Cantab family fun...very nice!
I haven't talked much about the Cross Training Camp last week in Oneonta, but suffice to say I learned a lot. It came on the heels of some pretty serious emotional realizations, which made it a bit overwhelming to encounter my emotions in poetry. But I learned so much about myself as a poet, got to meet wonderful people like
louiserobertson and reconnect with
scottwoods and it was a great experience for me.
One of the great unexpected benefits of this was the chance to get to know people better. Ironic, but I got to know Simone a lot better at camp (hooray for the "bad campers!"). We also talked about my DJ work with poetry in the past like
myainsel's very much missed "Where Your Mouth Is" series and the gigs I've agreed to do at nationals (erotic slam, women's slam, the famecast.com finals as well as more traditional DJ gigs in sets at the opening and closing parties). She mentioned an event she's planning in the fall as well as the thought that she's been thinking about wanting to add a DJ as part of their weekly event. I was on board without question for the one-off in the fall, but wanted to take some time to be sure I was ready to commit to a weekly event. Since I've always loved the feel of the Cantab (and a lot of that has to do with Simone's welcoming presence - I've never seen someone work harder to make new people feel welcome at their slam), I loved the idea of being a part of "the greatest slam in the english-speaking world" or however a certain someone has phrased it, and wanted to be sure I was ready to step up and be a good fit.
So. That in mind, I said yes to both proposals, and was very happy going to Simone's house last night for a get-together with the people in their slam family. I got to catch up with people like
theryk and
rainbows23 (and the beautiful Autumn who is even cuter than those uber-cute pictures) and some other people I'd met before as well as a lot of new people.
Thank you to all the Cantab family and friends for making me feel so welcome and being enthusiastic about having a crazy DJ on board. This will be a learning and growing experience for me, and I'm thrilled to have a chance to add to what's already an amazing venue and show. That party was one of the best I've been to in a while - I felt welcomed, appreciated and engaged in conversation. For the first time in forever, I didn't feel like I was standing around at any point being "invisible" and so many people had great conversations and were fun people to be with. This is a group I feel so happy to join in with and work to mix things up and make a great home where art and fun can coexist.
I realize part of this feeling of welcome came from my own willingness to experience something new. But I also felt like there was no sense of "here is one group that has ties that go way back" and I was the outsider. I had a great conversation during the Cross training camp about how people had made an effort to create a "family" kind of atmosphere, and I really felt that when I went to the party. That's part of why I always felt so welcomed at the readings, too (well, that and
theryk is like your crazy, fun brother) and why I was so willing to sign on with them.
The more I'm among poets and traveling to different readings and events, the more readings and "families" I get to see and it shows me the variety of situations that can develop. There is an amazing sense of community in so many of these readings and it's part of why I love poetry and being part of the group of friends that develop around the art. I'm finally finding where I feel most "at home" fitting in to things and I'm glad to be able to bring something good to where I'm going.
Thank you, Cantab folks, for making me so welcome. I look forward to working with you and making things better in whatever way I can. *big hug*
louiserobertson and reconnect with
scottwoods and it was a great experience for me.
One of the great unexpected benefits of this was the chance to get to know people better. Ironic, but I got to know Simone a lot better at camp (hooray for the "bad campers!"). We also talked about my DJ work with poetry in the past like
myainsel's very much missed "Where Your Mouth Is" series and the gigs I've agreed to do at nationals (erotic slam, women's slam, the famecast.com finals as well as more traditional DJ gigs in sets at the opening and closing parties). She mentioned an event she's planning in the fall as well as the thought that she's been thinking about wanting to add a DJ as part of their weekly event. I was on board without question for the one-off in the fall, but wanted to take some time to be sure I was ready to commit to a weekly event. Since I've always loved the feel of the Cantab (and a lot of that has to do with Simone's welcoming presence - I've never seen someone work harder to make new people feel welcome at their slam), I loved the idea of being a part of "the greatest slam in the english-speaking world" or however a certain someone has phrased it, and wanted to be sure I was ready to step up and be a good fit.
So. That in mind, I said yes to both proposals, and was very happy going to Simone's house last night for a get-together with the people in their slam family. I got to catch up with people like
theryk and
rainbows23 (and the beautiful Autumn who is even cuter than those uber-cute pictures) and some other people I'd met before as well as a lot of new people.
Thank you to all the Cantab family and friends for making me feel so welcome and being enthusiastic about having a crazy DJ on board. This will be a learning and growing experience for me, and I'm thrilled to have a chance to add to what's already an amazing venue and show. That party was one of the best I've been to in a while - I felt welcomed, appreciated and engaged in conversation. For the first time in forever, I didn't feel like I was standing around at any point being "invisible" and so many people had great conversations and were fun people to be with. This is a group I feel so happy to join in with and work to mix things up and make a great home where art and fun can coexist.
I realize part of this feeling of welcome came from my own willingness to experience something new. But I also felt like there was no sense of "here is one group that has ties that go way back" and I was the outsider. I had a great conversation during the Cross training camp about how people had made an effort to create a "family" kind of atmosphere, and I really felt that when I went to the party. That's part of why I always felt so welcomed at the readings, too (well, that and
theryk is like your crazy, fun brother) and why I was so willing to sign on with them.
The more I'm among poets and traveling to different readings and events, the more readings and "families" I get to see and it shows me the variety of situations that can develop. There is an amazing sense of community in so many of these readings and it's part of why I love poetry and being part of the group of friends that develop around the art. I'm finally finding where I feel most "at home" fitting in to things and I'm glad to be able to bring something good to where I'm going.
Thank you, Cantab folks, for making me so welcome. I look forward to working with you and making things better in whatever way I can. *big hug*