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HoboEye’s Inaugural Poetry Palooza – Portland, Oregon, USA
“Poetry makes nothing happen.” About this, that ‘splendid bugger’ Auden wasn’t wrong. Poetry lives in the labyrinth of the chest, some beast out of Maurice Sendak’s imagination, hulking shoulders slouching forward, bouquet of wildflowers extended, buck-toothed and blushing.
This charming beast made a command performance at HoboEye’s inaugural Poetry Palooza in Portland, OR for National Poetry Month. Four HoboEye contributors converged on Portland for an evening of poetry and good old-fashioned partying. Sara Mumolo from Oakland, CA, Michael Earl Craig from Livingston, MT, Christopher Brean Murray from Portland, OR and Stephanie Berger from New York, NY.
The crowd of 85 attendees enjoyed wine and food as things got underway. Once the poetry started, the crowd listened attentively for over three hours, given an intermission to refresh their libations.
Too often, poets settle for whatever venue will host us. There are some great venues for poetry readings, but far too often, readings take place in spots where the previous event was a marketing seminar or a gathering of insurance salesman. Or that same old coffee shop where few look up from their scones and lattes. This leaves the already marginalized art of poetry readings like some stuffed buffalo at a Missoula hotel. It’s there, folks know that, but they’re not quite sure what to do with it.
There are many poets working against the trend, however. Palooza contributors Stephanie Berger (co-founder of the Poetry Brothel), Sara Mumolo (Studio One Arts Center), and Michael Earl Craig (The Poetry Bus) are each finding new ways to test the humdrum boundaries for poetry readings, finding new venues and new audiences for poetry aloud.
As the hosts of the Palooza, we were thrilled to imbibe of the crowd’s enthusiasm. In a dimly lit warehouse in southeast Portland, the lot of us came together to celebrate the poets and the continuing power of poetry on the page and aloud. There were also several newcomers who admitted they’d never thought of poetry as being that much fun. That’s why it’s up to all of us to continually reinvent venues and formats, in search of that ideal reading. We need to seek out ambient venues that serve poetry and allow the workaday life to ebb.
Here’s to the poets and attendees, as well as our generous sponsors and donors, who made the Palooza a wild success. In order to pass on the experience to our readers, we’re publishing poems from that evening, keeping the Palooza rolling for one more round!
This is an amazing community we’re building. Look for news of the second annual Poetry Palooza next spring, and please keep in touch with us about new and exciting venues for poetry.
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Poetry: Christopher Brean Murray
Christopher Brean Murray's poems have also appeared in Jubilat, Cutbank, and Fou Magazine. He teaches Writing at Mount Hood Community College in Portland, Oregon... Christopher Brean Murray poems >
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Poetry: Sara Mumolo
Sara Mumolo teaches at Studio One Art Center in Oakland California. She attends the MFA program at St. Mary's College of California. Poems have appeared in Shampoo, Hoboeye Arts Journal, Article Journal, Berkeley Poetry Review, Rock Heals (A Narrow House Weekly) and others... Sara Mumolo poems >
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| Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson: "The album begins with the demented campfire sing-a-long, “Buriedfed”, a dirge disguised as a rave up, and it sets the pace for an album filled with unrepentant confessions played with abandon..." Music > |
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| Ronald J. Llanos: "I find myself researching how people interact with each other in the public environment… Two hipster, 20-something year-old Asian-American women, are walking in front of a nearby Barnes and Noble, talking about their latest workplace drama while drinking coffee and buying clothing from a nearby fashion store..." Art > |
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Chairlift: "An experimental minimalist guitar player, who creates the delicate haunting quality of Chairlift; Caroline Polachek, a Connecticut-born singer whose vocals shape-shift from the ethereal to the earthy to the evanescent, depending on the particular needs or lines of a song..." Music >
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