Spoken Word Summit
This past Thursday at Springboard for the Arts, members of various spoken word communities gathered to discuss the state of spoken word in Minnesota.
Organized by Matthew Rucker and Kyle “El Guante” Myhre, the summit is to be the first in a number of occasional and largely informal meetings between members of spoken word communities in Minnesota: to aid in cooperation, communication, and support between different events, organizations, individuals, spoken word mediums, and missions. It sounds overwhelming, but it came down to who are we (who are the different organizations and individuals who make up Minnesota’s spoken word communities), how can we share resources, and how can we support each other?
A lot of what the meeting came down to was just that there needed to be regular and free sharing of information, and joint promotions- such that a single regular flyer could help promote multiple events in town, and that web information would be shared centrally and easily visible to the public. Frequently asked questions could be easily addressed via the web, as well.
The meeting was largely informal and very pleasant- ranging from how organizations could invest in each other to how to be good audience members. More details will be forthcoming as soon as I’ve gotten the followup email from the organizers- and I hope to be able to bring you lots of good news about all the amazing things we’ve got going on here in Minnesota, as the current designated “hub” for spoken word information in the state.
You’ll see the links have been updated (and I hope to include more as I’ve got more information), and the calendar has filled up quite a bit, we’ll be hitting up different folks involved in the scenes for more information about what they’re doing and how they’re doing it- from volunteer opportunities, to grants and opportunities, to performances and events, and all of the fun stuff in between- I’ve got a full plate, and am very excited to connect you with the amazing things the spoken word scenes in Minnesota are doing.
Please, don’t hesitate to email me with questions or suggestions.
cole.sarar at gmail dot com, or just leave a note in the comments section.
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Scheduled articles this week include SlamMN’s last slam to qualify WOWps competitors, and Leslie Ball’s Balls Cabaret.
-Cole
Aw, man! I wish I knew about this meeting!!
courtneymclean said this on January 26, 2009 at 10:31 am
Courtney- there’ll be more in the future, and you and the rockstars (and other storytellers) are encouraged to take part in the conversation. I’m obviously already trying to get your events on the calendar- all you folks need to do is email me and keep me in the loop!
-Cole
minnesotamicrophone said this on January 26, 2009 at 10:35 am