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[8.27.02][6.12.02]


Nicole D. Sconiers 7.16.02
In the Living Room with Jaha Zainabu

"I live for a living."

That's Jaha Zainabu's mantra for success. With so many spoken word artists living for money or glory or a coveted spot on "Def Poetry Jam," it's refreshing to find an unjaded soul dedicated to keeping it real.

The poetic princess recently hosted an intimate gathering at the newly opened Brixx Koffee on Wilshire. Over the din of traffic whizzing by on the boulevard, Jaha joked that she wanted a living room vibe, but not in her living room. Jaha is no stranger to playing big venues and sharing the stage, meat market style, with many poets. This night, however, the poised performer simply wanted a cozy locale where she could converse with the crowd in between poems and field questions about her work. As we sat on wooden bleachers and watched Jaha doing her thing on stage against the backdrop of a mock fireplace, throw rug and book shelves built into the walls, we truly felt at home with her.

Jaha opened the show by thanking the Most High for continually blessing her. She's a spiritual sister, but doesn't "set trip" with religion. "I see God in everybody," she says. Jaha is a walking goddess; an ethereal everywoman who draws you into her aura and anoints you with her words. When she blows, you feel that someone else understands your angst-and also has your back.

Jaha sings; she got jokes and she's a master story teller. She recounted the gang-related murder of a young boy in her 'hood and also the poignant tale of a strung out mother whose seven-year-old son sold drugs for her. That poem, "Dry Sheets," was written in a Laundromat, "would you believe/one out in the Valley on Magnolia and Cahuenga."

She still manages to keep her head up despite student loan woes, being a thirtysomething woman in a youth-driven, testosterone-fueled market, and having motherhood force her out of a favorite pair of jeans: "these jeans will not ever kiss these lips or hug these cheeks again/and the beauty, finally, is that I don't want them anymore/they are not quite big enough to hold the woman I am today."

The woman Jaha is today came a long way from the tall kid with the deep voice who hated to sing because of the extra bass in her vocal chords. She's been blessing the mic for three years, and recently dropped a new CD "Unmasked." The earthy performance artist got her start at a divey bookstore in Long Beach, but now features at venues across the country. When Jaha first got into the game, she wondered why the lives of poets and artists seem to be extra laden with problems. She now realizes that wordsmiths endure so many woes "because we tell it."

"Whatever you're going through, own it. I've spent years not owning anything," she testifies in her trademark tell-it-like-it-is style. Jaha now believes that she has a responsibility, particularly to younger females, to touch lives with her words and help others reconnect to what's real. She's also very humble about her talent, overwhelmed to have the respect of her mic-ripping peers. She let Sekou, who was in the room, end the showcase with his crowd-pleaser about beige Jeep Grand Cherokees. The unpretentious diva also shouted out Toby and Thea for coming to her set to show love.

As Jaha's words washed over the walls like a baptism, it was evident that this metaphoric missionary is out the box with her poetry, and can truly turn any venue into a "living" room.

The Brixx Koffee, owned and operated by Kathy and Akil, is located at 5466 Wilshire Boulevard and features open mic poetry every Tuesday night from midnight to 2 a.m.

Nicole's Website: www.california-schemin.com

Wayman Barnes 7.14.02
Ventura Road Trip VII

Summertime is always a great time for a drive up the coast. Especially, if it is a sunny Sunday afternoon ... and there is poetry reading (You know how much we like those).

So hop in your car, let the roof down, and go, go, go!!! You poet, you.

Zoey's Cafe
451 E. Main Street (in the 'El Jardin' courtyard) - Ventura
(805) 652-1137
http://zoeyscafe.com
for more information call: (805) 672-1756


Frankie Drayus 7.10.02
Night Muses

Spent a nice slice of Wednesday evening with David Bloome, the host of Night Muses at Borders Books in Westwood. Officially they are on hiatus until September, but he showed up on the off chance that I might show up, which meant it was just the two of us. Try reading to a single person in a public place sometime, particularly if you've just met that person - it's a strange experience. Patrons wandering through the Poetry section were staring when I started shouting,"Olive! Olive! Olive!" Wonder what they thought was going on. To paraphrase Larry Jaffe, it was poetry, dammit!

David encourages all sorts of performance at his venue, not just poetry. Turns out he is a storyteller as well.

Anyway, come back in September. Night Muses promises to be another friendly place to perform on the west side. And tell the host LitRave sent you.

Night Muses
Borders Books, 1360 Westwood Blvd. (near Wilshire)
First floor
First Wednesday of every month
Four hour FREE PARKING for all poets

Nicole D. Sconiers 7.8.02
Nights Over Egypt: A Cure for the Common Coffeehouse Blues

"Poetry is therapy" was the evening's theme at "Nights Over Egypt" at the Nile River Coffeehouse. Hosted Sunday nights on Pico by the chameleonic performance artist Deana, "Nights Over Egypt" has self-help down to a science.

The band 3rd Scenario got the party started with their funked up rendition of the Bill Withers classic "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone." Finger snaps resounded throughout the cozy, candlelit room, which housed a standing room only crowd. The vibe at Nile River is Africa meets art house: indigo walls adorned with African art, posters of Miles Davis, Guru, Dizzy Gillespie and the ubiquitous blaxploitation queen Pam Grier as "Coffy Brown."

Although the spot recently opened its doors six months ago, it's been home to former Cosby kid Malcolm Jamal Warner and "Soul Food" ingénue Vanessa Williams, as well as cerebral celebrities on the open mic circuit Bridget Gray, JaHa, Alice the Poet and Nikki Skies.

In the ode "My Name is Jeffrey," Philly native Marc Alexander spoke candidly about the turmoil of his former gig at a welfare office: "Born into a welfare cesspool haunted by crackhead ghosts/dropped into the blistering mouth of a living hell/hatched into the amoral scab covered corpse of urban America." JaHa ripped it as usual, confronting her own demons in a self-exploratory piece about holding onto a favorite pair of jeans. Queen Sy livened up the room and got the crowd clapping in sync to her kinky hair anthem "Naps." The dread locked diva called out those self-conscious sisters who perm the edges of their hair "because you want to look mixed/self-hate runs deep and you need to be fixed."

Whether or not you're in need of therapy, "Nights over Egypt" provides an artistic antidote to the common coffeehouse blues.

Nights Over Egypt
Sundays at 8
Open mic poetry, song and live jazz by 3rd Scenario NILE RIVER COFFEE HOUSE
5819 Pico Blvd.
(213) 630-3153

Nicole's Website: www.california-schemin.com

Wayman Barnes 7.7.02
Hint: The Hot Spot is going to by a wild ass reading. Raymond (the Exorcist) Witter is hosting it. And the man has his finger and ear on the street. You don't only get some excellent poets, there are street performers, performance artists, and the like. There is also the round table for everyone to put their "For Sale" items on. And if you don't have something to sell, you better make it fast, even if it's one poem handwritten on a single sheet of paper. Raymond is all about getting your stuff out there. And his reading is going to be a one of a kind. Go support.

Poets: Michael Zeltser, Derrick Blakey, Wayman Barnes, Frankie Drayus, Peggy DoBreer, Qrstuv, Jelena Andjelkovic, Raymond Witter, and Starla.

The Hot Spot
Saturdays at 8
Tanner's Coffee - Culver City
4342 Sepulveda Blvd.
(two blocks south of Washington Blvd.)

Wayman Barnes 7.7.02
I never would have thought that a poetry reading at the Venice Beach Library at 2pm on a Saturday, 4th of July weekend would be packed, but it was. And everyone had their hankies out and mmhing and aahing throughout. Very good (moving) stuff. I believe it is monthly. Call the library and go to the next one, you.


Wayman Barnes 7.5.02
Gaknew, Where Are You?

We were incredibly early. GaKnew was really late. And the reading was kick ass, in a mellow sort of way.

Except for the guy in mascara (our fault, sorry!) everyone had a great time. We will definitely go back. As should you, but be warned ... despite what your flyer may say, the reading starts at 9 (or when GaKnew finally gets there).

Poets: GaKnew, Jelena Andjelkovic, Zack Edwards, Firefly, Raymond Witter, Frankie Drayus, Babu, Wayman Barnes, James Ysidro, Mani Suri, Jim, Jose, Sylvia, Yosef, Verve, Cathy, and Weapon X.

Safehouse
Hosted by GaKnew
Friday nights at 9
Midnight Records
Robertson



Yosh 7.1.02
dig these hands

without much more than your energy,
you made me see things I'd never thought,
you made me believe things I'd never believed,
made me think things, I'd never seen.

and within this clarity
I began to conform to the idea,
that you could show me amazing pieces of Love
that I used to believe were soft,
yet had hardened,
through the rust of its gears
thru my trust, and its fears

I hear
that true love is very elementary
very easy within

and the hardest part with-in this
is actually finding that alarm clock kiss

and I am torn with the fact that I am a boy
searching for treasure, in lands yet unknown
and feel like I've shoveled so much,
having dug many small holes.

and yet once again, for the first time in years
I compose on the subject of love
and admit I have my fears
of that unknown above

But let me tell you this:
I want to leave this ground flat,
so we can dig together with our hands
and I know our experience tells us
that we could bulldozer this land

yet lets band together with these hands!
in youth we bulldozed different lands
and yet no house there stands.

and within these strands of time
there is no distance, only mind
and mine pours out, agape' lust
the only oil, for this rust
and with this trust, we'll dig this land
as the treasure IS our hands....


There is a leap of faith I find.
with not just heart, but soul and mind.
and I believe we are the kind,
as with these hands, our souls combine.
dig these hands

without much more than your energy,
you made me see things I'd never thought,
you made me believe things I'd never believed,
made me think things, I'd never seen.

and within this clarity
I began to conform to the idea,
that you could show me amazing pieces of Love
that I used to believe were soft,
yet had hardened,
through the rust of its gears
thru my trust, and its fears

I hear
that true love is very elementary
very easy within

and the hardest part with-in this
is actually finding that alarm clock kiss

and I am torn with the fact that I am a boy
searching for treasure, in lands yet unknown
and feel like I've shoveled so much,
having dug many small holes.

and yet once again, for the first time in years
I compose on the subject of love
and admit I have my fears
of that unknown above

But let me tell you this:
I want to leave this ground flat,
so we can dig together with our hands
and I know our experience tells us
that we could bulldozer this land

yet lets band together with these hands!
in youth we bulldozed different lands
and yet no house there stands.

and within these strands of time
there is no distance, only mind
and mine pours out, agape' lust
the only oil, for this rust
and with this trust, we'll dig this land
as the treasure IS our hands....

There is a leap of faith I find.
with not just heart, but soul and mind.
and I believe we are the kind,
as with these hands, our souls combine.

©2001 by Yosh

Jelena aka Helen the Bashful Dragon 6.30.02
Grainy Taste of Poetry

Barnes & Noble Booksellers in the Los Angeles area have recently started honoring the local poetry scene by opening up their doors to monthly poetry readings in Encino, Westside Pavilion, and (soon) the brand new store at The Grove on Fairfax.

The longest running of the 3 poetry readings mentioned is the one at Westside Pavilion on the corner of Pico and Westwood, hosted by R.G. Cantalupo and known under the name of "In The American Grain." It takes place on the last Thursday of every month from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. and consists of an open mic and featured readings. Last Thursday, the features were Mark (Marky) States from the northern parts of our wonderful Cali State, and the local poetry king, Larry Jaffe.

For the most part, the evening was quite uneventful, with a rare few sparks from a couple of open mikers and Mark States. That is, it was uneventful only until Larry stepped up to the mic... errr.. onto the table... and (almost) into a plate full of brownies. See, he was doing his poem about being a poet (damn it!) in New York City and shouting his poems off a balcony while the police surrounded the building and asked him to surrender. He had to, he ABSOLUTELY had to use the tables to simulate that balcony and give us a glimpse of the real thing. Still, that didn't sit well with the B&N representative, who dashed into the middle of the "crime scene," snatched the plate of brownies, and saved them from their imminent poetic demise. Larry however, remained on a poetic high, and delivered one of his solid performances that leave audiences talking for hours about "Revolution in a Box," "Unprotected Poetry," and other Jaffe classics. By the way, L.J. will be the very first featured poet at the new reading series at The Grove B&N on July 8th.

Talking about features, get ready for Jim Bolt and John Schofield next month at the Westside Pavilion. And if you know R.G. Cantalupo personally, please, please tell him WOMEN write GREAT poetry, too! He desperately needs some FEMALE features at that place. Honest to God, he does!

Jelena aka Helen the Bashful Dragon 6.30.02
Battle 4 LA

Yes, Bashful Dragon is still alive and kicking, and Battle 4 LA is continuing... poetic battle that is. On Sunday, June 23rd, the Pig Slam of Los Feliz hosted the second installment of the battle at the Tamarind Theatre in Hollywood. After a slow start on a hot summer afternoon, the judges eventually warmed up to the poets and the host, Jerry Quickley, even though he seemed to have been scaring children in the audience. All teams were in great form, but Hollywood had no match for the first place. Not once during the competition was their winning questioned. Sekou had everyone laughing at his hate for beige Jeep Grand Cherokees, Bridget got a standing ovation for her "half-and-half" poem, GaKnew broke the hearts of the female portion of the audience with his "Welcome to the Heartbreak Hotel," and Steve Connell's performance went "bam!" like fireworks. Los Angeles team came in second, represented by Javon, Thea, Shihan and Omari. Long Beach placed third even though they were one team member short, so Rachel and R-A-C had to perform a group piece in the last round of competition. Los Feliz finished fourth despite Gimel, Jaha and Reeves giving stellar performances, helped in the first round by a piece about the "joys of smoking" from their own Slaminatrix (or Slam Mistress). The audience especially cheered for Reeves and the poem in which he admitted he was his "muse's bitch."

All in all, Los Angeles teams seem like they are ready for Minneapolis and set on bowling everybody else over. Don't be surprised if the National finals come down to two teams from LA. In the meantime, there will be another Battle for LA at Green in Mar Vista on July 18th. Come hear some awesome performance poetry and support the teams! Those plane tickets and hotel rooms can get quite expensive and they need every little bit of your hard-earned money you can offer to support them.

Wayman Barnes 6.29.02
Encino's Still So Bitchin'

We had so much fun last month, we had to come back for more. And it was an excellent night of poetry and Elvin songs (One man did a selection of songs written by J.R.R. Tolkein. Cool, hunh?). Ron Dvorkin was his always bitchin' self and the feature wasn't half bad. So put it down on your calendar for next month and go! go! go!!!

The last Saturday of every month
At 8pm, FREE
Barnes & Noble
16461 Ventura Blvd.
Encino


The Exorcist 6.29.02
Exorcist posting: Tuesday at the Lounge Unsaen had a human beatbox accompanying him. Besskepp rapped about ugly people in a duet with a guy that sang about ugly people. Mark Gonzales was part of a trio that broke it down about the history of Latinos. Thursday at Billiards Unsaen kept switching places with his alter ego Nonsaen. He did a tight duet with Slim. Slim said he was Calm and Unsaen said he was Crazy. A relatively new face, Joey did a great piece about being in prison. Great wordplay. Jahira had a bad start forgetting a piece so she did a new one." I love it when you suck out my sugar like that shit was wine." She is lyrically awesome. Every piece she's done has blown me away. Damon said everybody is talking about her. Mouth did a short piece. Jasmine did a great piece about fighting writer's block like it was a person. Billiard's is getting quite a few people now. They will have the battle for LA on the 18th July and a party on the 5th with Gaknew and others featuring. One group that sang a song last night 'Agent Orange' will be there too. Exorcist signing off.

Wayman Barnes 6.26.02
I featured in Redondo last night and had a great time. Jim Doane was hilarious. And the poetry was top notch. Always worth the drive down there.

Tuesdays at 8pm
Coffee Cartel
1820 South Catalina Avenue
Redondo Beach
http://redondopoets.com
310-316-6554

Wayman Barnes 6.25.02
John Kilroy's chapbook is now out and about. Check out his website. It's full of excerpts and what not: www.chromepress.com

Wayman Barnes 6.23.02
I'd like to say a heartfelt and belated birthday to Underground.com. Check out their website: http://www.getunderground.com


The Exorcist 6.21.02

Exorcist posting: Tuesday night at the Lounge. Jam packed as usual when they have slams. Battle for LA. The highlight for me was Rives saying in his poem that he was in the bathroom practicing and someone said something about grudges. "They're going to kill you. They have five black judges". Black guys at the back kept shouting at the end when he was being scored "They're going to kill you!". They were joking when they said it. The black judges gave him perfect tens except one that fitted his poem comment and gave him an unwarranted 9.7. I'm thinking now that Rives is possibly the best poet I'm hearing now. Very relaxed style and his poetry is bizarre. That's my favorite type of poetry. His mockingbird is a classic that history will remember. HE said in his poem that his annoyance with traffic noises led to him getting mockingbirds that are perfect mimics and putting them in glass jars and releasing various ones at various times that would make certain sounds and say various things. Hollywood won with a total of 118.2. LA came second with 117.7, Los Feliz third with 117.2 and Long Beach last with 115.5. Nobody got tens all across the board but Gimel, Rachel, Bridget and Reeves came close with four 10's each. Angelo, Jahira, Jaha, Mark Gonzales and Inq calibrated. Mark was also the co-host. Jahira was off the hook with he erotic poetry. Like a verbal massage and caress. She scored a 28.8. She'll be someone to watch if and when she slams. A woman called Soul's Journey was the highest scoring calibrater with a 29.8. She was a teacher I think and basically said she'll say something real and not the bullshit that most poets will spit. Talaam did his poem about leaving the stage with his self-respect. He was very sporting at the end of the night. He said all four teams are family because they are all representing LA in the Nationals. R-A-C did a blinding poem about a social worker who wanted to take her kid away because she did a disturbing painting. Her daughter told her what the painting symbolized. She drew a picture of he dad as headless and it had something to do with him leaving. Her mother with a hole in her chest because she had been hurt and she put her mums heart in a secret place. The line that had us howling was when she said that the cat with its claws nailed to the ground was a cat with its claws nailed to the ground. Jerry Quickley did an awesome 9/11 piece. He lost someone in the Towers. Shihan did a love poem that always gets him a high score no matter who judges. Always awes me when that happens. 29.8. Gaknew did his "Left, right, forward march poem". Dufflyn did her piece about sexism. My favorite part is when she speaks about the ignorance of Afghani men that beat a woman to death because when in a car the wind revealed her bare wrist. Mike Cirelli did okay with a 28.8. Steve scored a 29.9. In the second half 8 of us poets got to read. The Tamarind Theatre on Sunday will host the next of the 5 Battles for LA. Thursday I did some beat poetry at the Reign Restaurant. They had a musical showcase. Yosef was the host. I loved when he did some poetry with some chimes in his hand providing the background. Kathy had a great poem about being some guy's flesh and blodd revelation and both of them being a constellation in the sky. One guy did a really hot erotic poem. Exorcist signing off.

Wayman Barnes 6.21.02
Actually, Raymond Witter aka The Exorcist is picking up the reigns and making the "Mia" reading his own. It will now be known as "The Hot Spot" and will be held at the Tanner's in Culver City (The old home of Green). Go support! Too many poetry readings are going the way of the Dodo, we need to keep them alive.

Hot Spot
Saturdays at 8
Tanner's Coffeehouse
4342 Sepulveda Blvd.
(two blocks south of Washington Blvd.)
Culver City

Wayman Barnes 6.19.02
The "Mia" Poetry Reading is no more. The Tanner's in Santa Monica went bye-bye.


The Exorcist 6.17.02

Exorcist posting: 2 saturdays back I checked out Rachel at Mia's. She was the feature for that night. Rachel did poetry with her boyfriend accompanying her on the guitar. She had a calendar theme. Each poem was a month of the year. Last Thursday at Green Damon said in his poem that just because you've had sex doesn't make you a lover and just because you gave birth it doesn't make you a mother. 2 Fridays back at Midnight Special Eric had us cracking up. "I have a Zen watch. It just says now." Lee Sloka did an ode to John Cage who said "Can it be music without sound?" Lee asked if it could be poetry without words. He stood ther for a long time saying nothing until we got it. Then he introduced a poem called 'On the wings of a dream'. He then made a paper plane and threw it into the crowd. Then he did a poem called 'The Beginning'. He acted like he had a problem starting a poem. The whole thing was very original. Last week he did a poem about Jesus and Mohammad duking it out in the ring. Like I said before. The Creator broke the mold when it made Lee. Dante and Gimel held it down at the Lounge covering for Shihan and Poetri. Shihan turned up later. One poet said there was supposedly some bad vibes between Talaam Acey and Saul Williams. He said poetry shouldn't be about rivalry. I'll second that. I guess slams helped us get that way. 2 poets that were travelling were the featured poets. A black guy and a white guy.A very cool blending of the races. They alternated. 'Ivory' started with a great piece where he imitated somebody switching channels on his cable and imitated the sports commentaries on each one.'Ebony' did a neat poem about the beginnings of the blues. He let us know that Elvis got his moves at some place that I forgot the name of, but it was legendary. Said Elvis was a kid under a table watching these guys dance. Shiloh the Iron Scepter broke down his lineage. He said his great-great-great grandfather was killed by the KKK for taking a watermelon from a patch that he had planted himself. At one point in his poem he called the Undercover Brother the Undercover Fucker. Slim did 'Woman is a powerful word'. One female poet got us heated with a very graphic and extremely sexy poem. I told her once that from her poetry I had her figured as a Scorpio and she said I was right. She fit the profile. When Big Al got his turn on the mike he let her know he was hot for her. He said he liked Dante not because he was a well known actor but because he would let him stay on the mike as long as he liked. He got that wrong because he got cut in the most comical way I'd ever seen. Everybody cracked up when the lights controller completely blacked out the stage. Babu was a welcome sight. He'd been away for maybe more than a half a year and gave us the sequel to his most well known piece 'Squares and Rounds'. Part two was 'Nine is the most complete number'. He said if you add up the 3 and the 6 of 360 degrees you get 9. half of 360 is 180. 1+8=9. Half of 180 is 90 degrees. 9=0=9. Half of 90 is 45. 4=5=9. Pregnancy is 9 months. In the restroom I told him that half of 45 is 22.5 and that 2+2+5=9. Half of 22.5=11.25. 1+1+2+5= 9. You get the point. One girl did a poem about wanting a man to stimulate her intellectually and Dante had a great comeback piece about how it took him a while to see that. Jaha did a good piece about how gumbo needs green roo and red roo. Don't think I spelt roo right. But she said when you write a poem make sure it has some roo. Someone behind her got smart and said green or red? and she said it doesn't matter as long as it has roo.

[8.27.02][6.12.02]