the greatest

Its an honor to be able to bring top notch poets from around the country, sometimes outside of it to our venue and watch them perform. Even though Wil and Nate work very hard to book and promote these events along the way being very kind to all guests, they are not the reason poets come back. I guest host at times or play funny music but no one comes back to hear me play Kermit the Frogs IT AINT EASY BEING GREEN for them. The port veritas movement carries with it a very appreciative audience that fully understands how tough it is to perform your poetry or prose or ramblings successfully. That being said they dont impress easy.

Andrea Gibson came and performed for us yesterday and if you werent there to see it, you'll have to be one of those people who don't know. Wil and I have discussed at great length her skills and talents and every poet I know has a copy of Pole Dancing for Gospel Hymns.

I've seen her perform before but each time there is a different shade of genius(thats right I said genius!!) She achieves at each dimension better then people who focus completely on one. She can string together metaphors in a way that makes me want to study them like ancient text and go from that to tossing out hilarious stories that bring you closer to her.

I don't even know what the heck to say to her at this point. What do you say to the greatest? I didn't say anything, I think I learn more that way.

don't give up on the future

I voted No on question one. I voted no on whether or not Maine should repeal the law allowing homosexuals to marry. This was a large scale issue for Mainers and I'm told that close to 60% of the state voted...and it was repealed. It was very close but a defeat is a defeat.

I'm writing this blog for the people who voted like I did. Don't kick your cat. As America has urbanized people have been drawn together, this has happened over decades and as its happened you can track the success of civil rights. Its easier to vote against gay marriage on your own plot of land where you don't have to interact with any. I have too many kind friends to be able to look them in the eye and say "We have to preserve the foundation of something that barely works. Sorry."

This is a setback but we will win. Time is on our side. The issue won't go away and progession changes things even if you try and preserve traditions. As times change the litigation needs to reflect that. We live in a world that can't tolerate the poor broken logic that prevents gay marriage.

If we want to save marriage we can't make it an exclusive club we have to open it up and show people that its worth it. In the eighties the big topic was "will we ever get equality in the workplace" now everyone is solidly behind the notion. The pressure exists to treat people equally in the workplace or be fired for not being politically correct(considerate). In ten years this issue will be the same way.

The only way my side can lose this one is if we give up. We might win even then.