One last (for the time being) post about how poetry business can get accomplished. A trend in certain venues in both Los Angeles and Orange Counties is to minimize the "growing" of local poets in favor of booking either touring or local "names"--either literary or slam-crossovers.
Here's an excerpt from Victor Infante interviewing his friend, Ugly Mug co-host Ben Trigg nearly two years ago for OC WEEKLY--where this trend is acknowledged on the record. The highlighting is done by me:
And perhaps the Ugly Mug reading is as much an artistic expression for Trigg as his poetry. Certainly, its growth as it enters its seventh year is astounding. Once it catered mostly to featuring local, developing writers, but it's now a frequent destination for touring poets, one where the pass-the-hat paycheck often nets the headliner more cash—as well as book sales—than some LA gigs.
"I like to think we've made this a completely welcoming space," says Trigg. "You're not going to be made unwelcome, no matter how bad your writing is. We're never going to overtly say anything to you. So this is worth doing. There must be some aspect of coming to the reading that's making the poets grow. And that's the vindicating thing."
But how much do the open-mike poets grow if the reading caters mostly to touring or local icons?
The complete interview can be found at:
http://www.ocweekly.com/2007-10-11/culture/nice-guys-finish-last/
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