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We haven't seen a new book from my dear friend Ragan Fox for a while now, and check out the reviews his Exile in Gayville is getting: “Ragan Fox's searing chronicle of growing up gay is an anguished autobiography composed of poems unerring in their ferocity and theirtruths. These stanzas, which seem to be scraped directly from thesurface of the poet's skin, are both gut-twisting and impossible toturn away from. No edges are blurred, nothing is held back. Sharpening a creative signature that already sported a razor edge, Fox grants uswitness to the crafting of an unapologetic life.” -Patricia Smith, four-time individual National Poetry Slam champion and National Book Award finalist for Blood Dazzler “In a post-Will and Grace world, there is something freshly anarchic about the poetry of Ragan Fox. In the service of the story, Fox isn’t afraid to get ugly, to be the mean girl, the irresponsible son, the nervous guy who can't keep track of his f*ck list while filling out forms for his AIDS test. Fearlessly exploring every aspect of his life -- from the trials of his love life, to the death of his father, to the TV shows he uses to escape -- Fox approaches the reader with a joke on his tongue, a glint in his eye and hook in his hand for your heart. And that's what makes his latest collection sing: that no matter how hilariously raw or painfully voyeuristic the verse, Fox finds a real tenderness, a true humanity in the chaos. With his latest collection of poetry, Fox doesn't just walk the thin line between the shock and the awe, he swaggers all over it.” -Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, author of Words In Your Face: A Guide Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam “Exile in Gayville probes the root of our glittering, American paranoia as it attempts to organize the detritus of the speaker’s past into a comprehensible mythology. Fox methodically plays pick-up sticks with the fragments of his formative years in a way that is more detective-like than confessional. Declarative, essayistic, playful, and vividly descriptive, Gayville reads more like a fragmented experimental memoir than a collection of poems. At times surreal, language-y, and often heartbreakingly funny, Fox mans multiple forms (micro-play, curriculum vitae, ballad, litany, epistle, flarf, index) in order to fully navigate the gay gyre. In this way, the poet manages to gauge not only his own pulse, but that of a post-Prop 8 nation.” -Karyna McGlynn, author of I Have to Go Back to 1994 and Kill a Girl Pre-order it on Amazon today, and check back for updates!
Dear Family, Not to be the bearer of bad tidings, but I have been informed of a situation that it’s been agreed you should know about. I spoke at length with our friend Amy Weaver last night, in Plano, TX. (If the name’s not familiar, she’s the wonderfully loud woman from Texas who was on the winning Dallas team in 2004, and a dear friend to me.) Amy didn’t tell me this summer when we spent time together, but four years ago she was diagnosed with a rare condition called pseudotumor cerebri, which essentially mimics the symptoms of a large brain tumor due to the production of excess spinal fluid. Basically, the fluid builds up in her brain, causing incredible headaches, nausea, and has required no less than 49 spinal taps over the last four years. Even with these treatments, the buildup in pressure can cause her to go blind. So. First of all, she hasn’t been able to hold a job with the need for constant treatment, so she’s home with her retired parents. Second, her COBRA ran out. Third, her Medicaid application is lost in space for 9 weeks in limbo after the application form was improperly filled out by a new employee (she has a 10 year old brother with Down’s Syndrome who’s receiving both disability and Medicaid, so the family is not unfamiliar with the process, but this is a real screw-up.) Her parents have been fronting for her insurance, to the tune of $400 a month. That’s plenty. BUT – one of the treatments recommended by her doctors, which cures the condition in 60-70 percent of cases, is to lose a significant amount of weight. So she’s getting lap band put in next Thursday, which will be a non-covered bill of $15,000 (normal weight loss procedures being out of the question with her weakened physical condition). While this procedure will have its own side effects, the more troubling operation is yet to come – a brain operation which will place a permanent shunt in her head to drip the excess fluid into her abdomen, where it’s assumed it will be reabsorbed. Naturally, this is a pretty scary monster to have to deal with, although fortunately this procedure WILL be covered by her insurance. So, basically.. She’s cut herself off from the scene as she deals with these issues, and I told her it’s ridiculous to go through this alone. Whether it’s emotional support or if we can do a fundraiser, I’d like to help a member of our family BEFORE it’s another significant blow to the community. If you’d like to pass along words of support, she’s asked me to gather them and give them to her in batches. Her health varies on a daily basis; some days waking up and literally not being able to see, and pretty much constant pain management required. If you’d like to send physical mail, let me know and I’ll send you her address. I would love to hear fundraising ideas. More information on the condition here: pseudotumorcerebri.com, or google pseudotumor cerebri. Thank you in advance for your love. If you wish to make a donation for Amy, there are two possibilities. You can use the Livepoets.com donation button and I'll make sure she gets the payment. Please send me a note at multimediagrl@hotmail.com and mark it "Amy Weaver Recovery Fund" so I'll catch it. You can also paypal her directly at madnessofamy@yahoo.com. Thank you in advance for any kindness you can spare. Come together, Gabrielle Bouliane multimediagrl@hotmail.com 716.884.0225
Lamplighter Review is a bi-annual publication which prints in the Fall and Summer. They publish work from established and emerging writers with a preference for writing with weight in its words. Lamplighter Review aims to entertain the casual poetry reader while challenging, surprising and inspiring fellow writers. Each issue features original art and occasional photography to enhance the message of the collection. For more information, please see their website.
Shannon Leigh was a spoken word artist out of Atlanta, GA. She was the National Poetry Slam's 3rd-place Indies winner and a member of the 2007 Atlanta Art Amok! Team. She was the 3-time champion and 4-time team member of the U21S Slam, 4-time finalist in the Austin Slamoff, has performed in Austin, San Antonio, Conroe, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Cambridge, Atlanta, and Cape Town, South Africa, and has shared the stage with the likes of Saul Williams, Jared Paul, Sage Francis, Taalam Acey, Matthew John Conley, Da'Shade Moonbeam, Earth Raiders, Blacklisted and Public Offenders. She has performed with Sage Francis in Las Vegas, NV and featured at DemocracyFest 2005 in Austin, TX at Stubb's BBQ, performed at the National Poetry Slam and is featured on Season 6 of Def Poetry Jam. She has a hip-hop album, Sanctuary, available, as well as a webstore for "Fuck Me Human" clothing, made on request of several people who heard her poem of the same name. Her book FUCK ME HUMAN is now for sale at Lulu.com! It's more expensive online, because it's a prettier book with new poems and photographs. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shannon Leigh passed this summer in a tragic accident at the age of 20. To assist with the cost of her hospitalization and funeral arrangements, please consider purchasing her work. You'll be astonished at the light we've lost.
After founding the site in 2000 as a school project while studying Digital Video Production, LivePoets.com has been a way for me to catalog the best in the national poetry slam community. It's been a pleasure to serve this community in this regard, and I greatly appreciate the support of all the regular users of the site. I look forward to continuing this relationship.. but it's going to take a different focus in the months to come. After a lengthy relationship with Poetry Slam Incorporated, the national non-profit which is responsible for hosting all official National Poetry Slam events, the company is moving in a direction with their footage that does not allow for free distribution. Their works are terrific multi-camera productions, and continue to be for sale, and are the largest collection in the nation at this time. As a result, I have had to remove the footage I used to host here out of respect for our long relationship. At the moment, I am on a short "Video Safari" in the Northeast, touring some of the top slam venues in the nation and capturing footage of the current players in the game to add to the LivePoets brand. Over the next few months, you can expect to see lots and LOTS of updates -- new poets, MANY new clips, and some new features of the site. Please keep coming back for more! Livepoets is please to once again work toward becoming your premiere site for freely streamed new slam poetry! Best regards, Gabrielle Bouliane Founder, Livepoets.com multimediagrl@hotmail.com