem. Rather than polish the words, I take the time to polish the poem. If that means I start at the top a dozen of times, that's what I do. A poem's got to be a single stroke, and I make it the best I can because it's going to live.

An exhibition featuring drawings, photographs, collages and oil portraits of distinguished poets ranging from Dylan Thomas, Robert Frost, Marianne Moore, Frank O'Hara, and Elizabeth Bishop to Nikki Giovanni, Billy Collins, and Mark Strand is on view at the National Arts Club.

Check out the article at the New York Social Dairy. It is filled with many protraits of poets.

Family Group Day: A Video Poem Featued on Moving Poems

2010-01-06T20:03:00.000-08:00

A while ago, I posted some behind-the-scenes pictures of the filming of my video poem, "Family Group Day" here. After I posted the final version of the video poem on Youtube, I found out that it was featured on Moving Poems: The Best Video Poems on the Web.

So, I thought I'd share it with everyone. Here is the premiere of my video poem "Family Group Day" written and performed by poet Radames Ortiz featuring music by Trills, graphic design artist Alberto Capetillo and videographer Gilbert Camargo.

Let me know what you think.

Poem Published in the Bicycle Review

2009-12-18T11:42:00.000-08:00

My poem "Lunchtime Sonnet" was recently published in the fourth issue of the Bicycle Review. The issue features poetry and short fiction by Eric J. Brinovec, Christopher Coleman, Ginetta Corelli, C.S. DeWildt, Dave Erlewine, Kimberly Freeman, Ricky Garni, Kirpal Gordon, Radomir Luza, Valery Oisteanu, and Radames Ortiz.

It also features original artworks by M.K. Bullock, photography by Charles Hayes and cover art by Rhea Adri-de Salvo

This is a wonderful new journal based out in L.A. which publishes work that is " "unusual, original and downright creepy."

For submission guidelines go here.

Behind the Scenes of Family Group Day Filming

2009-12-16T19:44:00.000-08:00

In early November, a couple of friends helped me create a video poem based on my poem, "Family Group Day," featuring a musical score by Trills. This was a wonderful experience and I had a really fun time doing it.

Here is the storyboard for the poem:

We spent about 4 hours filming the main shots. We used mannequins to represent family members in the protagonist's life because we wanted to focus on the intensity of his emotions, most importantly his guilt. I wanted the setting to be sterile and lack human warmth to depict the detachment of the recovery process of an addict.

Here's a pic of graphic designer, Alberto Capetillo and videographer, Gilbert Camargo in action:

Anyway, I posted some pics that I took on my phone into a Flickr stream here. Check it out and let me know what you think.

I will be posting the video poem soon.

Poems Published in Scythe

2009-12-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

Several of my poems were recently published in the inaugural issue of Scythe. This first issue features poets who have been interviewed on the Joe Milford Poetry Show. This month’s issue includes work by Bob Hicok, Ernest Hilbert, Matthew Hittinger, Carol Novack, Donald Platt, Radames Ortiz, Dean Young, and many more.

Scythe is a tri-annual publication with an open submissions policy. The editors Joseph and Chenelle Milford “hope to expand and nurture the conversations between poets on our show and poets who submit to our journal to feature the poetry alive today.”

To submit your poems, please read the submission guidelines here.

Pictures from @Wired: A Multimedia Explosion of Poetry, Song, Music and Image

2009-12-11T11:46:00.001-08:00

I finally got around to loading up some pictures from my @Wired: A Multimedia Explosion of Poetry, Song, Music and Image event that occurred on November 13, 2009 at the Rudolph Projects ArtScan Gallery.

The event was standing room only and the rooms of the gallery filled up pretty quickly. I am happy with the turn-out. A video of the event will be out soon and I will post it when it's ready.

Check out the photostream of @Wired at Flickr here. Enjoy!

Poems Published in Poets & Artists

2009-11-30T12:19:00.000-08:00

Two of my poems were published in the December's issue of Poets & Artists "Realism" issue. The Poets & Artists magazine combines poetry and art in a unique and interesting way. Each issue is packed with amazing photography, art and poetry.

This month's issue focuses on the Rebirth of Realism: From Hyper to Photorealism and Everything in Between. It features the work of Sam Jinks, Glennray Tutor, Hubert de Lartigue, Denis Peterson, Craig Wylie, Jacques Bodin, Jenny Dabnau, Francois Chartier, Radames Ortiz (pages 20-21), Evie Shockley, Sam Rasnake, Ann Fisher-Wirth, Nick Piombino, Pamela M. Johnson, Ruben Belloso and many more.

It is available to read online at Poets & Artists and you can purchase a print issue of the magazine at Amazon here.

@WiredPoetry Event Rehearsal This Past Saturday

2009-11-09T17:31:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, the @wiredpoetry crew did their performance rehearsal for this week's @Wired: A Multimedia Explosion of Poetry, Song, Music and Image event on Friday, November 13th at 8pm at the Rudolph Projects ArtScan Gallery.

It was wonderful to see the behind-the-scenes of each performance. Below are some pictures I took of @byronjonesthepoet and @purposedband, bassist Anthony Walker, working on their set. Trills was able to capture some of the magic on video and it will be part of a video we will be working on thanks to the talented film maker Stephanie Saint Sanchez.

Spend Some Time with Artist Kabuki Katze

2009-11-05T22:37:00.000-08:00

Speaking of watching other artists at work, graphic design artist, Kabuki Katze, maps out the process of working on the @Wired event flyer.

@kabukikatze is the genius behind The Amplified Bard profile pics on Myspace and Facebook including the wonderful header to this blog.

@KabukiKatze has always been wonderful in making her design process transparent i.e. allowing fans to see the stages of her work. She recently wrote a blog documenting her process working with the @wiredpoetry folks.

Check it out at her blog.

Practice Night with Trills for @Wired

2009-11-05T20:59:00.000-08:00

Tonight Trills and I worked on our performance for the @Wired event next week. I headed over to his apartment/studio to work on the timing and video images for our performance. I love collaborating with other artists because I am able to see them work in their element.

Here is Trills and his son Caleb playing on the keyboard during a break:

It blew me away to watch Trills turn various computer programs, keyboard riffs, and audio set-ups into an auditory explosion of nerves and uneasiness.

Imagine what the tweeps involved with @wired i.e. @thepoetmendez, @byronjonesthepoet, @kabukikatze, @radameso, @BrigitteZ have in store for you.

For more info check out Artshound at http://www.artshound.com/event/detail/33043 or RSVP here.

Story of a Nerd and his destiny. Winner of Dreamhack 1998 Wild Compo

2009-11-04T22:15:00.000-08:00

I found this great video about a nerd's life in the late 90's. What do you guys think? How would the video be made today? Would it probably still feature an addiction to porn? What about social media?

A Book About Nothing

2009-11-04T13:06:00.000-08:00

“I love talking about nothing…. It is the only thing I know anything about.” —OSCAR WILDE

“Nothingness lies coiled in the heart of being–like a worm.” —JEAN-PAUL SARTRE

The concept of Nothingness has always interested me ever since I read Sartre's magnum opus "Being and Nothingness," which inevitably led me into a brooding, existential phase in my life. I can remember after reading Camus or Beckett, I would naturally contemplate the nature of non-being, of essence and negation until my head throbbed from the banging of an ontological hammer.

For something non-existent, this Nothingness, caused me dread. Dread of Being, dread of essence, dread of facticity. If you are in the same position, have no fear now. There is a new book entitled "You Don’t Have to be Buddhist to Know Nothing," a comprehensive catalog of quotations from a long list of thinkers, writers, artists, scholars and the ways they explored, confronted, and played with the presence of nothingness and emptiness in their lives.

According to the introduction, "Without Emptiness there would be no opportunity for something new, or something else, to occur. Where would Something happen? Stars disappearing. Novas appearing. Leaves falling. New leaves growing. One generation dying, another being born. Nothing is the still center of the wheel of life. Nothing is the core of creation. In the dark evanescence between equal and opposite, the Universe ignites."

Read more at the blog.

@Wired is now on Twitter!

2009-11-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

That's right poetry lovers and fellow geeks. @WiredPoetry is on Twitter. Stop by and check it out. I will be tweeting behind the scenes of @Wired: A Multimedia Explosion of Poetry, Music, Song and Image.

I will also be tweeting live from the event, so be sure to follow @Wiredpoetry for more details and awesomeness.

@Wired: A Multimedia Explosion of Poetry, Song, Music and Image

2009-10-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

Getting Ready for @Wired

2009-10-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

Recently, I went to electronic musician and composer, Trills' place to lay down the voice track of my poems for the @Wired poetry event to be held on November 13th at the Rudolph Projects ArtScan Gallery.

It was a great experience to record my poems and then to see him work his magic. I'm really excited about this performance and I hope I can do justice to his score. He sent me a draft of the project and I was immediately blown away. He has done a great job interpreting the emotions and mood for my poetry. Keep checking my blog for updates.

Are you trying to get me drunk, Radames? Tshirts from Zazzle.com

2009-10-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

I was researching the new twitter feed search on Bing today when I stumbled on this wonderful gem of a shirt. What are the chances of finding a shirt like this that has my real name on it? I was thinking about buying some in bulk and giving them away as prizes. I recommend you click on the link below and buy as soon as possible.

Are you trying to get me drunk, Radames? Tshirts from Zazzle.com

@Wired: A Multimedia Explosion of Poetry

2009-10-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

Envision a small, poorly lit room complete with makeshift stage, uncomfortable plastic chairs lined in rows and scattered attendants, mostly the poets themselves, looking predictably forlorn as they listen and wait.

You know, not all poetry-related events have to follow the same humdrum formula. Unlike contemporary poetry, where words now run amok, zigzagging across computer screens, the poetry reading has yet to push the boundaries of performance art and dabble in new forms.

Well, until now.

Local poets Radames Ortiz, Lupe Mendez and Byron Jones have joined forces to bring Houston @Wired: A Multimedia Explosion of Poetry. @Wired is a revolutionary approach to exposing the literary masses to a new type of poetry reading. By incorporating social media, music, song, imagery and technology to enhance their poetic performances, @Wired seeks to reconstruct the poetry reading and to engage local creatives to actively participate in making a unique event even more special.

@Wired will be presented 8 p.m. Friday, November 13, at the Rudolph Projects Art Scan Gallery, 1836 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77098-3510

(c) brigitte zabak (your name[here]media)

Poems about Aliens

2009-10-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

In celebration of UFO Day, Poets.org has posted links to some great poems about aliens. According to the site, "While it is seems even literary science fiction pieces are rarely categorized as literature, many serious poets have written poems on the topic of life beyond our world."

I have to admit that I love it when poets embrace different subject matter in their poems and go beyond the natural human elements of this world. Some of the poems listed at Poets.org include Stanley Kunitz's poem "The Abduction" and Robert Hayden's [American Journal].

If you have links to other sc-fi poems, please leave them in the comments.

Gulf Coast Poetry Tour Tonight

2009-10-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

I will be reading tonight at the first-ever Gulf Coast Poetry Tour launch party at Rudyard's with readings by twenty-six poets. Readings will begin promptly at 8pm. Don't worry if you can't stay for the whole shebang. Come as you are. Traveling from Houston to Mobile Oct. 6-9 the tour spotlights new, emerging and community poets and lots of them. The tour is possible through a coalition of volunteer organizers and poets working together across the Gulf region. For more information email gcpt.houston@gmail.com. Rudyard's is 21+.

Two Poems featured at Fluffy Towel

2009-10-05T23:32:00.000-07:00

"Traveling entails so much more than the time spent in exotic places. Luggage, broken fluorescent lights baring down on squeaky baggage claims, layovers in airports where people wait, stranded sometimes, for a new day. The experiences of getting from point A to point B in your desired destination are stories in their own rite. Radames Ortiz and Carmen Jenner are two writers from opposite sides of the globe who crossed international blogging boundaries to bring readers into a different realm of a traveler's mind."
--Brigitte Zabak

"Stranded at O'Hare" Read by Brigitte Zabak, written by Radames Ortiz.

Visit The Fluffy Towel to enjoy this poem via text and images.

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Hunchback of Burnett Park

2009-09-30T22:13:00.000-07:00

He treads across the playground.
A blunt weight on his shoulders.
Muscles tense like knives. The head
forced downward. His slanted
neck a rifle twisted in combat.
His gross geometry traces the dirt.
He makes a gallant effort to look
at birds settled in the high trees.
Fine bodies and smug faces. The full
swings and merry-go-round in fresh
August light. The kind of life, he
always suspected. Children coming
and going. All hollers and sweat.
The vagrant blossoms, others growing tall.

(c) Radames Ortiz 2009

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

How to Amplify Your Poems

2009-09-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

This morning, I found this wonderful article on Poets & Writers entitled The Audio Revolution: How to Amplify Your Poems by Todd Boss. The article is a great resource for poets who are interested in "amplifying" their poetry by taking advantage of the audio tools so readily available online.

According to the article, "We are in the midst of a revolution in the way poetry finds its readers. Never before has it been so easy to create and distribute vocal recordings to a truly global audience, and yet most contemporary poets continue to invest themselves in only their art form's print aspects, reserving their presentation skills for little more than public readings. It's a pre-Internet model that serves poets to a limited extent, leaves readers half satisfied, and denies access to a potentially much wider "listening" audience."

Boss goes on to explain how having audio recordings on his website led to greater opportunities including a commission from syndicated weekend radio program The Splendid Table and several collaborative projects with musicians.

I have to agree with Boss about the importance of looking for new ways to enhance the experience for readers/consumers of poetry. I spoke about this very subject in my interview this past Sunday on the Joe Milford Poetry Show. I am in complete agreement, when Boss states, "Audio isn't likely to replace the printed (or pixelled) page, but you couldn't ask for a better way to supplement it."

Read the article for some great audio tool resources and tips.

Trills - "Flavia" from upcoming Modular Puzzle LP

2009-09-28T22:44:00.000-07:00

It's weird how things work out sometimes. Last October, I did a reading at the Houston Community College-Southwest campus as part of their "Literary Luminaries" Series and I met Jonathan Jindra aka Trills. He's an amazing electronic musician and luckily, he was interested in scoring some of my poems. We worked on some drafts but nothing really materialized until this year. We are now collaborating this November for an event I am coordinating entitled Wired: A Multimedia Explosion of Poetry at the Rudolph Artscan Gallery in Houston.

Trills' third full-length album will soon be released on the Nomadic Kids record label. According to the press release, "Modular Puzzle is an immense piece of work: acid techno electronica at its very finest." Once the album drops I will have an exclusive interview with him, so be sure to come back. While we are eagerly awaiting the album's release enjoy the first music video "Flavia" from the upcoming Modular Puzzle LP.

Trills - Flavia from Jonathan Jindra on Vimeo.

Missed The Joe Milford Poetry Show Interview? You can listen to it now.

2009-09-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, if you missed my radio interview on the Joe Milford Poetry Show, you can check out the player below and listen to it at your leisure. I was a bit nervous and it shows sometimes but Joe did a great job interviewing me and I am glad that we touched on topics that I am interested in including addiction, technology, and poetry. I tried to be clear as much as possible even though I was on my cell phone. My reading started shaky. Note: Don't use your laptop to read your poems from. The window will freeze when you least expect it. Feel free to leave comments letting me know what you think of the interview. Enjoy!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Joe-Milford-Show/2009/09/27/Joe-Milford-Hosts-Radames-Ortiz

The Joe Milford Poetry Show Hosts Radames Ortiz Sunday at 7:00pm - 8:30pm EST

2009-09-26T22:47:00.000-07:00

I will be interviewed today at 7-8:30pm eastern standard time on the Joe Milford Poetry Show, an internet radio show hosted at blogtalk radio. I'm pretty excited about it and a little nervous since it will be an hour and a half long radio interview. I have done radio interviews before but none have ever been this long. So, I hope I will be interesting enough to captivate listeners. The host Joe Milford is wonderful and a great interviewer, so I shouldn't be too nervous since he's great at making interviews interesting.

I will be reading some of my poems, talking about poetry and how technology is effecting it. If you are available and close to a computer, I hope you can tune in and show your support. Don't forget you can call in with questions, comments and suggestions at 646) 595-2394.

Poem Published in Five Fishes

2009-09-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

A poem of mine was recently published in the inaugural issue of Five Fishes. This is a wonderful new journal that focuses on books, music, and movies. Every other Friday they publish four poems and one short fiction piece in a Friday Bucket. Check out the first bucket which features work by Aristotle Sinclair, Radames Ortiz and more.

For submission guidelines go here.

Poet Jim Caroll, author of the Basket Ball Diaries Dies

2009-09-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

Advertisement by Wislawa Szymborska

2009-09-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

I’m a tranquilizer.
I’m effective at home.
I work in the office.
I can take exams
on the witness stand.
I mend broken cups with care.
All you have to do is take me,
let me melt beneath your tongue,
just gulp me
with a glass of water.

I know how to handle misfortune,
how to take bad news.
I can minimize injustice,
lighten up God’s absence,
or pick the widow’s veil that suits your face.
What are you waiting for—
have faith in my chemical compassion.

You’re still a young man/woman.
It’s not too late to learn how to unwind.
Who said
you have to take it on the chin?

Let me have your abyss.
I’ll cushion it with sleep.
You’ll thank me for giving you
four paws to fall on.

Sell me your soul.
There are no other takers.

There is no other devil anymore.

Translated by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh

"Advertisement" from POEMS NEW AND COLLECTED by Wisława Szymborska. English translation copyright ©1998 by Harcourt, Inc. Used with the permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Source: Poems New and Collected (Harcourt, Inc., 1998)

The Bard is now on Alltop

2009-09-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

Okay poet geeks. My blog is now listed at the AllTop-Top Poetry News section. If you have never heard or been to Alltop yet, I strongly urge you to check it out.

Alltop according to the website "is an 'online magazine rack' of popular topics. We update the stories every hour. Pick a topic by searching, news category, or name, and we’ll deliver it to you 24 x 7. All the topics, all the time."

This is how I get most of my news and now you can even create your own Alltop section with subjects you are interested in and then share it on the web. You can go here to create your own Alltop page.

Good Enough to Eat: Poetry about Food

2009-08-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

"To jump into poetry is like diving into a pool of chocolate. Some enthusiasts may make a glutton of themselves over the syrupy words until they’re gasping for air, while others will wade out at a leisurely pace carefully unraveling each word as they gorge. A life without poetry is like existing purely on salad. And whether you nibble on tidbits or devour the main course with gusto, no poetry afficado would dream of skipping dessert." --Carmen

Honey

Down my tickled throat
Does the nectar coat
Its sweet musk
Burns with lust
Desire is evoked

Ode to the Truffle

A black diamond in the rough. Jagged edges craving to be sliced over innocence. An egg, a potato, handmade pasta, a slab of steak, shimmering rice, a supple scallop or a slither of asparagus. Your earthly pleasures are to be enhalled, caressed, consumed, devoured. You are without gender, curvaceous like a woman and yet renowned as the testicle of the earth. A fungus, so intense in scent and flavor defying even a flame, which merely reduces you to a mushroom ambrosia. Alluring in your mystery, a temptress to the next conquest. Shyly hiding in the ground waiting to be sought after with the vigor of a lover who can’t resist. Even after the act of indulgence is over, insatiable yearning follows.

Molten Cocoa

Upon my tongue
Melting has begun
Cocoa dissolves
Weakening my resolve
We brave the storm
Love is torn

© Carmen Jenner 2009

Carmen Jenner is an Australian food and travel writer. She blogs at Fluffy Towel where she shares her well-crafted travel stories and her encounters with tasty cuisine and desserts. Today she shares some of her verse dedicated to the symphony of food.

Do you have a favorite food poem or has food ever inspired you to write?

Saint Monday

2009-08-11T23:48:00.000-07:00

Without a raincoat
I can not go out
looking for work
so I sit in the kitchen
looking at old snapshots:

the dead at parties
or at the beach,
you nude at three
reading the New York Times!
Love, it is winter:

the summer broke us.
I might find work
before next Sunday
so we can take a stroll
with money in cold weather.

(c) Alan Dugan

The Bard is now on Twitter!

2009-08-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

That's right poetry lovers and fellow geeks. The Amplified Bard is on Twitter. Stop by and check it out. I will be talking and sharing links about poetry, xbox 360, social media, music and other awesome things.

I will also hold a twitter poem contest soon. Follow me for more details at twitter

Birthday Poem (for Radames Ortiz)

2009-08-03T20:48:00.001-07:00

When I got home from my trip to Miami there was a pleasant birthday poem waiting for me in my Facebook inbox. The poem was written by J.P. Dancing Bear and he has graciously allowed me to share it with you. To learn more about J.P. and his poetry, please visit his website.

The Goggles Are Not Rose-Colored (after RoKu’s “Clarence”)
for Radames Ortiz

you see the world differently than others around you: like having special goggles on: you see the vibration of all things: the energy inside: you don’t like to think of things in terms of good or bad: but some things have a different hum to them: you’ve read about black matter in the universe: the trapping of light: dust and gas clouds as large as a galaxy: background radiation: pulsars: binaries: the intense energy of a galactic core: and it all fits together with what you see through these glasses: you hold your hand up to look at it: a small star system swirling in your palm

(c) J.P Dancing Bear 2009.

Labor of Love--How Poets Make A Living

2009-07-08T00:24:00.000-07:00

A series on NPR's "All Things Considered," discusses how artists make a living. This particular segment focuses on poets and features the work of Elizabeth Haukaas, author of Leap and winner of the Walt McDonald poetry book award.

From the segment, "Haukaas has no illusions about living off her craft, but what about critically acclaimed poets who have been in the national spotlight?

Mark Strand, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former U.S. poet laureate, says he wishes he could make a living as a poet. "But I make my living as a professor at Columbia University. The way I make extra money as a poet is to give readings and to write the occasional article — very occasional, I might add. And there's the occasional prize — even more occasional."

You can check out the article here.

Introducing Smartphones for Writers

2009-07-03T00:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a great article discussing the benefits of smartphones for writers. In a world where mobility and accessibility are vital, smartphones can be a writer's best friend. I think the more we compose email and text messages, the more writers are becoming accustomed to writing on the go. I'm not saying our mobile phones will replace our normal methods of writing but they can be a great resource for us.

From the article:

1) Accessibility

It’s the 21st century. You are expected to be more accessible in a multitude of ways. Meaning…your publicist or agent should be able to contact you at all times via phone, email or text. Don’t want to be bothered 24/7? Then turn your cellphone off, but at least have the ability to be more accessible.

2) Mobility

What if you want to take a break from writing and leave your laptop at home, but you still need to attend to a few emails? You can still conduct a wide range of business using just your smartphone. The editor just sent the 2nd draft changes via a word doc and you’d like to take a quick look. No need to haul out the laptop. Smartphones have applications that can open .DOC, PDF, .XL and .txt files.

Interview with Amy Sheehan

2009-07-01T01:41:00.000-07:00

The thing I love about visiting NYC is that I always meet very creative artists. Last summer was no exception. I met Amy Sheehan through a friend and later found out what an amazing musician and songwriter she is. Below, is a short interview she graciously granted me for my blog. Please check out her myspace page to sample her music or her website to book her for your events.

i noticed you were born in seoul, south korea yet adopted by italian-american parents when you were only 9 months old. has the seperation from your native country or being adopted by a family of a different ethic background influenced your music in any way? if so, how?

My parents were really great in trying to expose me to my culture early on - they bought books and put me in Korean classes but I was 8 so I wasn't really into it:) Since I was so young when I came to the US I've never felt like I had ever left 'my country.' This is where I was raised and I really don't know anything about Korean music (although it would be interesting to learn about). If my parents influenced my music in any way it's because of their own practice in the arts - my mom is a dance teacher and my dad a musician (formerly of NRBQ) I grew up in a house with a dance studio above our garage and a recording studio in the basement. Sometimes when I explain that to people it makes it sound like we lived in a mansion but no it was just a normal house but it was really cool that my parents could raise their family but still keep their passions at arms reach (or down a flight of stairs:) They support me 120% in both my acting and music. They're artists themselves so they understand that if you have a passion you have to just go for it otherwise you'd regret it.

when were you first introduced to music and what were some of your earliest musical influences?

Like I mentioned I grew up in a house that had music blasting from my mom's dance studio where she taught. Sometimes I would fall asleep on the floor in the middle of an adult jazz class dozing off to Paul Abdul and Michael Jackson. My dad would play guitar and we'd have sing-alongs. I'm really not into country and neither are my parents but for whatever reason the first songs I learned to sing were the Judds and Dolly Parton when I was 2. Although I'm proud to say I've been to Dollywood twice! My mom also choreographed for alot of community theater so I'm sure that somehow sparked my theater buzz.

you are a singer/ songwriter. can you tell us a little about your songwriting process? do you think poetry and songwriting share similar traits? if so, can you give me an example of how you use form in one of your lyrics e.g. "the ballad of jack jill."

I don't have a standard way of writing. Sometimes the idea comes first or sometimes lyrics come first or the chords and then lyrics. It totally depends on whatever I'm feeling or if there's something I just have to get out. (I notice I usually get into writing spurts after a break-up:) Songwriting is total poetry. I don't really go by form when I'm writing. Most of the time some sort of rhyme scheme develops as a result of the thoughts. I usually just get into a specific idea or theme for a song and the rhymes just develop from that.

whose your favorite poet? what's your favorite poem?

Pablo Neruda -Drunk as Drunk

i really enjoy listening to "jumper." can you tell me a little about this song and how it came about / what it means?

Thanks! I wrote it when I felt like I was losing a really great friend. It seemed like they were just getting caught up in something at full speed ahead and I wanted to bring them back down to earth. Thankfully we're still friends and they eventually landed with their feet on the ground:)

what are your future musical plans? will you work with electronica? any collaborations we should be on the look out for?

I've been jamming with some friends here and there. I might want to eventually get a full back up band. But I also really just love the sound of a simple acoustic act with hand percussion so we'll see. I'm not a huge electronica fan :( I'm still really new to music so I don't have any particular expectations. Right now it's another creative outlet for me in addition to acting and writing and anything new that comes out of it is icing on the cake!

do you play video games? if so, what's your favorite game?

No unfortunately I always wanted Nintendo when I was little but my parents wouldn't let me get it. I was more into computer games like SimCity and I would play Myst with my dad but the background music kind of freaked me out and I couldn't really play it by myself cause I got too scared.

what's on your ipod? give us a playlist?

Jay-Z - Heart of the City
Amy Winehouse - Me & Mr Jones
James Morrison - If you don't wanna love me
No Doubt - Bathwater
Bob Marley - Redemption Song
Jason Mraz - Butterfly
The Fugees - Ooh lalala
Fiona Apple - Criminal

Poem Published in Vivir Feliz

2009-07-01T01:27:00.000-07:00

One of my poems was recently published in the bilingual magazine "Vivir Feliz." It's pretty cool since it is nestled in between articles entitled, "Volvera El Matriarcado?: Will the Matriarchy Return?" and "El Acido Folico (En el embarazo y preembarazo): Folic Acid (In pregnancy and before pregnancy)"

Check it out if you can.

A Nice Review by a University Student

2009-06-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

This past semester a student at Rice University in Houston, TX did a review on my poetry for her English 365 course. She sent it to me and gave me permission to post it on my blog. Thanks Nadine for your support and encouragment.

Radames Ortiz Review

One has to read Radames Ortiz’s poetry slowly, deliberately, and with a willingness to both suspend and engage with reality. His poems often feature stark, urban settings presented through abstract, imaginative images that no less embody the jarring qualities of his subject. He smokes cigarettes “down to amputated limbs” (from “El Papi Ajit”) and rides the “iron bull . . . through the neighborhood like birds” (from “Rough Travelling”).

The poem “Birds, Birds” is a spectacular string of images that confuse if imagined too literally, but create a strong and precise atmosphere for the reader to inhabit when allowed to sink into one’s gut. On the surface, it’s about someone watching the city as another year passes. But within it we see pigeons like dominoes, “light poles quak[ing] like scarecrows”, and “trains chop[ping] neighborhoods in waves.” Conspiring buildings and ghosts inhabit this city while “the rats grow dizzy” and “crowded buses drown the roads.” All these strange, alien, and haunting images threaten to overtake the speaker, to ruin him as the birds ominously gather. But somewhere in the middle – “clanking / dinner plates,” “gated communities,” civility? No, just another form of “numbness” and “ensuing infection.” But what does the following line mean? “the sky bears thin, this bounded day.” I don’t think anyone knows. But the perfect iambic tetrameter and the reverse repetition of “th” and “b” make it a pleasing if enigmatic line that carries a hint of warning. The whole poem has a surreal feeling of time in slow-motion or even stopped mid-action. The stalled cars lend to this sense of stillness, and one can almost imagine a wealthy family at dinner frozen as a plate is being passed. These images in the reader’s mind stem not completely from the poem’s own literally-taken images, but from the mood that those images help create. I don’t see in my mind’s eye light-poles that look like scarecrows, but a city that is as empty of people and monochrome as a cornfield.

Storytelling is also a big drive in much of Ortiz’s poetry. His first desire was to be a short-story writer until he discovered poetry’s ability to capture moments, feelings, epiphanies – the essence of stories – in a small, compact, and therefore powerful space. “Family Group Day” memorializes a moment of private pain and forgiveness as observed from a distance and where even nature “outside the window” reflects the emotions occurring inside. “August Trance” tells the story of a relationship in its entirety through one moment. Within that “private picnic” exists all the contradictions and myriad emotions of that relationship reflected in the nature around them. The coming evening heralds the oncoming dissolution of their union while still “the pearly light of an afternoon” keeps it intact. They are silent but loving, doomed but together, separate but one. The “clouds [spin] into chaos” while the “branches [twist] into headaches,” and yet a “strange calm” prevails. And all the shifting states manifest on their receptive brows of clay that “accept all forms.” Meanwhile, the earth rotates on its axis, time does its work, and they become ruins and ghosts as they lie there still, monuments and hauntings of their “dollhouse saga.”

As a poet of the 21st century, Ortiz has many thoughts about the direction poetry is heading, especially as it integrates with technology. On his blog he referenced a poetry movement called Flarf which uses search engines to compose poetry, and as an experiment he created “Glue: A Flarf Poem.” On the blog, he also includes stories about a poetry contest on the website Boing Boing mostly about “geeky subjects,” collaborative writing via the internet, and facebook’s collaborative poetry magazine. Interested in collaborations across disciplines as well, Ortiz has completed two visual poems (the artwork done by two graphic artists) and is working with an electronic musician to score several of his poems. But neither does he forget poetic forms of the past, including several experiments with a villanelle (“An Alcoholic’s Villanelle”) and sestina (“The Flamenco Dancer”).

Bio: Nadine Boudreaux recently graduated from Rice University with a degree in English and Ancient Mediterrean Civilzations. She is currently working on her teaching certificate to teach high school.

Walden: The Video Game

2009-06-01T01:29:00.000-07:00

Electronic Arts is working on Dante's Inferno, a video game version of the Divine Comedy. (You can watch the trailer here.) It actually looks pretty amazing and the gameplay looks similiar to God of War. Now, it seems another literary classic will be given the made-into-videogame treatment, Henry David Thoreau's Walden. Led by USC associate professor and influential video game educator/designer Tracy Fullerton,"Walden: The Game" seems to be in the early stages of delevopment.

I wonder what other literary works would make good video games. Perhaps, Hamlet or Beowulf.

You can read more about this at Kotaku.

Poets and the Recession

2009-05-31T22:35:00.001-07:00

NPR did this interesting segement about poets and how they are dealing with the recession. The main point is that poets have their own economy and though the recession is effecting everyone, poets and the "pobiz" i.e. poetry business, is still moving along. Planet Money even made a call for recession haikus like the one below.

Misoranomegami

The office fridge fills
as the parking lot empties.
Brown bags and pink slips

--Angela Wilkinson

Self-Promotion for the iWriter.

2009-05-14T22:50:00.000-07:00

So here's a title I found over at the Estatic Days blog, so I wanted to share it with everyone too. The book is Booklife and it's a great source for tips and advice for self-promoting your book. It includes ways of using web 2.0/ 3 to create a brand and a community around your book. You can buy it here.

Poems Published in Lit Chaos

2009-05-04T02:24:00.000-07:00

Several of my poems were published in the second print issue of Lit Chaos. The issue features some of the web's pre-eminent experimental writing and art, featuring: David McLean, Marc Gulezian, Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal, CW Moore, Ralph-Michael Chiaia, Radames Ortiz and George Anderson.

Check out the book trailer below and you can order a copy of the issue here.

2009-02-03T09:05:00.001-08:00

Here is a great piece at Blambot about the grammar used in comics. I find it interesting that there is a grammatical tradition in the comic book world.

According to the website," Comic book lettering has some grammatical and aesthetic traditions that are quite unique. What follows is a list that every letterer eventually commits to his/her own mental reference file. The majority of these points are established tradition, sprinkled with modern trends and a bit of my own opinion having lettered professionally for a few years now. The majority of these ideas have been established by Marvel and DC, but opinions vary from editor to editor, even within the same company. I'm often asked to bend or break these rules based on what "feels" best, or more likely, the space constraints within a panel."

Sillicon Valley searches for poet laureate

2009-01-26T13:45:00.000-08:00

"Sillicon Valley is searching for its first poet laureate - a writer who can elevate the art of haikus in the land of high-tech."

Transcript of Elizabeth's Alexander's Inaugural Poem

2009-01-20T22:00:00.000-08:00

Here's the transcript to Alexander's Inaugural Poem. I'm still digesting it, like I feel most poets will do in the coming months.

"In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun./ On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light."

Tabula Rasa

2009-01-15T15:09:00.000-08:00

Greetings All!

I'm not-so-surreptitiously infiltrating this side of the blogosphere after much clever coercing from your fearless poetic leader – The Amplified Bard. Well, it wasn't quite so dramatic – but hey – he gave me free reign to write whatever tickled my fancy…and I just really wanted to use the word coerce in a sentence.

In case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm not a poet. I'm a writer of sorts, but lately I've found that my inspiration to write pretty much anything, whether it's a press release for work or an entry on my own damn blog, has been taken captive by the bastards that are my writer's block and it's showing no signs of a struggle. It – meaning my "inspiration" – has gone into hiding and I fear she's never coming back to the forefront of my consciousness.

One of the things I'd always wanted to do was write about music. I've an unhealthy obsession with most things musical and had yearned to play some part in the grand scheme of the music world. I just never had the ovaries to do anything about it.

After an unsuccessful stint at trying to make a life for myself in Austin, I begrudgingly moved back to Houston to take a non-writing related job I thought I'd love. It didn't work out. That job kicked my ass every single day until it broke my spirit. I figured – at that point – I had nothing to lose, so I sent the email I'd wanted to send for years and hoped that taking this leap of faith into writing was the right thing to do. I was assigned to write my first music review and have been going strong for a couple of years now… That is, until my unfortunate rendezvous with blank pages.

I don't know why writer's block exists. I'm sure a simple Google search would unlock this mystery, but I fear that knowing why it's there won't make it go away. I'll just be armed by the knowledge of its existence without any ammunition for recourse. Perhaps what I should be focusing on is not the fact that I can't, in this particular state of mind, muster up the energy to find another non-existent synonym for the word music, but the fact that I have a genuine fire in my belly to get back to a place where the words flow as freely as piss from a drunk frat boy during Mardi Gras.

My sincerest thanks go out to T.A.B for making me write this entry even when I kicked and screamed in unrelenting defiance. His writing ethic is something I hope to emulate some day. You know, once the internal self-loathing disappears, and then maybe I can call myself a real writer.

Brigitte B. Zabak is a policy nerd by day and a freelance writing nerd by night. She writes for a number of publications including Amplifier Magazine, Free Press Houston and Houston Press and also acts as Editor-In-Chief of Hater Magazine. She has a Masters degree in Political Social Work and has an unhealthy obsession with indie music and candy of the gummy variety.

Poem Published in Opium 2.0

2009-01-13T06:50:00.000-08:00

My poem Rumspringa was published in Opium 2.0. Some of the featured writers include, Lyn Lifshin, Aleathia Drehmer, David E. Howerton, John Rocco, Radames Ortiz and Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal.

The simple layout of this magazine allows the reader to focus on the poetry. Editor Ross Vassilev does a great job in putting an eclectic group of poets together. I urge everyone to check it out here.

Making a Living as a Poet Blog

2009-01-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

Soft Skull Press offered to send me two books from their list for free, so as I looked through their catalog, I found this great book called "How to Make a Living as a Poet" by Gray Mex Glazmer. It seems like an interesting book and as I was reading the description of it, I realized there was a blog to accompany the book as well.

This is a wonderful and interesting blog. You can read it here.

Dail-A-Poem

2009-01-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

Jonesing for a poetry fix? Don't have access to a computer or a book? Is the only thing available the cell phone in your jeans? Well, don't panic. You can take care of that poetic monkey on your back by calling 215 746-POEM, sponsored by Writers House.

Call this number and you'll get to hear a featured poem read at the Writers House, from their archives. Enjoy!

Poetry Books: A Year in Review

2009-01-09T09:28:00.000-08:00

Cold Front Magazine put a list together of the best books of poetry published in 2008. Check it out here.

Two New Poems Published in Gutter Eloquence

2009-01-05T22:58:00.000-08:00

What a great way to start the new year! Two of my poems were published in the inaugural issue of Gutter Eloquence. This is a wonderful new magazine edited by Jack T. Marlowe. The issue features work by David Blaine, Howie Good, John Rocco, J.D Nelson, P.A. Levy, Rob Plath, Puma Perl, Radames Ortiz and Richard Wink.

Here's a description of the journal:

"G.E.M. is a ballsy, new electronic journal that features some of the best voices of the underground lit scene. Free verse poetry that doesn't know the meaning of fear. Poetry that doesn't use 'protection.' Poetry that ignores "no smoking" signs. Bold, unapologetic writing that tastes of real life!

I urge everyone to submit work to them. Here are the guidelines.

Captcha Poetry

2009-01-05T10:31:00.000-08:00

Ah the dread of Pound's exhortation to "make it new," looms over every poet. If you're like me, you're always trying to find that new metaphor, that crisp simile but to no avail. Poets are even reduced to looking to the net for new ways of composing language e.g. Flarf.

A couple days ago, when I was setting up another Facebook account, I started to look more closely at Captchas. What strange phrases computer programs come up with! I noticed that some of these phrases were even poetic at times like "Curious Shadows," or "Noche Diligence," etc. So, the idea occurred to me to make poems using phrases from Captchas, thinking it would be an original feat. But today, while reading BoingBoing, guess what I saw? You guessed it, an entry about someone who already beat me to it. Granted, it's only a "silly" experiment by the author but still, it makes one temporarily insane at times.

Below is poem from the blog.

Aingee

Chedge criestme orstsper!
Shanesto...
Foref, myrac, munmanc,
Torse?
Hanim equin padwo?
Picar!
Mingin!
Corses aingee...

Inspirational Poem by Seamus Heaney

2008-12-30T01:24:00.000-08:00

The First Gloss

Take hold of the shaft of the pen.
Subscribe to the first step taken
from a justified line
into the margin.

(c) Seamus Heaney

Poets on Prozac: Mental Illness, Treatment, and the Creative Process

2008-12-17T01:55:00.000-08:00

This is a wonderful article from the Journal of American Medicine Association website. Since the article doesn't include an abstract, they provided the first 150 words. You can get the full-text here.

"Poetry is risky. Want proof? Ponder the profiles of a few renowned poets. Sylvia Plath killed herself at age 30 years, putting her head in the oven with the gas turned on. At age 45, Anne Sexton committed suicide inside her car in the garage—death by carbon monoxide poisoning. John Keats perished from tuberculosis at the tender age of 25. As a group, poets tend to die at age 62. So if you must write, think about a genre safer than poetry. Choose the category of nonfiction, for example, and your statistical lifespan increases to 68 years. Pity the poet. When not succumbing to gas fumes and premature death, a majority still face a serious health threat. One study reports that as many as 80% of poets have a mood disorder."

Notebook of Drug-influenced Drawings

2008-12-16T21:41:00.000-08:00

From BoingBoing, I found this wonderful link to illustrator Jeremy W. Eaton's scanned notebook sketches drawn under the influence of drugs such as marijuana, psilocybin, LSD, and Diet Pepsi.

Poems Published for 2008

2008-12-16T05:20:00.001-08:00

Two of my poems "Mateo" and "August Trance" were published in the December 2008 issue of Glass. The issue features work by Irene Latham, Gene Fox, Phoebe Reeves, Radames Ortiz, Pamela Coren, Weam Namou, Ryder Collins and many more. I urge everyone to submit to this wonderful literary journal. For submission guidelines, visit here.

It's beginning to look a lot like Xmas

2008-12-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

This has been a wacky year for Texas in terms of weather. The state has been known for its unpredictable weather--everything from humid, rainy summers to Hurricanes. This year I even experienced the effects of a hurricane and today, out of nowhere, snow! Usually, for people who have to deal with snow every winter, know it is not a big deal but for us Texans, it's an anomaly. Today, as I stepped outside for a cigarette, I was welcomed by a flurry of snow falling from the sky. By the end of the night, the city looked like this.

Top 50 Drug Trips in Movies

2008-12-10T01:17:00.000-08:00

This is an awesome article on the Top 50 Drug Trips in Movies. From the article, "n.b. This list is about scenes in movies where the effects of drug-taking are depicted."

They have some Youtube clips when possible so expect a slow loading of the page.

Blog About Writers' Daily Lives

2008-12-10T00:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a great blog about writers, artists and other important people's daily lives. I found it very interesting. You can read Daily Routines here.

My First Flarf Poem

2008-12-05T00:22:00.000-08:00

Glue: A Flarf Poem

In one of my earlier school years,
I remember a recess where I. had squirted

watered-down glue at one of the other girls
Using a squirt bottle or fingers dipped in water

I wet the pleated skirts by misting them
the way we do it when we don’t want to handle a problem

And as it turns out, big globs of Krazy Glue squirted
into the rear holes of (the. truly sick or injured,

Trust no one—there is no "safe zone"
where super soakers like me

or any other squirt gun is involved!
How can I possibly raise anything but an unusual child?

I have an unexplainable fondness for giant sized kites,
pickles, and Soft soap

The Man in Me, as far as I know, was a panic attack
It is all a bit...well....creepy

All I can think about now is sit down and
squirting glue all over my grownup hands

half a pack of glitter glue
Let’s squirt it on

some antlers, on a skunk
squirting them all on their noses!

© radames ortiz 2008

What the F*ck is Flarf?

2008-12-04T03:29:00.000-08:00

As I was looking at my poetry aggregator website, I stumbled upon a dude who wrote a Twitter poem. Not a poem about twitter but one composed using it. (For info on twitter and what it is click here) Through his site, he mentioned Flarf, the first recognizable poetry movement of the 21st century.

What the f*ck is Flarf you ask? That's exactly what I intended to find out. As I searched for a definition of this term and several examples of flarfist poetry, I came to these findings.

Flarf, according to Off Center, "exploits search engines, chat rooms, and other Internet nooks and crannies to create poetry that can be gloriously tacky, strikingly modern, uncannily touching, or any other number of adverb/adjective combinations (do your own Internet search!)."

Immediately, I was intrigued. Poetry + Technology = awesome!, right? I don't know so much after reading some examples. Another characteristic of Flarf, according to Wikipedia, "is any intentionally bad, frivolous, or wacky poetry; any textual or verbal doodling or nonsense of any sort." So, badly written poetry using search engines equals flarf? I don't know.

Check out Sharon Mesmer or the founder Gary Sullivan's set at the Flarf Festival. Also, check out the Jacket's feature on Flarf where you can read an introduction by Sullivan and several poems from other Flarfists.

Technical Writing

2008-12-04T01:24:00.000-08:00

For some of those who know me personally, know I am not only a poet but I am also a technical writer. I have been lucky enough to have had some sort of writing job since my junior year in college from being a marketing associate for Arte Publico Press to a technical writer for CenterPoint Energy.

Some have asked me why I decided to focus on this career instead of pursuing an MFA in Poetry. (I was accepted into the MFA program at Long Island University) Besides the obvious reason i.e. the impracticality of the MFA degree, I knew I loved all things technological. I love techno-porn, I'm a huge nerd. I love learning new software and problem solving. I also know that in our information age, content is key to any successful business. That's where technical writers come in and companies are more than willing to pay for our services. I guess, it's not a surprise that I decided to pursue an M.S. in Technical Communication.

Since I made the decision, I found myself not only immersed in poetry but also in the Tech Comm field. So, every once in a while I will post some information about the subject here. I'll try to keep it to minimum or at least start a new blog focused on the subject later down the road. In the end, I remain a poet, a connoisseur of words, of language. But perhaps this might interest people too. Besides, it's another passion of mine and I wanted to share it.

Here is a video I found called the Technical Writer song. Also, I found these two websites that provides invaluable information of the field. The first one is a website aggregator of all the top stories regarding tech comm and the second one is The EServer Technical Communication Library, "a free, open-access index of works available online for professional, scientific and technical communicators."

My Poem Taught at UNI

2008-12-03T00:48:00.000-08:00

Recently, I got a message on Facebook from a professor at the University of Northern Iowa, who taught my poem, "Grand Theft Auto Monstrosity" in one of her classes. I was honored by this and she was kind enough to share with me her student responses.

Here's her message, "My students read/discussed your Grand Theft Auto poem this week. They loved it. Thank you! Specific comments: Makes them wish they were little again so that their ultimate tragedy could be the length of their health bar. Also the nature image at the end they noticed was a stark contrast to the created world of the boy in the poem. Undeveloped chest they said hinted at how his life might turn out if he continued on the same path. They also said what was scary about the azalea image was that the boy believed in his world as if it were natural /that coupled with grabbing prostitutes and flying bullets painted a frightening future for this kid and others like him. Thanks for letting me use it! Very cool."

You can read Grand Theft Auto Monstrosity here.

1st Official Review of the Latino Poets Society Tour Performances

2008-12-02T05:21:00.000-08:00

Here is the first official review of the Latino Poets Society Tour performance. Apparently this was written after the first night of the tour. I still need to upload my blog entries describing the performances and my trip to NYC. Check back soon.

Nerdcore Show at White Swan Live

2008-12-02T02:50:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday, I attended a nerdcore concert at White Swan Live with a fellow nerd and music aficionado.(You can read her review of the show here) The line-up included a whose who of the nerdcore scene. MC Router, Ytcracker, MC Lars and the godfather of nerdcore himself, MC Frontalot. I have been listening to the genre for the past couple of years, so I was thrilled to finally see a show that would be the embodiment of awesomeness and nerdiness.

MC Router, a last minute addition to the line-up, kicked off the night with her raspy, Punky Brewster-isque voice. She spat some of her classic tunes which included "Emulation Station" and "Bill Gate's Revolution." She was followed by Ytcracker who ripped the staged with his west coast rap style and off-the-chain beats. He riled up the crowd even more and I immediately knew we were in for a treat and a night that would unfold into a slew of chip tune beats and as MC Lars says in one of his songs, "science on 16 bars."

Then the godfather himself, the one and only, MC Frontalot graced the stage. He performed his music with his band. If you have never seen Front live then you're in for a big surprise. He commands the stage with his arms in epileptic dance and his "multisyllabic" verses. He sang from his newest album, "Final Boss."

Last but definitely not least, MC Lars came on which I had to admit I was waiting for a great deal. Unlike his fellow nerdcorers, Lars had a multi-media setup, which included a projector that showed images of Brooklyn to Super Mario Bros. Each artist brought a different energy to the stage but Lars had a more upbeat vibe. He sang all his classics including "Spacegame," "21 Concepts," "Hipster Girl," and my favorite, "Mr. Raven," a song about Edgar Allen Poe. I like Lars because he's also a poet and loves literature. It also didn't hurt that he gave me a shout out during his set. Before, he started singing "Mr. Raven," he told the audience to give a round of applause to the amplified bard (that's me), "an awesome poet friend of his." It was the first time we met in person, so this genuine gesture of his appreciation for my attendance didn't go unnoticed. I am truly honored to call him a friend.

The show ended the only way it could. . .awesome. In an impromptu sing-along session, everyone gathered around an out of tune piano to sing the last two songs of the night, "I Hate Your Blog" and the anthem, "Nerdcore Rising."

DIY Poetry Movement

2008-12-02T02:40:00.000-08:00

This a great audio segement on poetry movements and how you can create one yourself. They discuss how the language poets created their movement and the rules for them. You can listen here.

My Lover the Sea

2008-11-26T03:40:00.000-08:00

I am that child
with the round, dirty face
who on every corner
bothers you with his “Can you spare a quarter?”

I am that child with the dirty face,
no doubt unwanted,
that from far away contemplates
coaches where other children emit laughter
and jump up and down considerably

I am that unlikeable child
definitely unwanted, with the round dirty face
who before that giant street lights
or under the grandames
also illuminated or in front of the little
girls that seem to levitate
projects that insult of his dirty face

I am that angry and lonely child of always,
that throws you the insult of that angry child of always
and warns you:
if hypocritically you pat me on the head
I would take that opportunity to steal your wallet

I am that child of always
before the panorama of imminent terror
imminent leprosy, imminent fleas,
of offenses and the imminent crime.

I am that repulsive child that improvises a bed
out of an old cardboard box and waits,
certain that you will accompany me

by Reinaldo Arenas

Poetry Goes Boing

2008-11-25T02:48:00.000-08:00

There was a great contest on Boing Boing, where readers could post a poem about a recurring subject on the site. According to the website, "The game this time was to write verse poetry about one or more recurrent Boing Boing obsessions, with the winner to receive a Gears of War 2 Special Edition Zune 120 GB. Readers responded with a thread over two hundred messages long that's full of charming, surprising, and even impressive poetry. And if you don't read the whole thing, you have only yourself to blame."

You can read the poems here. It's filled with such geeky subjects like DRM, LEDs and computer screens. Enjoy!

Halloween Poem

2008-10-30T04:08:00.000-07:00

© Kabuki Katze 2006

Halloween on Gulfton St.

Outside, dumpsters
sit like hearses.

Aluminum car ports
rattle the wind.

Strayed in streets,
cats snarl behind tires.

The boot-bottom night.
Vacant and winter coming.

This is the evening
of Halloween.

The Salvadoran woman
next door washes

clothes, a carved
pumpkin sulks

on the porch.
It’s candle-

lit grin
grows faint.

Soon the dark
turns ghostly.

Is battered down
with more darkness.

Here even children
stay indoors,

stuff wishes
into garbage bags.

In this scarlet-
dim ghetto

a dead end
in every face.

© Me first published in the Bayou Review 2007

The gig at HCC-Southeast

2008-10-30T03:06:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was my reading at Houston Community College-Southeast. I arrived a bit late and I was welcomed by Tonzi's beautiful words as I walked in. As I made a dash up to the front of the audience, I immediately began to take pictures. When I looked around, I noticed that there was a decent turn out of students, parents and professors.

They were all amazed and rightfully hypnotized by Tonzi's performance. She was dressed all in black, while a projection of abstract images were being splattered on the wall and a stream of ambient noises were soothing out of two huge speakers. Tonzi was a slick demon cat, strolling and stretching across the stage. She mixed poetry with singing and her presence on stage was bewitching. Luckily, I got there right when she was to perform one of her latest pieces entitled, "Fullejah." It was a concoction of poetry, politics and humanity remixed with mind-blowing audio and imagery.

Once she finished, it was my turn.

I opened my 20-minute set with "Father," a poem about a dad revealing to his son his inability to be remain stay with the family. My first set of poems revolved around the neighborhood and then segued into a series of poems about addiction. I wanted to share my latest poems that were written in a raw yet, hopefully beautiful way. The audience responded greatly to these, especially to my poem "Loving Cindy," a poem about when I lost my virginity. I finally ended my set with "Mateo," one of the pieces I will be performing in NYC in November.

At the end of the reading I socialized as much as possible before I grew anxious and needed to leave, which usually happens to me. Thankfully, it was bearable enough to allow me to meet Johnathan Jindra, a wonderful electronic musician, who expressed the idea of working with me to create a multi-media performance for my reading at the Jung center later in November. I will keep you updated on that when we start hammering out the tunes and video. Overall, the reading went great and it was wonderful to have shared the stage with my longtime friend Tonzi.

Voice From Texas-Tonzi

2008-10-21T03:03:00.000-07:00

I found this great clip from the documentary Voices From Texas featuring my good friend and fellow poet, Tonantzin Canestaro-Garcia. She will be reading with me this Thursday. I urge you to check her work out. You won't be disappointed.

Featured Reading at HCC-Southeast

2008-10-21T01:51:00.001-07:00

Houston Community College-Southeast

Presents

“Literary Luminaries”

On October 23, HCC-Southeast and the Department of English will present a reading of poetry at the Houston Community College-Southeast campus. We are pleased to feature both established and emerging writers in our recognition of literary excellence in the Houston community.

This reading will feature award winning poets, Radames Ortiz whose work, according to poet Naomi Shihab Nye is “edgy, full-of-breath-and-emotion and real authentic life” and Tonantzin Canestaro-Garcia who was voted as the best performance artist by the Houston Press. There will also be an open-mike reading for students following the featured reading.

Thursday
October 23, 2008
6:30pm
HCC-Southeast
Angela Morales Building, Student Lounge
6815 Rustic
FREE!