By Philip Kromer, Creative Commons License
2002. That was the last time I participated in the Austin International Poetry Festival. I even served on the Board of Directors of AIPF back in 2001. Life and love took me elsewhere as it so frequently does for so many.
After two years of telling my husband I was going back, 2018 finally became the year I kicked off National Poetry Month in Austin. I’m still processing so much from this weekend–how much the city has changed (food trucks, hipsters, and gentrification) yet stayed the same (hippies, tie-dye, and general weirdness) since I left Austin over 15 years ago. Mostly, I’m processing how much I’ve changed. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is Austin’s love of expression and art.
So many awesome people. So many awesome poets. So much happened. Here are the most notable highlights:
+I discovered Rick Lupert, whose verse is at once funny, profound, spiritual, and real.
+At Kick But Coffee, I read with David C. Johnson, the poet from Bristol (hence “International” festival) whose cutting verse and cunning rhymes both delighted and challenged me.
+I participated in my first Haiku Death Match hosted my Mike Guinn where I lost to a first-timer in the first round whose haiku was about getting married in a week. (Sympathy vote much? But I’m not bitter.)
+I also participated in the powerful workshop “Writing Our Truth: Poetry, Memory, and History” taught by Robin Davidson, the former Poet Laureate of Houston. Not only did I learn a few things, but I added quite a few books to my reading list.
+I read poems, including some work from my chapbook, in an open mic with poets from the Sun Poet’s Society of San Antonio (led by the legendary Rod C. Stryker) as well as D. A. Gray and Charles Darnell at Recycled Reads where I also picked up a few books for my boys. Books by the pound? Yes, please!
+I even slammed with legends Regie Gibson and Jena Kirkpatrick after their mind blowing spoken word/music performance as Trio of Poets at Huston-Tillotson University. I knew I wouldn’t make it past the first round, but I was cool with that. Regie won the $250 grand prize. Shocker.
+Thanks, Roja Chamankar, for showing me the beauty of the Persian language. Your words are powerful translated into English, too.
I’m still processing all that I witnessed and learned, and there’s so much I left out. I know all of it will all make me a better poet and person. Thanks, AIPF. See you next year!