Word Around Town 2012 In Review

August 29, 2012, by

In the earlier part of August Inprint friend and local arts blogger Dean Liscum made the rounds at the Word Around Town 2012 tour, a week full of poetry readings at different venues throughout the city, and shared some highlights with us. Now that he’s had some time to reflect on the tour, we touched base with Dean and get his final thoughts.

Inprint: Dean, we know you couldn’t go to all the evenings of the tour, but can you share two or three of your favorite moments with us?

Dean: The most remarkable aspect of WAT is the diversity of poets on the tour. Every city has a wide range of poets that represent a multitude of styles from personal and confessional to spoken-word/SLAM to lyrical to political to communal. Often they congregate in cliques. To hear their brand of poetry, you have to travel to a particular venue or event. Not at WAT, it is welcoming and all inclusive. This year’s tour even featured a performance artist, Boby Kallor, who would read a piece and then introduce another poet or performer, some who sang a Capella. In a hard core poetry scene (not as oxymoronic as it sounds) such as NYC’s Nuyorican Poets Cafe or D.C.’s Busboys and Poets that kind of stunt will get you thrown out on your iambic pentameter with bongos.  Continue reading