I'm in Colorado, mixing business, pleasure, and poetry readings. The first one I did here was at the Loveland Museum, as part of the Internet Poets Coop Series, run by poet, musician, and artist M.D. Friedman. The evening began with an open mic -- an unusual arrangement, as usually the featured reader is first and open mic second -- which allowed me to hear some Colorado poet voices before giving my reading. It was fun to hear my audience before addressing them, as I don't usually get to do that.
And it's always interesting to hear the poetic context in any reading series. Often reading series that include open mics have followers, regulars who often participate in the open mic and thus know each other's work. There are discernible poetic sub-cultures that grow around groups that meet together regularly. They influence each other as poets. You can hear what the group as a whole encourages and perhaps subtly discourages in their responses.
My next Colorado event will be The Poets Coop TV Show, live on Sunday, September 5 at 7 pm, Boulder County Comcast Channel 54. The video will be archived on The Poets Coop TV Show website and on my website.
And next Thursday, September 9 at 7 pm, I'll be the featured reader at the Cannonmine Poetry Series, at Cannonmine Coffee Company, 210 S. Public Rd., Lafayette, CO. (303) 665-0625.
Wow! I feel handsomely welcomed here in Colorado.