Sunday Evening Photo Series

Over the last two days the NPS photography crew has been photographing a young people’s poetry festival. Louder Than a Bomb – Massachusetts is based upon an original 2001 idea by Kevin Coval and Anna West of the nonprofit organization Young Chicago Authors. The Bay State’s version gathers youth from all around Massachusetts to share their stories and listen to the voices from other parts of the state. It’s been an amazing couple of days.

Watch out – these kids will be appearing at a venue near you in the next few years.

And Kevin Coval came in to host one of the semi-final bouts this afternoon.

–Until next week

–Until next week.

Mark Palos

Big Poppa E (Erik Ott)

Buddy Wakefield

Harlym 125 (Jamele Adams)

Inphynit (Marlon Carey)

Maxwell Kessler

–Until next week.

Charley Pope

April Ranger

Patrick Shaughnessy

Melissa Newman-Evans

Tom Daley

Carrie Rudzinski

Sean Patrick Mulroy

Sue Savoy

James Caroline

Sometimes it’s just about the photos.
–Until next week.

In Boston we have a number of Spring heralds letting us know it’s on the way, first via the calendar, Easter arrives in there somewhere, the Red Sox home opener, and then Patriot’s Day – commemorating the anniversary of the first battles of the American Revolutionary War in Lexington and Concord. Jane Franklin in a letter to her brother Benjamin wrote about how terrifying it was to hear in Boston about the shooting in Lexington and Concord. “The distress it has occasioned is past my description,” she wrote.

We observe Patriot’s Day on the third Monday in April. Many Bostonians know the holiday as “Marathon Monday”. The weekend is an international affair with runners and visitors from all over the world. But is very much a family holiday from Hopkinton all 26.2 miles to the finish line in Boston’s Bay Back neighborhood.

When bystanders to this weeks attack ran toward the first blast, and never flinched as the second blast went off, the terrorists lost. Author Dennis Lehane said it best, “We’ve been here a long time. You’re not going to change us. Boston’s always been kind of a contrarian city. It’s always been an iconoclastic city and it’s always been a city with a deep love and respect for civil discourse and civil liberties. And so if you think we’re going to suspend any of those because two very harebrained brothers decided to roll a couple of bombs into a marathon, then the sentiment was you got another thing coming. You confused us with another city.”

Yes our sense of security is a bit in tatters right about now. But I hope you don’t think this changes anything, do you? Terrorists cannot terrorize this city. We won’t cancel next year’s marathon nor are we going to cancel the National Poetry Slam.

Now, even more than ever, Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville are thrilled to be welcoming the wonderful, albeit crazy, slam family to our irrepressible city. We are looking forward to seeing you in August. We have never been so Bostonian as we were this week so four months from now come and help us celebrate poetry at its best.

– Until next week.

Collaboration across artistic mediums – one poet, another a photographer. Collaboration is a thing that cannot be produced by either of the parties working alone. Brian Eno once said about his collaboration with Bowie, “Every collaboration helps you grow.”

This just behind the Old North Church in Boston’s North End. It is most famous for signaling Paul Revere. Behind the church in the courtyard is the Dog Tag Memorial – six posts set in a gentle curve, dogtags hung on chains, and a pretty planting of flowers at the base. A remembrance for fallen American soldiers. Each dogtag representing a fallen soldier in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. When the wind blows, the tags make an eerie chiming sound.

This is Denver poet Paulie Lipman. I supplied Paulie a selection of photos as a sort of inspiration. There was no explanation just a bunch of photos I had selected. He was to pick one and create.

This is the photo he chose to use.

Here’s Paulie Lipman’s poem and interpretation of my work…

Letting someone explain a photo without my interpretation is similar to a song, once it’s out there someone can take it on as their own, then I can grow.

– Until next week.

Mostly slam poets recite their work. They perform it. But with new work or work in progress many poets will read the new piece off the page. Occasionally it’s just something that is an older work, that they cannot remember well enough, so they read it.

I’m not much into smart phones. I’m the kind of guy that still uses maps. And I love to print photographs. As an old school photographer (50 years with a camera) there’s something very satisfying about holding a photograph in my hands. Somehow digital photos feel like unfinished goods. There’s a tactile richness of a developed image. I feel the print is a way to value my work, to take it beyond its digital, transient state. There is something sacred about having a photograph in print form.

When I see a poet reading off the page it becomes graphic. There’s a tactile richness of ink, or pencil, on the page. I can see the edits through the translucent page I can see the craft. There’s a tactile richness. It’s not transient it’s fixed onto the page. There is something sacred about having a poem in print form.

Where you can dwell on (or in) a photograph, poetry like music is ephemeral, it exists only for the moment of comprehension. Photography and poetry are different but equally powerful stuff.

–Until next week

Tonight is our first guest appearance by fellow Cantab and NPS 2013 Photographer Marshall Goff…

There are usually three things that happen after poets are introduced and called to the stage.

The first is simple: they come to the stage and adjust the microphone to the height they want it.

Then the applause dies down. There may be something called out from the audience — a friendly joke about what the poet is wearing, or maybe just a shout of encouragement. The poet may laugh, point at someone in the audience, or share a joke back. More often though, they say nothing.

And then, there is a moment where most poets pause. For some, it’s short – engaging the clutch briefly while switching gears at speed. Others slow down, shut out the audience, and gather energy or focus on what they are about to put themselves through.

I’ve seen poets turn completely away from the room. Many of them shut their eyes. Others just look away and then back, then begin.

A lot of the time, I don’t take this picture. In a public performance, this is a very personal moment. It is also frequently the quietest the room gets. The small sound of the camera as the mirror slaps out of the way of the shutter seems louder and more intrusive in the anticipatory silence. I can’t successfully shoot a slam and be entirely unnoticed, but neither do I want to distract the audience or the performer.

And yet, when I am shooting at slams, I am always seeking gestures or expressions that show us something about the poet or the performance. So just as I am drawn to grander gestures, I am also drawn to this quiet moment.

– Until next week.

One of the fascinating aspects of the poetry scene around this town is not in the public venues for performance where the work is well polished but what can happen in someone’s apartment. Often a diverse group comes together, the location is never published and invites happen via word-of-mouth through a network of friends. Sometimes there’s music. There’s always good drink, tasty food, and varied conversation – always spoken word. Sometimes new unfinished or rough beginning pieces are presented (which gets reworked after it is vocalized). It’s an important place for the exchange of ideas, inspiration, and a safe environment to stumble.

These two photo are from Samantha Milowsky’s (creator of Amethyst Arsenic literary magazine) Salon, Somerhouse where Jade Sylvan was the Artist in Residence during the summer of 2012. As you can see it’s not always about the performer but a document of what took place. I wanted to capture the feel of the affair. The intimate vibe required a smaller old-school camera so as not to be intrusive in the small spaces. I felt very fortunate to have been invited in with my camera, and very happy to have been in the house.

– Until next week.

Patricia Smith & Michael Brown are the founders of the Boston Poetry Slam. In 1992 they moved their fledgling into the Cantab Lounge. This past October the Boston Poetry Slam, the fourth oldest running slam in the country, celebrated its 20th anniversary downstairs at the Cantab. This venerable institution hosts the home team for the 2013 National Poetry Slam.

– Until next week.

Here we go again. Just as in 2011 we’ll be posting a weekly series on Sunday evenings as we head into the 2013 National Poetry Slam to be held in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville in August.

We start off this series of weekly Sunday evening photos in an appropriate way with a quick look back at some views inside the early bout venues. Make sure you click on an image to see them larger.

– Until next week.