Find below: Audio and Text from my recent reading at Sunbeam Colleen’s national tour send-off
Last weekend I gathered with some of my dearest friends to celebrate the birthday of our comrade Sunbeam Colleen and send her off on a national tour.
For our soiree, in a backyard of Bed Stuy, I dug out a favorite Diane Di Prima poem, which I had earmarked last spring for a special occasion. The poem is a life-affirming celebration of celebrations, of togetherness, of camaraderie – it stands firmly in support of joy, guarding against the dullness of futile anxieties and trivial concerns.
I made a few small, timely amendments to the poem; I brought my peers in to sit on the page alongside our role models (Anne Waldman and Diane herself next to Morgan Boyle and Dolan Morgan, Allen Ginsberg alongside Kyle Brosnihan, Lewis Warsh and Carlos Jimenez in our hearts always).
In continuation of my recent experiments in communal and collaborative readings, I boogied around the yard, asking every audience member to lend their voices to the bread-breaking of this poem. See photos for context.
Please enjoy this joyous rendition, audio and full text below.
No Problem Party Poem
First glass broken on patio no problem forgotten sour cream for vegetables no problem plastic bags of melted ice no problem wine on antique tablecloth no problem scratchy stereo no problem neighbor's dog no problem absence of more beer no problem too little dope no problem leering Naropa no problem cigarette butts on the altars no problem Kelsea vomiting in planter box no problem Carlos renouncing love no problem Gabrielle renouncing Carlos no problem hungry ghosts no problem absence of children no problem heat no problem dark no problem loss of temper no problem arrogance no problem boxes of empty beer cans & wine bottles no problem thousands of styrofoam cups no problem Kyle Brosnihan no problem Allen Ginsberg no problem Morgan Boyle no problem Dolan Morgan no problem Diane di Prima no problem Anne Waldman's veins no problem Sunbeam Colleen's birthday no problem Chocolate chip cookies no problem Coca-cola no problem Pamplemousse la croix no problem dancing until dawn no problem destruction of hair clasp no problem paranoia no problem claustrophobia no problem growing up on Brooklyn streets no problem growing up in rural Nebraska no problem figuring it all out no problem giving it all up no problem giving it all away no problem devouring everything in sight no problem what else in Allen's refrigerator? what else in Anne's cupboard? what do you know that you haven't told me yet? staying another day no problem getting out of town no problem telling the truth, almost no problem easy to stay awake easy to go to sleep easy to sing the blues easy to chant sutras what's all the fuss about? it decomposes--no problem we pack it in boxes--no problem we swallow it with water, lock it in the trunk, make a quick getaway. NO PROBLEM.
Photos taken by the glorious Kyle Bandido Brosnihan @young_bandido and Jonathan Junie Arellano @call_me_junie
I’m thrilled to be connected with Colleen, her kindness, grace and open-heartedness are a treasure for all who have come to know her. You can hear more of Colleen’s music here. Colleen organizes a musicians and writers open mic at Bar Freda in Queens on Monday evenings. Find her @sunbeamcolleen
A plug: I’m absolutely stoked to read alongside some legends at Unnameable books on the 28th. This will be a great opportunity to hear more of my work in a beautiful setting. The backyard songbirds tend to chime in with the poets. My deepest gratitude to the great Chris Hosea @Chris_Hosea_ for having me.
Another Plug: Poetry is a Team Sport, the poetry collective I’ve co-founded and help coordinate will be reading at The Living Gallery for a rad art show on Thursday June 22. Thank you Armando Jaramillo Garcia @Armandojg787 for setting up this opportunity for the team.
A final plug, mischief maker and artistic instigator Frankie Gallina-Jones @_Frankie_gj_ has launched text-a-poem, an SMS based poem delivery service that you can summon at any time to deliver beautiful morsels of literary delight. Simply TEXT “POEM” to (888) 802 2541
Sending you love and well wishes for a beautiful summer,
Kelsea
'BEAUTIFUL'
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'party poem'