The Urban Dictionary has recognized and accepted "guerrilla poetry" as an entry.
Check it out here:
guerrila poetry
Thanks again to one and all getting on board, special thanks to the man, Dan McTaggart.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
strategies to bolster your nerves
Okay, so Guerrilla Poetry Day comes and you can't get the gumption up to stand up and read aloud a poem or two before running for the door? Here's a few tactics that will help.
1) Do it with a friend or two. Agree to meet when and where you are going to do your "attack" and then each of you deliver, reading not to the empty air or the disinterested crowds around you, but to one another. It helps.
2) Arrange it. The crowd may not know it, but if you get permission ahead of time from the cafe or bookstore owner, that's not a bad idea. I'm considering one of my readings being at a bookstore that I know carries several of my books. I just stroll in, off the street, pick up one of my own books, read a few pre-selected passages and walk out. That easy.
Anybody else have some suggestions?
1) Do it with a friend or two. Agree to meet when and where you are going to do your "attack" and then each of you deliver, reading not to the empty air or the disinterested crowds around you, but to one another. It helps.
2) Arrange it. The crowd may not know it, but if you get permission ahead of time from the cafe or bookstore owner, that's not a bad idea. I'm considering one of my readings being at a bookstore that I know carries several of my books. I just stroll in, off the street, pick up one of my own books, read a few pre-selected passages and walk out. That easy.
Anybody else have some suggestions?
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
connecting the dots
I have a few people who have pledged to take part, and I want to give everyone who is actually planning to take part a chance to leak their participation...so if you do decide to be a part of Guerrilla Poetry Day this July 5th, drop me a line and let me know so I can make sure you get some play for it.
The multi-state idea appeals to me more the more I ponder it. The cities and towns I am sure to include on my route are Sterling (VA), Morgantown (WV), Frederick and Cumberland (MD) and looking for good times/sites in DC and Pennsylvania on that day. Yes, that would make it 4 states + the District of Columbia. A good days recital.
I could perhaps stretch it, and even am still contemplating going airborne. Maybe I can get an airline to not only cut me a deal on airfare but also allow me to read a poem or two in flight? Perhaps.
The multi-state idea appeals to me more the more I ponder it. The cities and towns I am sure to include on my route are Sterling (VA), Morgantown (WV), Frederick and Cumberland (MD) and looking for good times/sites in DC and Pennsylvania on that day. Yes, that would make it 4 states + the District of Columbia. A good days recital.
I could perhaps stretch it, and even am still contemplating going airborne. Maybe I can get an airline to not only cut me a deal on airfare but also allow me to read a poem or two in flight? Perhaps.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Multi-state Reading for GPD
I have decided, for GPD, to do a multi-state manic poetry assault. Hit and run tactics.
To keep it simple, I will pick most of the targets in advance, and where there might be problems with proprietors, etc, let them know what's up. Some might even welcome the publicity. I would start just after midnight and go probably until midnight.
I will probably hit targets in the Virginia, Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania and West Virginia area (although I have one idea that involved boarding a plane and reading on both coasts in that one day). Hmmm...maybe some kind airline would even not object if I did a reading on the plane.
If you have worked with me on a project you know that when I am deprived of sleep I become manic. So this should be interesting. I might even try and put together a "wolf pack" to travel with me for part of the run, perhaps trading off at different points.
Or maybe I like the idea of hitting and moving, with no one knowing where I am or where I will be next.
As others announce their intentions to take part in Guerrilla Poetry Day, I will add their names to this blog...
To keep it simple, I will pick most of the targets in advance, and where there might be problems with proprietors, etc, let them know what's up. Some might even welcome the publicity. I would start just after midnight and go probably until midnight.
I will probably hit targets in the Virginia, Maryland, DC, Pennsylvania and West Virginia area (although I have one idea that involved boarding a plane and reading on both coasts in that one day). Hmmm...maybe some kind airline would even not object if I did a reading on the plane.
If you have worked with me on a project you know that when I am deprived of sleep I become manic. So this should be interesting. I might even try and put together a "wolf pack" to travel with me for part of the run, perhaps trading off at different points.
Or maybe I like the idea of hitting and moving, with no one knowing where I am or where I will be next.
As others announce their intentions to take part in Guerrilla Poetry Day, I will add their names to this blog...
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
I am not a rock, nor an island
Looking for regional coordinators for Guerrilla Poetry Day. No major obligations, just people who can spread the word and answer basic questions, even serve as media liaisons if need be.
Leave a comment or drop me a line if you want to help out.
Leave a comment or drop me a line if you want to help out.
Monday, May 18, 2009
launching Guerrilla Poetry Day for 2009
Reprinted from my blog at cityoflegends.com
Ook! No, not that sort of "guerrilla". The concept comes from a discussion that I and Dan "The Man" McTaggart had a few years ago about performing poetry in spontaneous settings. I dubbed it "guerrilla poetry", he wrote a poem about it that appears in his book "Midnight Muse in a Convenience Store" as I recall.
A few days ago I resurrected the concept...not with Dan but on Twitter, and got some nibbles from like-minded poets around the world. So, there it is, the genesis of a start of a concept of a prototype of a dream of a whim of a thought of an idea.
But, it looks like people are looking to me to take the lead (I hate leading, I find it gets in the way of getting to criticize people). So, here it is...
I, William F. DeVault, poet, author, pretty decent human being and blogger superior, do hereby declare July 5th as "Guerrilla Poetry Day".
The concept is simple. On July 5th, at some point, in public (in private is a little masturbatory, don't ya think?) you will stand up and read or recite, aloud, 1 - 3 works. More than three might be tedious, less than one may confuse people. You will then just sit down as if nothing just happened, or depart. If asked, you just tell them to look into Guerrilla Poetry Day on the web, or at our official blog at http://guerillapoetryday.blogspot.com .
We will evolve more details and structures as time passes. I hope to be able to report on efforts by others and even set up a place for people to report on July 5th as they complete their "attacks". The time of day of your attack is not important...but do it during that day in your timezone.
Ook! No, not that sort of "guerrilla". The concept comes from a discussion that I and Dan "The Man" McTaggart had a few years ago about performing poetry in spontaneous settings. I dubbed it "guerrilla poetry", he wrote a poem about it that appears in his book "Midnight Muse in a Convenience Store" as I recall.
A few days ago I resurrected the concept...not with Dan but on Twitter, and got some nibbles from like-minded poets around the world. So, there it is, the genesis of a start of a concept of a prototype of a dream of a whim of a thought of an idea.
But, it looks like people are looking to me to take the lead (I hate leading, I find it gets in the way of getting to criticize people). So, here it is...
I, William F. DeVault, poet, author, pretty decent human being and blogger superior, do hereby declare July 5th as "Guerrilla Poetry Day".
The concept is simple. On July 5th, at some point, in public (in private is a little masturbatory, don't ya think?) you will stand up and read or recite, aloud, 1 - 3 works. More than three might be tedious, less than one may confuse people. You will then just sit down as if nothing just happened, or depart. If asked, you just tell them to look into Guerrilla Poetry Day on the web, or at our official blog at http://guerillapoetryday.blogspot.com .
We will evolve more details and structures as time passes. I hope to be able to report on efforts by others and even set up a place for people to report on July 5th as they complete their "attacks". The time of day of your attack is not important...but do it during that day in your timezone.
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