set list for friday, april 25th reading

So much has been going on this month. I find that, as my foot heals, my pace becomes increasingly hectic--and that is something I somewhat lament. Funny, before--in the first few weeks of my temporary incapacitation--I lamented not being able to be so active and productive. Oh well, humans are funny people...

The reading last week seems like it happened months ago. The folks from the Writer's Garret were sweet and supportive; co-founders-directors Thea Temple and Jack Myers seemed remarkably chill, as they sat, slung low on a couch, hearing the poets of the night. I was on second, after Carol Nace, whose near-whisper-delivered reading felt incantatory. Before the reading, she and I exchanged battle wound stories, as we both have broken our feet. I'd like to read her stuff on the page, to get a better sense of it.

Michael Grabell (writer for the Dallas Morning News) had some funny poems, pulling alot of laughs from the audience of about forty folks. Jack Myers finished up the evening with some very nice flavors--why does his name now make me think of Jack Daniels and Myer's Rum? All in all, a very nice reading experience. I sold a bunch of books, without even trying--now that's a nice way to top off the night. Got to chat w/ Beatriz Terrazas about Macondo and future lit stuff together. Special nod to Karen X, who had her own event to host at the Priya Yoga space, yet rushed upstairs to give me a quick greeting hug before rushing off to do her thing.

Note to self: "A Piece Based on Two Incidents at the Same Lake" might actually be full-complete, in its final version. That's what Thea Temple kept telling me, as she raved about this poem. I'm glad to hear this feedback, as the poem is so personal that I think I've quite lost my ability to be objective about it as a work of literature. See--this is another great reason to get out and read your stuff in public!

National Poetry Month reading - April 25, 2008, Paperbacks Plus

poems performed by Tammy M. Gomez: my set list for the event, accompanied (with stellar precision) by Ramsey Sprague
aka The Shortest Distance:

"Quetzal"
published online at: xxcommunicator.blogspot.com, posted on Thursday, November 01, 2007, Poem #305 of 365

"Donde Esta’ Adam"
published in Terra Firma (Austin: Agave Noir, 2004)

"In This Love"
published in North Texas Neruda Love: poems, essays, testimonios in tribute to Pablo Neruda
(Fort Worth: Tejana Tongue Press, 2006)

"A Piece Based on Two Incidents at the Same Lake"
(unpublished, NFS)

"Delivery of Nouns"
published online at: xxcommunicator.blogspot.com, posted on Friday, November 02, 2007, Poem #306 of 365

"Nepal Child Poem 2"
published in Terra Firma (Austin: Agave Noir, 2004)

for more info:
about Tammy - www.myspace.com/sunlitdoorway
about Ramsey - www.myspace.com/theshortestdistance