Less Than A Month

Thought I would share some of the work we are doing to drum up interest. We are going to be working on t-shirts tonight. If I can get a picture of them I will post them tomorrow.

As usual, if you would like more info drop us a line at Spoken

A Reminder

Spoken Poetry Reading
Broadway Pub
Tuesday July 12
Sign-ups 8:30
Readings start at 9:30

I read at the Endzone's Open Mic night last night. Had a damn good time. It has been awhile since I have gotten to read to somebody other than myself. I was just as nervous as always, then once I got going, wished I had more stuff. Always seems to work that way.

Found this on Poetry Daily this morning by Stephen Dunn.

The Kiss

She pressed her lips to mind.
— A typo

How many years I must have yearned
for someone's lips against mind.
Pheromones, newly born, were floating
between us. There was hardly any air.

She kissed me again, reaching that place
that sends messages to toes and fingertips,
then all the way to something like home.
Some music was playing on its own.

Nothing like a woman who knows
to kiss the right thing at the right time,
then kisses the things she's missed.
How had I ever settled for less?

I was thinking this is intelligence,
this is the wisest tongue
since the Oracle got into a Greek's ear,
speaking sense. It's the Good,

defining itself. I was out of my mind.
She was in. We married as soon as we could.

We're Back!

If you miss the old Speak Easy poetry readings at Limey Louie’s or just plain missed them, mark July 12th on your calendar now. Speak Easy is back.......well sorta.

Things you should know......

1. We changed the name of our poetry readings. Instead of Speak Easy we will be going by ‘Spoken’. There are several reasons for this. We won’t bore you with all of them, but simply state that the name changes is not a slam on Speak Easy or the people that made it what it was. What it is, is an acknowledgment that things are different. ‘Things’, aren’t better or worse...they just are.

2. We are no longer able to hold our readings at Limey Louie’s. Instead we will be holding them at Broadway Pub in Granville. We have been looking for a place to start-up the readings for awhile now and think that we have stumbled onto a place that will become a home for us as much as Louie’s was.

3. While the name and location has changed, one thing hasn’t. Spoken will only be as successful as those who participate; in organizing, in reading or in coming down for a damned good night of poetry. Spread the word. If you know of anybody who likes to write or read poetry let them know about us. If you know somebody who might need a gentle nudge or who wants to be included on our mailing list, drop us a line at spoken.poetry@gmail.com.


That’s about it. If you have any questions, comments or concerns post them here or send us an email. We will get in touch with you as soon as we can.

A somewhat quick note on this blog.

This will be Spoken’s official blog. If you need to know when the next reading is or some contact info, check here. However, this blog will not be only about Spoken. It will be a complete and total mixture of stuff. We will certainly cover poetry and poets, but other forms of literature are certainly fair game and movies and music and wine and.....you get the point.

We have a section started for links that we would recommend, if you know of one that should be included, post a comment or send us an email. If you read a good book recently, saw a great concert, had a great bottle of wine, or anything else....drop us a line. Let us know and we will let others know. Just as we try and create a sense of community at our poetry readings, we would like to do the same here as well. Like our poetry readings, this is mainly up to you.

We hope to see you all on July 12th. Come early and enjoy a few drinks. Readings will start at 9pm unless you hear otherwise.

It’s good to be back.

PS- Pardon the typos.

To help tide you over until July 12th

The Quiet World by Jeffrey McDaniel

In an effort to get people to look
into each other's eyes more,
and also to appease the mutes,
the government has decided
to allot each person exactly a hundred
and sixty-seven words, per day.

When the phone rings, I put it to my ear
without saying hello. In the restaurant
I point at chicken noodle soup.
I am adjusting well to the new way.

Late at night, I call my long distance lover,
proudly say I only used fifty-nine today.
I saved the rest for you.

When she doesn't respond,
I know she's used up all her words,
so I slowly whisper I love you
thirty-two and a third times.
After that, we just sit on the line
and listen to each other breathe.