On Friday the Thirteenth of February, the Monsoon Voices gathered again at Unlimited Coffee on Glendale Ave to fight off any sinister omens and take joy in spoken and sung stories. What a fine night it was!
Certain sinister overtones occurred: Gary Bower presented a surprisingly un-acrostic set of poems that nonetheless amazed the assembly. Elizabeth Early, a "recent transplant from Chicago" read a fictional memoir of deafness, stunningly vivid, colorful, heartrending. Bakeem Lloyd's powerful poetry nearly always has a dark side, and Friday night he did not disappoint us.
Lighter moments were offered by Paula Ashley's nature poetry, although even she reminded us somehow of the sorry state we've fallen into. Heather Hanssard's quite optimistic views cheered us, and Kevin Hall, who calls himself a 'blue-collar poet,' made us laugh, and then nearly cry. Blue collar, perhaps, but top-notch.
Two women that I'm lucky enough to be in a class with this semester read memoir. Maryann McCullough told us about growing up very Irish and very Catholic in inner-city Chicago. Sandra Yee read "Chenglish as a second language," leading us through her adventures growing up with multiple linguistic influences that led to multiple confusions. We should all be so challenged!
Iain Walinck, a gifted guitarist, sang us a range of folk songs about the working man's struggles in tough economic times. It served to remind us that for some there are always tough economic times, and the best you can do sometimes is laugh.
The evening flashed past. Monsoon Voice hosts Traci and Patrick Moore are masters at choosing and presenting lively readings, and the casual setting at Unlimited makes it easy for everyone to lighten up, even while sharing excellent writing on some tough topics. It all happens again in April -- hope to see you there.
Monday, February 16, 2009
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