2011 - my personal year in review

When 2011 arrived I don't think I made a single resolution. There's just no point, as I break them all

, and if I say let it be a year of ___ inevitably it turns into a year of something else. So instead of my resolutions for 2012 (of which there are exactly none), I am thinking about what I accomplished in 2011.

A year without New Year's Resolutions is not an emply year. I finished a whole bunch of paintings in the first four months of 2011. That's the time of year when the sun comes right in the front window and the light is really fresh.

I did a lot of poetry slamming this year for the White Plains Slam team beginning with a regional 4-way slam at the Bowery Poetry Club in January and another in July. I did a short featured performance before the first ever  slam in June at the Veterans Memorial Center in Harrison NY.

Twice this past year I read poems at Free Poets Collective events - art-based poems written specially for the events. One was in April at the New Britian Museum of American Art another was in October at Broad Street Books in Middletown for a Celebration of Women Beat Poets/Writers/Artists. Thank you Colin and Yvon.

In July I started playing out at open mic nights again. I won a nice gift certifiace at the Tuesday Night Open Mic in New Milford. (still have to use it....) I did this on and off again all year, at Hideaway, Molten and one more in New Milford.

In August 2011 I officially became a National Slam Poet. I went to the week-long National Poetry Slam in Cambridge as a competitor on the White Plains Slam team. It was more fun than I expected.

The 2011 White Plains National Slam Team

Being at a National slam makes you a witness of sorts. You hear poems from all sorts of people, widely varying circumstances on all sorts of difficult topics. You become a witness to their stories and many were stories i had never heard first hand.  After this experience I find I am much more likely to look with friendly inquiring eyes and not look away. When I see strangers I am always wondering now - what's your story? What's hidden inside you?

I also got some great pictures of wild archetecture on and near the MIT campus, some crazy scuptures and paintings, got to see the MIT museum which is filled with intricate amazing robotic mechanisms.

So Thanks Zork, LV, Jonathan, our coach Bram and of course to the nameless guy who arbitrarily quit the team because he didn't want to be on NPS's favorite good-spirited losing team. This kind of brings things full circle for me as I quit the CT team as alternate in 1997 and Victoria Rivas went as alternate instead. Sometimes you get a second chance.

In September I read my comic erotic story Lipolt and the Amazons at the Erotic Literary Salon in Philedelphia, where two of my fellow Shijin also read. Thanks Erobintica for setting that up.

In November 2011 I finally finished my second chapbook Tabernacle of Bees (which I had been ignoring since 2009 when I began the project. ) I have printed out the first 25 copies and more are on the way.

Not only did I finish it - I sent a copy of Tabernacle of Bees along with a copy of my 1998 chapbook Inverse Origami the art of unfolding to Poets House . On Dec 23 I recieved word back that both would be added to the inhouse collections there and that Tabernacle of Bees will be on display this summer along with other chapbooks published in 2011.

In December I officially retired as Wednesday Night Poetry's web mistress and email update sender. I had been webmistress for most of the last five years and I think that is enough typos and photo changes, and governance committee discussions for anyone. I have passed the torch and the secret handshake or whatever to Derek, Lisa Marie and Christine. I will still maintain the new archve site at wedpoetrypast.wordpress.com. (regular updates are not required....)

Late in the year organizers asked if I would donate some music performance to the Molten Java send off bash on December 18. (The Cafe is moving from 102 to 213 Greenwood Ave). So I played a 1/2 hour gig of my own original songs for the event which went fairly well - despite me being in less than good voice.. I also got to see some fabulous acts -  Michel Rae, Marc, Joey, the Molten Jazz Trio, Burnkit2600, the Hip Replacements and many more during that event.  And  I'd like to take this space to thank the nine people who came out just because I invited them. Thank you all so much - seeing your smiling faces made it so much easier to do!!  As a consequence of video from that performance - I cut my damn stringy hair into a very short punkisk cut.

Finally - I have to note that for the fifth year running I weigh a little bit less than at the start of the year.

So,  bring on 2012.  What will happen? Don't know -  but I'm pretty sure something will!