ORGANIZER: Zachary Kluckman
CONTACT: zgkluckman@msn.com
EVENTS Planned for Sept.24th!
Slam for Change! Wednesday, September 21
7 pm to 10 pm
In partnership with the 100 Thousand Poets for Change project, ABQ Slams will be hosting a special slam for change at Winning Coffee Company (111 Harvard SE). Featuring Marc Marcel as a special guest poet. Competitors are asked to bring at least one poem for competition addressing an area where they feel change is needed.
Living Game Board Demonstration Friday, September 23rd
6 pm to 7 pm
We will be gathering at the Civic Plaza to create a massive chessboard, and filling it with poets and performers. These poets will read poetry in response to the issues and causes that they specifically want to see sustainable change happen for. We will be creating the visual metaphor of the ways in which legislation is passed without our vote, without our consent and in some cases without our knowledge.
Acequia Book Sellers
10:20 am to 5 pm
Acequia Booksellers is hosting an OPEN HOUSE/DROP-IN event highlighting recordings of songwriters, musicians and speakers for social change from the 1930′s on. The event will take place during bookstore hours (10:30-5:00) on Sat. Sept. 24. The impromptu program will include recordings by singers such as Phil Ochs, Woody Guthrie and U. Utah Phillips, as well as speakers like Noam Chomsky. Acequia Booksellers has the best poetry section in New Mexico. Drop by and check us out.
24 Hour Drum Circle
10 am to 10
Drummmers from all walks will join us in creating a non-stop 24 hour drum circle with the Kosmic Trading Post acting as the heart and the drums creating the pulse, the vibrant resonance that reminds us that as long as life goes on, positive growth and sustainable change are possible.
Workshops
10 am to 5 pm
Poets will partner with members of various social change organizations and non-profit groups with a mission to create change in the world. Workshops will be held at the Projects. Presenters from the organizations will speak to the specific challenges and the needs and poets will lead writing prompts in response to these issues, creating a new social dialogue and bringing necessary knowledge to the table.
Candlelight Reading
7 to 9 pm
Poets and musicians will come together for a free concert, bringing together the community in a night of powerful verse and uplifting, conscious music. Presenters from non-profit and social change organizations will speak briefly, offering insight into the struggles, knowledge and hope. After the readings, everyone in attendance will be asked to hold up a candle for a moment of silence in reflection of all the bright lights we’ve lost to wars, genocide, homelessness, violence, drug addiction and more. The causes and issues are many, but so are the hearts and hopes of those who will join us for this event!
Tewa Women United Gathering for Mother Earth Reading
The Tewa Women United will include a reading around the sacred fire as part of the 100 Thousand Poets for Change project.
We have had some slight delays but expect news on some big events coming very soon! Albuquerque is on board and full steam ahead ~ we WILL help create change!
yayyyy!!
Things are coming together and we’re building a great series of events! In order to create a strong sense of symbolism and resonance throughout the city- we have a few different things going down, including:
Workshops: these will be hosted in pairs by members of organizations involved in each issue/cause and a poet who will direct some writing in response or somehow tie their prompts into the topis. For ecample – for a workshop on LGBT issues we may pair a member of Pride with a poet interested in those issues and people can attend each workshop as they like or feel drawn to.
Demonstration: We will create a “living game board” which we will draw out in chalk in a public space, such as perhaps sthe Civic Plaza perhaps, and then we will place poets on the game board. Poets will respond to the cause or issue they want to discuss by reading poems and moving across the board to represent the way lawmakers and politicians manuever to effect us without our consent or knowledge. At the end of that reading we will stand together in soloidarity and state that despite the different issues, we want change to begin now…on all of these issues. And that change starts with us bringing them to people’s attention.
Readings: Primarily we will be holding one large reading in the evening to bring musicians and poets together. Members of the organizations and social change groups present will speak very briefly throughout the evening, and poets will share their words and theiur hearts as we cry out together in the darkness, for a light to burn with a promise of hope.
Drum Circle: The heartbeat of the city. I am attempting to create a pool of drummers with hand drums who will be placed at the events and readings and will drum in shifts all day, creating a resonance, a heartbeat if you will, to represent the heart we bring and the heart we speak from.
Candlelight Vigil: We will observe a moment of silence after the main event at the end of the evening, to honor omelessness here at home, we have lost many, many bright lights so we will remember them by generating and remember everyone we have lost to these tragedies. Whether it is the violence in Mexico, the women of Juarez, the war, genocide in the Sudan or homelessness, we have lost many, many bright lights so we want to take a minute to remember them.
This is all the info on the Albuq. Center for Peace & Justice’s web calendar today:
“Saturday, September 24, all day
100 Thousand Poets for Change. Join poets from over 360 cities representing more than 70 countries in a demonstration and celebration of poetry to promote serious social and political change! This worldwide event will produce over 500 events simultaneously on September 24th. Poets and social justice organizations will come together for this all-day event full of poetry, sharing, and a vigil for the victims of war. Information/read/perform/lead a workshop/etc.: zgkluckman@msn.com or 505-712-1475.”
http://abqpeaceandjustice.org/calSE2011I.html
At the top of the page it says,
“Events are held at the Peace Center unless otherwise noted.”
So unless another location is offered, people will expect it to be there. By the way, the Peace Center’s big yard sale is there that day, outside and in. And as usual, there is no web link included, so people may be calling and e-mailing you. .
Saturday, September 24th, 10:30am to 4:pm
Tijeras pOets Picnic – music, poetry, art
Join us in the foothills a few miles east of Albuquerque for the Tijeras Poets Picnic.
Much more info here:
Tijeras pOets Picnic
Here are some photos from the game changer demonstration on Civic Plaza on the 23rd, leading into the big event