i just came off stage after having experienced the tightrope walk- do i have to say it? sans net.

thanks to fish, the crew is up here and enjoying a part of a spotlight he earned of his own merit. leaving all four of us 15 minutes to divvy up. fish batted lead off, his natural position, and set it offlovely. rich followed up and after an exhausitive examination of his work he came up with two poems that were no where near his original order. then jess did her thing- rippin it, of course. now is my go…

“Sorta Rican: Part 3” theses poems were always designed to be read solo and here is where that theory goes into the fire… and comes out like tempered steel. good performance but i am MAD nervous throughout

“MotB” yeah… i know but i needed an anchor and to show em my best stuff. positive news- i hit a new plateau of performance. new “twists and turns” as it were.

but in the end, all i did was match the same energy that my compatriots laid out. add to my list of lucky- three poets that are always pushing me to the next level in mad ways…. as a writer, as a performer, as a curator, as a person… word.

the lineup here is bananas. some faces from the past are here… ed mabrey, lucy anderton, giles li and, the master, louis reyes rivera.

ima stop typin and start listenin, mo latah…

this post is comin at ya from fish’s vehicle thanks to the power of the OGO

we have survived this first leg of the trip without incident. no small thing when you consider how much love we have for each other. its alwaysa a 50/50 on whether we will have the time of our lives or refuse to speak to each other… where we eat our young, yo!

the pointof the tour is to hit the Voice for the Voiceless reading up at U Mass, Amherst. ive heard some great stories about past ones including the one from last year that fish drove some folks to and then got to read thanks to a few no shows. i would post the names of our fellow performers but its probably best to just let you know who actually shows up to perform. the road is funny that way.

we are currently cruising at 85mph singing ‘Purple Rain’ as fish remixes the lyrics while simultaneously logs in the entry into his voice recorder (Acentos.is.hightech)

the other news to report is that my first ever chapbook, “Sorta Rican,” is complete and ready to be purchased

and who would happen to be the historic first ever paying customer of an o.b.publishin’ product?

— cue the Jeopardy music! —

none other than Mr. Willie Perdomo

aint dat some sheet? he also picked up (and i hope i aint stealin his thunder) one of rich’s new chapbooks as well

the music has taken a turn for the surreal as i suspect will be the norm for ths adventura

just got off the highway so it feels like a good time to sign off from johnny damon (F U ya shaggy mutt!) land

love ya like if i had 26 trophies to your 1

writing poetry… getting on stage… slamming…

this is all stuff that i do as simply as some people take the bus

and i’ve never been scared of it… not even once… nervous?… yeah… scared?… nah

and why is that?

cuz this thing that i do is the one and only thing in my life where i feel i can fall from any height and still survive

“vomit up ghosts/and not feel broken” is how komunyakaa says it

there is so much other shit in this life where i fall and it feels like i am never getting back up again… where i end up in a crevice… and disappear in the folds

thats how i was able to justify this to people at some point… “i know i am built to do this cuz there isnt any success or failure, really, just twists and turns”

so if you ever think that you may or may not be cut out for this just ask what would happen if you wrote a fantastic poem and every body hated it… you went up on stage and they all booed… you slammed and caught a 1…

would you stop?

would you really walk away from it all after that?

i dont think this makes me particularly brave… as profe would say, “it’s what i do”

“I write for the same reason I breathe – because if I didn’t, I would die.” Isaac Asimov

yeah that sounds about right

i am pretty sure this makes me a good writer/now i need it to help me be a better person

if you are reading this, then i have mastered the art of the remote blog post…

this edition finds me typing away at the Downtown Bronx Cafe after cirellis 1st wednesday feature. this is the BCAs first show since leaving the blue ox. its a great start with a great place, nice atmosphere and supportive staff.

i just busted out a poem i wrote in the last half hour. not very long but with some dfferent themes than my norm. i may even post it up here later.

thats it for now but i cant wait to use this new system to bust out some on the spot luve and direct hateration…

reporting from the downtown bronx cafe,
oscar bermeo for wepa…

world news- o.b.style

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