I was up all night on Monday and woke up relatively early on Tuesday. The famous insomnia cycle had begun.

I laid low for most of the day and tried to rest (unsuccessfully.) It was kind of a relief to be coaching and have an upcoming bout; it forced me to focus on something else. No matter what I was feeling, I had to put the game face on and ( Read more... )

Overall, a pretty good NPS.

I want to do an extensive recap but I'm feeling a little too emotionally pummeled and exhausted to really get into it.

I will say, though, that I liked more poems this year than I have in years past. In every bout/event I attended there were at least two times where I nodded my head and said, "that's a good poem."  There ( Read more... )

I am now officially excited for NPS ( Read more... )

Yo, clearly motherfuckers are just hating on my genius.

• While I respect everyone's right to write about whatever interests them, please be advised that any Michael Jackson poems performed at NPS will receive the full Chicago Heckle Treatment if I happen to be in the room. Remember 2007? Remember Darfur? Remember how you wanted to stab yourself in the ears with your commemorative pen by the end of ( Read more... )

Dear People in Therapy ( Read more... )

If a poem is easy, it probably isn't worth shit.

Again, it was a great weekend. I have no regrets - except for buying a bag of shit I couldn't possibly finish before having to cross the border.

A few notables:

My Team: I love the hell out of all ya'll. Thanks for inviting  and trusting me.

Will Evans: You're a beast. I'm so proud of you.

Team Columbus/Brooklyn: Thanks for kicking our ass and doing it ( Read more... )

Of all the larger-scale poetry events I have been a part of of, this year's Rustbelt was the most overall positive experience I've had. I had a great time on stage and off. Within 20 minutes of the team being together, we were giggling and supportive and remained that way until we got home. I couldn't have asked for much more. For the nerds: ( Read more... )

The team looks like this ( Read more... )