Open Mic poetry at Four Bridges & Mrmulti at NPC!

What a weekend I had? Sunday is becoming my busiest day of the week which has actually made Monday more bearable. On April 29, I held a community meeting at Four Bridges to connect with members and find out what everyone has been working on. Since we just celebrated Earth Day, I invited Carl to join us to provide a brief update of all the festivities he was involved in. Based on his report, the drum circle at Feed a smile was a major success and fun too. There will be a weekly drum circle on Sundays at 8am slt in second life. This time was chosen to avoid the start of poetry marathon at 9am in second life (many people are quickly discovering this). I thought the session went well and I made a few more announcement of whats to come in May at Four Bridges.

At 11am slt, our open mic poetry quickly started with Lemonodo oh who's already read the most versatile poetry selections. Although I was somewhat ready, I prefer hearing other first while I warm up a bit. I woke that morning listening to Billie Holiday and then proceeded to Ana Difranco, exactly in that order. I was taken by the lyrics of "fuel" and played the song several times to explore the possibility of reading it out loud. I decided they would be perfect for the crowd at SpeakEasy but was a bit reluctant about my ability to do the piece justice. So I held back and pass the mic to Anamaria who read 2 amazing poems of her own. Ana had to leave a little early to head to DNA for their poetry reading. She was the featured poet. She's brilliant and has the voice to match. I knew she would dazzle the crowd with her selections:)
A few more readers shared their favorite poems and other genres. I decided to read "fuel" and my 100 word challenge. "Fuel" was definitely a mouthful but really enjoyed sharing it with the audience. Ani also can sing that song with such intensity that the lyrics hit home every time I listen to it. So, the word of the week for the challenge was "hotel." I guess it's called a challenge for a reason because it took me till the wee morning hour to finish this over the weekend. It's such a relief when I send it to crap and know it's off my writing list but really worth it when I see the final product from 1 random word. You can read my entry below and let me know what you think:

"Hotels are often portrayed as luxurious hideaways, vacation escapes for the rich and famous. A safe house for celebrities and an escape from the scandals and unspeakable behaviors that often accompany them. A code of silence between the guests and skilled laborers provides protection for all. Laborers, the common populace that is forced to clean up afterwards, while smiling. Lola knows firsthand the irreparable damages of guests gone badly behind closed doors. She knows the sweat, and sore feet needed to protect them. She also knows what doesn't stay hidden, isolation, anger, addiction, desperation, loneliness, all disguised as high life."

The day is not over yet readers. At 12pm slt, I head over to NPC to launch my month long Red Hot celebration for my birthday. Yay! MrMulti is the featured performer of the hour at my NPC parcel to promote my work with the Girls' Project in sl. This is his second time on the sim to celebrate an important day in my life. As you may recall, he was one of the performers for my rezz day event as well with Annan Dreamscape.  Mic is a fun perform to listen to and of course dance to his music. He did all originals for a whole hour which was awesome! A lot of friends popped over, including, Carl, Brokali, Sevi, Drumstick and some new faces as well. Meetu Writer, his manager, was also there and its her birthday too which I learned while at Guthrie's for his 10am slt show. Mic sang Happy Birthday to both of us. Very sweet:)
I danced for most of the hour except when I crashed which is always a challenge while hosting events but I'm so used to it now, I just logged right back in. Needless to say, the hour flew by and the launch of my celebration is off to a great start!

Next Sunday, May 6, Shannon Oherhily (noon slt) & Tukso Okey (1pm slt) will continue the Red Hot Celebration at Four Bridges/SpeakEasy. You do not want to miss this show!
 

Earth Day Celebration in Second Life

On April 22, our open mic poetry at Four Bridges/SpeakEasy, celebrated Mother Earth! We also recognized the urgency to continue our collective efforts to protect and preserve the environment. So much more can be done on a daily basis to ensure we seize to overuse our natural resources. Given every Sunday, we share the written word to inspire, educate, connect and just add a dose of relaxation to our weekend. We were happy to include Earth Day as part of this week's theme. Many residents read poetry and other genres reflecting Earth Day in some way. Our practice is not to restrict our readers, so they can still read whatever moves them that morning.  I was lucky again to be joined by Microfiction writer Brokali, who read a special short piece that he wrote for the occasion. I was grateful that most in attendance were able to find something in their inventory or their own  writing to share.
I also read a few pieces I found online and 2 of my own that fits the occasion perfectly. I've included 1 stanza from the poem "Leaves" and "Fish."  I also read "moon" which was this week's 100 word challenge with crap mariner. We had many other readers as well. Carl Solutionary read 2 pieces specifically about Earth Day. Medora Chevalier also shared a brilliant piece. Anamaria, a regular at SpeakEasy, also read some of her favorite poems and of course found one that covers our theme of the day. I was happy to see Orb Thursday, 4B member and designer extraordinaire, joined us. She has designed a large portion of the four bridges sim, including the 4B town center, which includes the speakeasy space.
As you can see, you never know who you will run into at our open mics and events. I hope one of these Sundays, if you haven't yet, you'll pop over for the hour. I would love to see you:)

Poetry & First Sunday with Shannon Oherhily at SpeakEasy

Another exciting Sunday at SpeakEasy with Open Mic poetry at 11am slt. I was joined by co-host Brokali Resident, known for his thought-provoking microfiction stories. He was his usual funny self and engage the crowd between readers. I read this week's 100 word challenge with the word "hug." I usually don't know what I'm going to write until about Friday or Saturday. Sometimes I'm making changes as I'm emailing it to crap mariner for his podcast. I must admit I'm happy with what I wrote this week. Sevi and Brokali also read their version of the challenge during the hour. We were pleased to have Anamaria joined us and read a few of her favorite poems. She has a few that she will confess that "she's obsessed with." After hearing her read them so beautifully, I'm beyond obsessed with her selections. Even Brokali, who's quick to say he's not a poet threw in a "wow" after listening to Anamaria's reading. DangerDave, another awesome SL writer, also popped over for the first time at SpeakEasy but did not read.  I hope to see him again if rl does not interfere. Lemonodo read a few poems in several languages including: German and Italian. It's always a treat to hear literary works in other languages. We have a few French writers who typically do the honors but Lemonodo has broken the record for the most languages read in 1 hour. Naturally the hour flew by as we enjoyed hearing various individuals read both poetry and microfiction.
At noon slt, Shannon Oherhily took the stage for her live performance. It's First Sunday! Yay! We're always happy to have Shannon sing her heart-felt originals and covers. Maurice, her manager was also at SpeakEasy. Many of her fans tp over for the concert. Carmel was in the crowd, another amazing SL artist. I will definitely invite her to debut at 4B in the new future. I love hearing Shannon's stories between songs which are not always funny but memorable. She once lost her guitar in Montreal while traveling. Montreal is one of my favorite cities but I wouldn't want to leave any of my possessions behind:( Shannon did a great set filled with favorites of fans and a few originals in the mix.  With the end of the concert, we closed an awesome 2 hour of open mic and live music at SpeakEasy!

Join us every Sunday at 11am slt at SpeakEasy for poetry & microfiction. Shannon will be back next month for another laid back Sunday concert.

100 word challenge "hug"

This week's word is "hug." This turns out to be a fun word to play with. Lola continues her surprising adventures in the city. Many of you have read previous stories with Lola as the main character. I will read this entry during my open mic on Sunday, at SpeakEasy, 11am slt. Check out the entry and recording.

Lola doesn't often hug. She hugs friends on special occasions, or to comfort a good girlfriend after a blindsided break up. Other people seem to hug everywhere. Airports, train stations, restaurants, clubs are all notorious for sudden thoughtless embraces. Most movies include at least one oddly placed embrace. But still, Lola thinks hugs should be reserved for crisis, or only when desperately needed. Until recently,with the start of an intense romance. She has found serenity in her lover's bounty of hugs. And needs no reason to open her arms.She realizes now a hug is an extension of heart.

 

100 word challenge "sick"

This week's word is "sick." Check out the entry and recording.

Lola was on alert to fight back sneaky germs during the flu season. She stocked on multi-vitamins, ginger roots and cold medications for a month's worth. She's been exposed to some sick zombies leaking fluids from everywhere. On the trains, she noticed some couldn't breathe. While few were always on the brink of sneezing. Others were coughing non-stop in their oversized coats with tissues on the other hand. The rest were too weak to even dry their red droopy eyes.  Lola was determined to beat these viruses before plotting and snatching their chance to trap her to a sick bed.

Poetry Hour at SpeakEasy/Four Bridges

We had another fun-filled hour of poetry at SpeakEasy/Four Bridges. I started the hour sharing the news that Adrienne Rich had passed away on Thursday. I was shocked when I heard the news while reading the New York Times. Ms. Rich is one of my favorite writers that I discovered her books in college and continue reading her vast writings till this day. I always grab a copy of her books wherever I find one, particularly during the years when we had a prominent feminist bookstore locally. She even had a talk at New Words bookstore in Cambridge, MA which was such a treat to have her in the city. So naturally, I read a few of her poems and discussed why I love her writing so much. Lemonodo Oh also shared a few pieces as well. I'm hoping to dig out more of her work to read during future open mics in second life.
Since I started writng 100 word drabbles, I also read my entry for this week's challenge through crap mariner.My dynamic co-host, Brokali, also shared his microfiction during the hour. Anamaria, another amazing poet in second life, read a few wonderful pieces with the crowd. She has a soft captivating voice yet reads with intensity. Sevi read an entry by bonchance longfall who has a range of poetry selections and short stories. For the first time at SpeakEasy, Lycanthia read two of her stories for us. She's such a good storyteller and definitely kept the crowd interested in hearing more. Before we knew it, the hour was up and had to teleport to another event.
Hope to see you one of these Sundays at SpeakEasy for Poetically Speaking:)