12/5/16 features Garrett Murphy

12/5 Garrett Murphy hosted by Jan + Open Mic + always free (except what you order from restaurant) 

Garrett Murphy, a political and human nature satirist, lives in Oakland, CA, and has written several chapbooks of poetry and prose. 

THE OPPRESSOR RULE BOOK

ATTENTION:

If you are reading or hearing this

You have no doubt purchased

The

Oppressor Rule Book.

Rest assured,

our aim is to take you through each

commandment

in this manual

to make you achieve

all your effort’s worth

for your investment.

We shall begin the reading

of the commandments,

which are as follows:

Oppressors expect kudos from

the ones they oppress.

Oppressors feel good by

making others feel bad.

Oppressors pick symbols 

as easy targets

instead of going after

the actual culprits.

Oppressors believe that they

are the salt of existence.

Oppressors believe that only

they

can be right and are shocked

that others can possibly think

for themselves.

Oppressors always believe

that they are perfect

so how dare we oppose them!

The oppressor’s favorite hiding

places are:

            Tradition,

            Popular opinion,

            Authority,

            Poll numbers

and

            Sound bytes.

Oppressors never believe that

their actions are wrong.

Oppressors never believe

they can ever be wrong.

That is what makes them

oppressors.

WARNING:

Some oppressors believe

they can never be oppressors

simply because the institutions

make that “impossible!”

On the contrary-----

You don’t have to be a race

            to be an oppressor.

You don’t have to be a gender

            to be an oppressor.

You don’t have to be an economic state

            to be an oppressor.

Don’t have to be a hierarchy

            to be an oppressor.

Don’t have to be a religion

            to be an oppressor.

Or ideology, size, nationality

or any other demo

            to be an oppressor.

You just have to oppress

            to be an oppressor.

And not even for twenty-four hours

            to be an oppressor.

And you sure can’t be

            BORN

            an oppressor.

for

Oppression is action

            plus intention

not accident of birth.

Oppression

is

Oppression

is 

Oppression

is

Oppression.

Therefore,

you

            too

can

            be

an

            oppressor.

And now the replies from the

makers and readers of this book.

What do you have to say?

NO

POPPYCOCK

PREPOSTEROUS

ERRONEOUS

I DO IT BECAUSE I LOVE YOU

BALONEY

I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG

DEAL WITH IT

IT’S YOUR FAULT

YOUR  PROBLEM

GET WITH THE PROGRAM

GO WITH THE FLOW

BECAUSE I SAID SO

RESPECT YOUR ELDERS

YOU’RE JUST JEALOUS

IT’S ALL IN YOUR MIND

YOU’LL THANK ME FOR IT SOMEDAY

OBEY AUTHORITY

MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY

DO AS I SAY

NEVER MIND WHAT I DO

IT’S YOUR DESTINY

IT’S GENETIC

IN-YOUR-FACE

YOU JUST MADE IT UP

                        MADE IT UP

                                             made it up…

(Well,

what can you expect from a perpetrator

but a typical oppressor line?)

That concludes this reading of

the Oppressor Rule Book.

See NEVER for more options.

                                                Garrett Murphy

© 1995 Garrett Murphy

Lily Fangz a Surprise Feature 11/28 (plus our usual prompt night open mic)

11/28 Surprise Feature: Lily Fangz!: Plus,"Pool" is the prompt. (prompts are thought directions and your poem does not have to include the words of the prompt – use prompts as a cliff and jump off!) 

 Wordsmith, Painter, Poet, Speaker, HipHop Artist

See Lily Fangz TED Talk at the address below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HZp1fh7KUw

Lily has had roles in “Deliver Us” and “Alfosantory: City of Broken Dreams.”

Also see her facebook site at Lileana Fangz

For more info see  http://www.planetfangz.org/

Maverick & Prompt nights the group nominates a work which then is eligible for publication in our on-line magazine at the end of the year.  hosted by J.D.

Lucille Lang Day features 11/21

11/21 Lucille Lang Day hosted by Bruce

Lucille Lang Day (http://lucillelangday.com) has published ten poetry collections and chapbooks, most recently Becoming an Ancestor and Dreaming of Sunflowers: Museum Poems, winner of the 2014 Blue Light Poetry Prize. She is also a co-editor of Red Indian Road West: Native American Poetry from California and the author of a children’s book, Chain Letter, and an award-winning memoir, Married at Fourteen: A True Story. The founder and director of a small press, Scarlet Tanager Books, she worked as a science writer and science educator for many years, including seventeen as director of the Children's Hospital Hall of Health, a museum formerly at the corner of Shattuck and Kittredge in downtown Berkeley. She is of Wampanoag, British, and Swiss/German descent.

COSMOLOGY LESSON

When I was four, my friend Diane
said her cousin Claire thought
she was the center of the universe
and everything existed just for her.
I was stunned. “I thought I was
the center of the universe,” I said,
my lip starting to quiver. “We all
start out thinking that,” Diane, age nine,
who’d taught me how to add and read,
explained as I burst into tears, scared
in a brand new way. Her mother said,
“She’s just a little girl. Don’t make
her cry,” but it was too late. Birds
were already singing for someone else,
maybe themselves. Even my parents
and my toys no longer belonged
only to me. The sun, moon
and stars trembled as they turned
away, leaving me alone, small
as a bit of broken shell on a beach,
helpless before the gathering waves

Lucille Lang Day features 11/21

11/21 Lucille Lang Day hosted by Bruce

Lucille Lang Day (http://lucillelangday.com) has published ten poetry collections and chapbooks, most recently Becoming an Ancestor and Dreaming of Sunflowers: Museum Poems, winner of the 2014 Blue Light Poetry Prize. She is also a co-editor of Red Indian Road West: Native American Poetry from California and the author of a children’s book, Chain Letter, and an award-winning memoir, Married at Fourteen: A True Story. The founder and director of a small press, Scarlet Tanager Books, she worked as a science writer and science educator for many years, including seventeen as director of the Children's Hospital Hall of Health, a museum formerly at the corner of Shattuck and Kittredge in downtown Berkeley. She is of Wampanoag, British, and Swiss/German descent.

COSMOLOGY LESSON

When I was four, my friend Diane
said her cousin Claire thought
she was the center of the universe
and everything existed just for her.
I was stunned. “I thought I was
the center of the universe,” I said,
my lip starting to quiver. “We all
start out thinking that,” Diane, age nine,
who’d taught me how to add and read,
explained as I burst into tears, scared
in a brand new way. Her mother said,
“She’s just a little girl. Don’t make
her cry,” but it was too late. Birds
were already singing for someone else,
maybe themselves. Even my parents
and my toys no longer belonged
only to me. The sun, moon
and stars trembled as they turned
away, leaving me alone, small
as a bit of broken shell on a beach,
helpless before the gathering waves.

Avotcja featured 11/14/16

11/14 Avotcja hosted by Jim

Avotcja has been published in English & Spanish in the USA, Mexico & Europe, and in more Anthologies than she remembers. She is an award winning Poet & multi-instrumentalist who has opened for Betty Carter in New York City, Peru's Susana Baca at San Francisco’s Encuentro Popular & Cuba’s Gema y Pável, played with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Bobi & Luis Cespedes, John Handy, Sonido Afro Latina, Dimensions Dance Theater, Black Poets With Attitudes, Bombarengue, Nikki Giovanni, Los Angeles' Build An Ark, Dwight Trible, Diamano Coura West African Dance Co., Terry Garthwaite, Big Black, The Bay Area Blues Society & Caribeana Etc. Shared stages with Sonia Sanchez, Piri Thomas, Janice Mirikitani, Diane DiPrima, Michael Franti, Jayne Cortez, & with Jose Montoya's Royal Chicano Air Force & is a Bay Area icon with her group Avotcja & Modúpue.  Avotcja was the opening act for the legendary Poet Pat Parker the last three years of her life. She both composed & performed the film score for the Danish documentary MuNu. Her Poetry &/or music has been recorded by Piri Thomas, Famoudou Don Moyé (of The Art Ensemble Of Chicago), Bobby Matos Latin Jazz Ensemble, & performed by The Purple Moon Dance Project, and was the 1st Poetry performed by New York's Dance Mobile. She's appeared at The Lorraine Hansberry Theater in S. F., The Asian-American Jazz Festival in Chicago, as well as The Asian-American Jazz Festival in San Francisco.  She's been featured 5 times at Afro-Solo, twice at San Francisco's Carnival, The Scottish Rite Temple & Yoshi's in Oakland & San Francisco, Jose Castellar's play "Man From San Juan", Club Le Monmartre in Copenhagen Denmark, Stanford University, at San Francisco’s Brava Theater For The Arts with Cine Acción, New York's Henry Street Settlement Theater and The Women On The Way Festival in San Francisco. Avotcja a is popular Bay Area DeeJay & Radio Personality, and the founder/Director of "The Clean Scene Theater Project (AKA) Proyecto Teatral De La Escena Sobria". She continues to teach Creative Writing, Storytelling & Drama in Public Schools & thanks to the California Arts Council she was also an Artist in Residence at the Milestones Project & San Francisco Penal System. Avotcja is a proud member of DAMO (Disability Advocates Of Minorities  Organization), PEN Oakland, California Poets In The Schools,  IWWG & is an  ASCAP recording artist.

Avotcja featured 11/14

11/14 Avotcja hosted by Jim

Avotcja has been published in English & Spanish in the USA, Mexico & Europe, and in more Anthologies than she remembers. She is an award winning Poet & multi-instrumentalist who has opened for Betty Carter in New York City, Peru's Susana Baca at San Francisco’s Encuentro Popular & Cuba’s Gema y Pável, played with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Bobi & Luis Cespedes, John Handy, Sonido Afro Latina, Dimensions Dance Theater, Black Poets With Attitudes, Bombarengue, Nikki Giovanni, Los Angeles' Build An Ark, Dwight Trible, Diamano Coura West African Dance Co., Terry Garthwaite, Big Black, The Bay Area Blues Society & Caribeana Etc. Shared stages with Sonia Sanchez, Piri Thomas, Janice Mirikitani, Diane DiPrima, Michael Franti, Jayne Cortez, & with Jose Montoya's Royal Chicano Air Force & is a Bay Area icon with her group Avotcja & Modúpue.  Avotcja was the opening act for the legendary Poet Pat Parker the last three years of her life. She both composed & performed the film score for the Danish documentary MuNu. Her Poetry &/or music has been recorded by Piri Thomas, Famoudou Don Moyé (of The Art Ensemble Of Chicago), Bobby Matos Latin Jazz Ensemble, & performed by The Purple Moon Dance Project, and was the 1st Poetry performed by New York's Dance Mobile. She's appeared at The Lorraine Hansberry Theater in S. F., The Asian-American Jazz Festival in Chicago, as well as The Asian-American Jazz Festival in San Francisco.  She's been featured 5 times at Afro-Solo, twice at San Francisco's Carnival, The Scottish Rite Temple & Yoshi's in Oakland & San Francisco, Jose Castellar's play "Man From San Juan", Club Le Monmartre in Copenhagen Denmark, Stanford University, at San Francisco’s Brava Theater For The Arts with Cine Acción, New York's Henry Street Settlement Theater and The Women On The Way Festival in San Francisco. Avotcja a is popular Bay Area DeeJay & Radio Personality, and the founder/Director of "The Clean Scene Theater Project (AKA) Proyecto Teatral De La Escena Sobria". She continues to teach Creative Writing, Storytelling & Drama in Public Schools & thanks to the California Arts Council she was also an Artist in Residence at the Milestones Project & San Francisco Penal System. Avotcja is a proud member of DAMO (Disability Advocates Of Minorities  Organization), PEN Oakland, California Poets In The Schools,  IWWG & is an  ASCAP recording artist.

11/7/16 Clyde Alway featured

11/7 Clyde Alway hosted by Jan

 Clyde ALWAYS, for the promotion of bliss, writes and recites his own blend of tall tales and clever verses.