Sunday, April 6
I read with Rick Lupert yesterday at Beyond Baroque. Up til several weeks ago, the reading was scheduled for 2 p.m., but then it was changed to 4 p.m., which would have been no problem if Beyond Baroque had posted the change on their website. On April 1st, though, I happened to take a peek at the calendar to see what other events were scheduled for BB the rest of the month. The 2 p.m. time start was still listed. I wrote and the time got changed, but what I feared came true. Too many people already had seen the time listed as 2 p.m. and made their plans accordingly. Jack Grapes, the poet who published my one and only full-length book of poetry, showed up at 2 a.m. and left a note in which he said, “Quite a few people were here at 2 p.m.
Rick and I gave a lively reading to the handful of people who showed up at 4 p.m. I want to thank Rich Agata, Suzanne Allen (and her friend Christy), Doug Knott, Kelyn and Mary Roberts, and Sarah Maclay for being there yesterday.
As for tonight, I can’t say that I’m looking forward to it. The event tonight only reminds me of how much I have failed in my decades of attempts to get my poetry published. I have only had one full-length book of poetry in the past 40 years. The GDS award should be reserved for individuals whose poetry has a substantial presence in Los Angeles. David St. John, Wanda Coleman, and Eloise Klein Healy were given this award in the past three years because they all had multiple, full-length volumes of poetry published by well-known and nationally respected presses. It diminishes the stature of an award to give it to someone whose poems have not made the transition from magazine publication to book collections. I will head up to the Church in Ocean Park tonight with great reluctance. The point, though, is to raise money for Beyond Baroque, so this is a promise I must keep.
Church in Ocean Park
235 Hill Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
About Bill Mohr