Re the annual Newer Poets reading--a modest proposal.

Full disclosure up front: for a handful of years, I volunteered time and money to make possible the printing and delivery of postcards for the Los Angeles Poetry Festival's Newer Poets reading--organized by Suzanne Lummis.  And I was glad to be of help to Suzanne, so whatever comments I make below aren't meant as ingratitude.

I recently noticed this description of the Newer Poets reading held last night at the Los Angeles Public Library's Downtown location:
"The seventeenth annual newer poets program is guest-curated by three acclaimed poets: Eloise Klein Healy, Arktoi Press; Suzanne Lummis, Los Angeles Poetry Festival; and Gail Wronsky, professor, Loyola Marymount University and member, Glass Table Collective."

You'll notice that Beyond Baroque--which was a guest-curator in past years--is missing from the above statement.  This oversight surprised me; perhaps the honored Venice poetry/arts institution will again be invited to nominate poets in 2013.

But perhaps it's time for me to offer unsolicited (and likely to be unheeded) advice about the Newer Poets reading as it proceeds through the 2010s.  It should be split in two--first with a totally Newer Poets reading honoring those literary-ambitious bards who have, say, less than ten years of existence in what is known as "the poetry community"; then, an Honored Poets reading saluting talented veterans who haven't always received the spotlight so generously (and often frequently) aimed at a handful of others in the LA/OC areas.  And one of the two readings could be held at a venue other than the LAPL deemed prestigious enough by the Los Angeles Poetry Festival organizers. 

Sometimes, poets who have spent up to decades in the trenches of writing/submitting/reading/MFAing may feel a bit spiritually diminished by being suddenly labeled "Newer Poets" akin to musicians/actors suddenly being called "overnight successes" by the mainstream media.  Ergo, the division into two categories.

Feel free to use the comments section to agree/disagree with what I wrote above.

Explaining L.A. poetry community to outsiders: the concept of "emerging poets."

http://www.radiuslit.org/2011/10/16/radius-gary-tomlinson-g-murray-thomas-larry-colker/

Taking the stage, it's G. Murray Thomas from the above link to explain how you can be an "emerging poet" even if you've put in a number of years in service to the concept of "community" (highlighting by me):
"Now I’m supposed to discuss an emerging poet I respect. But in a poetry world where reputations can take years to build, what qualifies as emerging? Does it have to be someone new to the scene, or can a poet who has been around for years, but not gotten the recognition (I feel) he deserves fit the bill? I have seen too many poets languish in semi-obscurity to not opt for the latter.
Therefore, my choice is Larry Colker, a poet who is a longstanding figure on the SoCal poetry scene, but is probably better known for co-hosting the long running Redondo Poets series than for his own writing. Even while hosting, he is more likely to read someone else’s poetry than his own. (In fact, he opens every reading with a poem by another poet he likes.) I find this happens quite often in the poetry scene, that those who spend the most time promoting other poets often find their own works neglected."

In my opinion, "emerging" is a tag which should belong to newcomers of one to five years--and "honored" should be the word for the kind of veterans Murray describes in the second portion of his definition.

It's safe to guess that some poets who have spent years/decades in service (and waiting his/her turn to "arrive" ) may be a bit personally irked by being called "emerging."

But, if they've been active in the community for a certain length of time, they avoid complaining and just accept it as one of the conditions of belonging.

Mindy Nettifee, dinosaurs and the future of a virtual coffee house reading.

Last night, my wife and I logged on to Coffee Cartel (in Redondo Beach) by way of this website:
http://www.blogtv.com/people/diogenesclub which webcasts the Tuesday night poetry reading from roughly 7:30 to after 10:00 p.m.

Mindy Nettifee, last night's featured poet, referred to coffee house readings as "dinosaurs" in her opening remarks. Whether or not one agrees with Mindy, it's clear that attendance for at least some L.A.-area readings aren't what they used to be.

I would hope that the stay-at-home folks who used to be poetry regulars in, say, the 90s and early 00s might tune in to the Redondo Poets reading at the site above each Tuesday night if they wish to be supportive of virtual coffee house poetry.

To be truthful, the sound quality of the webcasts could use some improvement. But it's an opportunity to see the Larry Colker-chosen features and open-mike participants live and in-the-moment.

And that's an experience which should be spared dinosaur-like extinction from audience indifference/nonsupport.

Statement ot temporary withdrawal from L.A. poetry "community."

From my Facebook wall:
For the rest of the year, withdrawing from active participation in L.A. poetry community (have been alerted I'm not meeting community standards). Will still be supportive of others when possible. Hope to return sometime next year.

Poetry community standards are high in L.A. these days. Recognizing that I'm not sufficiently hip, or tolerant of certain egotistic behavior, or a recipient of a MFA degree, or a proficient-enough example of "craft-conscious writing", I realize it's time for me to find the exit door for awhile. At least in 1998, when I started going to readings here, there was such a thing as inclusiveness, no matter where your skill level was. Now, it appears to me that the approval of local poets has become highly conditional.