Underground report: Oakland at The Terrace Room

thoroughly enjoyed last week’s reading at The Terrace Room. props to the host of the evening– Paul Corman-Roberts. excellent mix of brought their own damn version of kick-ass to the mic, every single one of them. July Westhale, Arisa White, Neeli Cherkovski, A. Razor, and Alexandra Naughton.

this reading was !!FREE!! and open to the public.

so this is a restraurant/bar with a nice view of the lake, on the ground floor of a better-to-do retirement joint. word is the mac n cheese was meh and personally thought the drinks were a bit light on the liquor content though pleasant enough service. a little addition from a flask would solve this problem. nice seating though a little dimly lit, the readers were aided by fake votive candles and had the use of a nice mic and podium. seating was decent and the restrooms were extra damn nice.

shout out to MK Chavez, for letting me know about this event, driving me to it, her precise parking skills and informative and interesting sidenotes about local whatnots along the drive.

this was taken right outside the venue, prior to the reading. smoking like a fiend of course but enjoying the view, getting to meet fellow Punk Hostage press author Joel Landmine (Yeah, Well by Joel Landmine), watching some documentary thing be filmed, I don’t know, ask Alexandra Naughton.

so, i took pictures of all the readers and the host but they’re all blurry and mostly unflattering or whatnot and who needs to be yelled at for some more of that shit? not me, yo. i’m still going to post this one of Alexandra because despite weird lighting camera problems, i think it captures the moment, the rockstar and also not to burst your bubble all five people that will read this but I think she’s probably too nice to beat me up over it.

this was outside, after. sitting on the steps to smoke and escape as much social anxiety enducing stuff as possible.

this was the lighter i used, umm creatively borrowed from Blotterature’s Michelle L. Quinn at the last Blot Lit gig I was able to make it to. I gave it away to a man on the street yesterday. He was suffering, he said. blocking traffic with his wheelchair ..in a confused state. What he really wanted and was quite honest about right off the bat was for me to help him by going to buy him some wine. He would take a smoke though and did indeed need a light. dropped a Kind bar off to him on the way back through which he seemed to really be thankful for. He also seemed to really want to keep the lighter — but that’s cool with me I’ve got about a bazillion. anyway, last known picture of this served me well lighter.. weird blurry selfie that reminds me that i need to buy conditioner where we stopped after because gin that puts a forrest in your mouth and slumber party exorcisms are rad and sometimes necessary on the way home, another sign. there’s been an abundance as of late and i’m thankful dear universe. i was particularly happy to be introduced to the writing of Arisa White (http://arisawhite.com/) during this reading. i believe most of if not all of what she read was from her latest full-length collection A Penny Saved. highly recommend this. what i heard of it was heavy, accessible and brilliant.

from Willow Books (http://aquariuspress.myshopify.com/collections/poetry/products/a-penny-saved)
In her second full-length collection, A Penny Saved, Arisa White’s elegantly harrowing poems investigate the idea of the “captive” within spousal abuse. Often utilizing the voice of the “good wife” Penny, these poems bring to the fore the effects of mental abuse in juxtaposition to a patriarchal world that tries to swallow the voice of Penny. White’s poems drift from stream of consciousness—to afterthought—to dialogue in a way that exhibits her flexible and intimate relationship with language. With this dexterity, Penny’s voice is realized.

i was also quite happy to see Punk Hostage Press co-founder A. Razor at the mic again. my own personal opinion from the handful of readings i’ve seen him do, my favorite..just off the roadtrip from hell and a hospital visit case of the flu pukes, he brought it still. it just doesn’t compare to seeing it live which you must– but here, one that’s stood the test of at least nearing on 3 decades and still rings true and necessary. never forget words matter. from Drawn Blood, a steal at $9.95 (https://www.createspace.com/3923496)

Underground report: Oakland at The Terrace Room

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