Remember the Slam

My good friend and poet Jack McCarthy reminded me of my roots today by bringing up an old debate: should slammers be allowed to repeat winning poems from year to year? He has a great opinion on his website.

Personally, I never would have gotten as far as I did without repeating poems. And I felt as Jack did; that when I did repeat, I felt as though I didn't do my all--that I satisfied the audience, but not myself. Reading in open mics was, for me, about keeping me writing. I have never written as much as I did when I was a slammer. Never. Not even in graduate school, where one friend called me "prolific" for writing 2-3 poems a month. I would try out, on average, 2 new poems a week at the Boston Slam. Sure, they weren't finished pieces, but they were out there. I could tell by watching the regulars--Jack, Mike, Gary, Brian, Ron--whether the poem really had somewhere to go in revision.

So Jack has reminded me, that despite the insanity of having a baby, having dogs that bark too much, having a job that leaves a lot to be desired, I need to write and write well. I suppose it's time to check out the Denver Slam.