So, yesterday's poetry reading went excellently! I was complimented by the host (and the host for the subsequent segment at Java Express, though I booked it across downtown in order to make it to Maria Chen's reading at Three Bananas Cafe instead), and it went rather well though the cafe was not as well staffed as perhaps it should have been given the AWESOME crowd — of course it was also too hot in the cafe but whatever. Maria Chen and others delivered awesome readings at Three Bananas Cafe as well. I took copious notes on both sets of readings.
I even met up with Maria, Rebecca and Sheena for ice cream at Marble Slab afterward. Since Maria's off to Cambridge and Sheena's off to Toronto, it was good to see them again before they departed.
I splurged on sushi before heading down to the Edmonton Poetry Festival finale which absolutely rocked! [the only downside being the incident referred to in the title to this post]
Gosh, the readers list only got better with each subsequent reader (and I thought that the previous night's poetry was rad… this was just as exciting, but for different reasons)! My favorite readers were Mary Pinkoski (!!!) and Brendan McLeod.
Now, Mary Pinkoski is significant to me for many reasons… the main one is that I've known her for a LONG time (not that we've stayed in touch or anything). She was in the same swim club as I was growing up… and while she's still definitely recognizable, she has changed. I think I'm somehow a bigger fan now that I'm not just seeing her in the athletic arena: her skills with words are amazing! Gosh, I enjoyed her spoken word…
And Brendan McLeod, likewise rocked my socks (and I was at that point actually wearing some!). I even bought his CD. And I've since checked out his band online. I'm impressed. I like spoken word and he CERTAINLY has presence.
Something tells me I need to get out to poetry events more often. What a weekend!