From Scot Brannon (scot at scot brannon dot net):
Poetilla
Want to spend a couple of hours on Lake Union in the company of savvy writers? Looking for intelligent critique of your work—whether poetry, fiction or something in between? Join the Poetilla, a writers’ roundtable on the water.
Each Tuesday at 6:16 pm—rain or shine—we’ll depart aboard a 21’ electric boat with a shade canopy and panels that can be closed or open. No need to worry about weather. Bring food and drink if you like. We’ll drift in the middle of the lake for a friendly but intense literary plunge.
There’s space for the first 10 to arrive (any overflow can adjourn down the street to the Rock Salt Steak House–definitely cheesy, but with great lake views and an excellent happy hour). Please bring 10 copies of any work you plan to read. We’ll return to the dock at 8:18 pm. Your donation of between $6.16 and $8.18 helps cover the boat rental.
Poetilla launches from the Electric Boat Company dock (2046 Westlake Ave N #102) on the west side of the lake, just north of China Harbor restaurant. There’s plenty of parking. Also reachable via the 27, 17, and 358 buses. Walking down the winding stairs from Aurora Ave to lake level is a treat.
The first Poetilla launches next Tuesday, July 10, and continues each Tuesday thereafter.
Forward this message as broadly as you wish.
About Splabman
Poet & interviewer Paul E Nelson founded SPLAB (Seattle Poetics LAB) & the Cascadia Poetry Festival. Since 1993, SPLAB has produced hundreds of poetry events & 600 hours of interview programming with legendary poets & whole systems activists including Allen Ginsberg, Michael McClure, Joanne Kyger, Robin Blaser, Diane di Prima, Daphne Marlatt, Nate Mackey, George Bowering, Barry McKinnon, José Kozer, Brenda Hillman & many others. Paul’s books include American Prophets (interviews 1994-2012) (2018) American Sentences (2015) A Time Before Slaughter (2009) and Organic in Cascadia: A Sequence of Energies (2013). Co-Editor of Make It True: Poetry From Cascadia (2015), 56 Days of August: Poetry Postcards (2017) and Samthology: A Tribute to Sam Hamill (2019) Make it True meets Medusario (2019), he’s presented poetry/poetics in London, Brussels, Nanaimo, Qinghai & Beijing, China, has had work translated into Spanish, Chinese & Portuguese & writes an American Sentence every day. Awarded a residency at The Lake, from the Morris Graves Foundation in Loleta, CA, he’s published work in Golden Handcuffs Review, Zen Monster, Hambone, and elsewhere. Winner of the 2014 Robin Blaser Award from The Capilano Review, he is engaged in a 20 year bioregional cultural investigation of Cascadia and lives in Rainier Beach, in the Cascadia bioregion’s Cedar River watershed.
I saw this just hours too late! I’ll definitely make it next week.
How was the turn out? Do I need to arrive pretty early to get a spot on the boat?
I would say yes, arrive early. I watched the first half of the All Star Game. Ugh.
Let me know how it goes if you attend.
Paul
Passenger’s Report: The inaugural sailing of Poetilla went down last night like a fine wine; albeit the vessel itself remained upright—not faulting once—thanks to the steady hand of Captain Scot Brannan, Poetilla’s chief instigator; a tip of the hat, indeed! As it was 9 poets set sail into the not-quite setting sun on a warm July evening aboard the brand spanking new and some thought the appropriately named electric-powered boat, Resistance Is Futile; I kid you not. We found a quiet corner of the lake on the leeward side Gas Works Park where we floated aimlessly out the way of barges and other boat traffic, on the far periphery of the Duck Dodge sailboat race, the all silver and glistening buildings of downtown looming to the south. And yes, we were briefly accosted by a raft of ducks, whether they were after bread and wine or poetry—some would say it’s all the same—it was hard to tell; they left with both. In any case, original poetry was shared and commented thereon; and wine and beer and bread (what the ducks did not get) were consumed, and I believe all were somehow renewed. And maybe we will see you next week.
Is this still continuing? I’d like to come if it is.
I sent your comment to Scot Brannon.