Beach Ustream

                Jacob Steinberg and Spencer Madsen came together one Sunday night for poetry. Usually Sunday nights are dedicated to football. Poetry is better than football. Fuck football. On June 19^th we had the explicit pleasure of witnessing this New York duo read online. Jupiter, Florida was their location, specifically a house roughly six miles away from the beach. To make the occasion even more special Spencer quit his job in a dramatic fashion and high-tailed it down to Steinberg’s house. You know, because poetry ought to be this dramatic, especially on the beach. 

                Beach Poetry could become a possible genre. Spencer Madsen wrote poems on the beach, making them ‘beach poetry’ or, as Frank Hinton put it ‘shoretry’. As Spencer spent a great deal of time in Florida, he overheard children’s conversations. Florida conversations by children tend to be a bit ridiculous. Somehow the mixture of tacky culture alongside a lack of any intellectual rigor (as per Spencer, nobody cares about art in Miami) makes it one of the wealthiest pieces of trash in the entire country if not the world. 

                I like how Spencer and Jacob tore apart Miami artists. That was fantastic. Each one completed the other’s thought about the sheer uselessness of the artists there, particularly one such idiot who wanted to call his gallery “Formalism” as he thought that would be the most radical name for it. Personally I’m amazed artists even live in Miami. Usually I figure artists move to Miami, no actual art originates from that location. How both Spencer and Jacob manage to survive in such a hostile, difficult, and stupid environment is beyond me. At least those mediocre artists paid for this duo’s sushi. So they had some value: transferring money to worthy poets. 

                Spencer read a poem from “Let People Poems”. He welcomed us to his poem. After we had been brought into the poem’s space, he began. I’m a big fan of Let People Poems. Reading about a sad human feels realistic. What I hope is someday Spencer finds ‘true love’. Or at the very least that he gets to ride his bike with someone sweet. 

                “Porn” Jackson Nieuwland’s chapbook received attention. For his poem Jackson focused on the importance of cuddling. Cuddling is a lost art form. As Jackson often focuses on the fantastic-ness of the world this feels like a logical place for him to explore. I’m amazed he managed to send his chapbook all the way to Mr. Steinberg’s address in Florida. Guess porn moves quickly. Jacob read it with his characteristic swag. As a bonus, he read his poems on “NewWaveVomit” as well. That was not all he needed to let out.

                Upon Jacob showing off his pink underwear and one rib, Spencer began reading. They had a ‘relay race’ poetry reading. “Brief Interviews with Hideous Men” interested Spencer. As these were small pieces it fit in nicely to the poetry selections. David Foster Wallace wrote this book, a collection of 23 short stories. I miss him and feel a bit strange that “The Pale King” even got published as it is a bit of an ‘incomplete’ book of his. 

                I liked the focus on Julio Cortazar. Jacob translated these poems along with reading them. Apparently no one has bothered to translate his work into English, or precious little of it. Both Jacob Steinberg and Stephen Tully Dierks happen to be huge fans of this writer. Hopefully I can find more of it at some point, it is fantastic. 

                To show they were open to more experimental forms of prose they read “TLC’s” song “Waterfalls”. Or rather, Jacob did not read this, he felt it. I remember where I was when I first heard “Waterfalls”. For me, this song spoke volumes to me. Grade school suddenly became comprehensible with the help of this magnificent group. Suddenly everything in my life gained meaning thanks to TLC and this song in particular. 

                “Thought Catalog” came up. Spencer read his rejected article. “How to want to quit your Job” was the name of his article. In it he described in vivid detail about the dread of facing your job. Each bit mentioned the alarm clock, shower, train, bus, and thinking about the difference between you at home versus you at your workplace. Hearing him mention the tiniest of details convinces me people may be interested in the anguish of a workplace. Somehow I made it through five years with trepidation about such uncomfortable conversations with bosses.  

                Spencer will be coming out with a book. 95% of everything he’s ever written on the internet shall be removed. All of a sudden he’ll restart his brand (known as ‘rebranding’ by Impossible Mike) and become a new internet person. I think this is great idea. The book (entitled ‘A Million Bears’) will bring Spencer Madsen the poetry groupies he’s always wanted. 

                Carolyn DeCarlo had her poem read. This gets extremely explicit. While I’d like to explain what happens in the poem, I don’t want to ruin it. Details help build the scene and contribute to the mood of the poem. Eventually the focus shifts away from the individual’s perspective on pleasure to helping others. 

                “Goldfish” talked about the stupidity of fish. Jacob thought the Goldfish had it easy. They don’t remember anything. Instead of engaging or remembering things they manage to live in the moment, not experiencing pain. Love can copy this fleeting moment. Having these intense emotions means you often forget about the past and hope for the best future. 

                We watched as Spencer and Jacob bore their very souls at the end. Seeing the two of them bond at the end helped me understand how important words can be. These two were brought together by a love of the word. Now I hope to see them do future ustreams as this unstoppable poetic force. Perhaps they might even bring some semblance of intelligence to the most vapid state in the union but that may be asking too much.

Post-Tennis Poetry Reading

                Going to these poetry readings online, I longed for a time when I could attend one of these readings in real life. Finally my prayers were answered. Jacob Steinberg decided to prove the power of New York City’s poetry scene. A moment passed where I felt tempted to let my guard down and appear. When I looked at the sky, a concrete shade of grey, I decided against it. Besides, with all those ‘screen-shots’ that could be taken, I prefer to confine myself to text on the internet for now. 

                Jacob Steinberg graduated from NYU and he was the host of this Tennis-themed reading. The reading began with “Chocolate Milk” by Spencer Madsen. For a while they had a difficult time reading it. An arrangement formed where Jacob would consume a foul liquid as Spencer read his poem about Chocolate Milk. 

                Argentina received attention. I’d never heard any contemporary poetry from Argentina before but it was good. “PC” explained how the power of computers brings people together like a bonfire. By reading them in Spanish, we were able to get some attention outside of the United States. Hopefully this is the first small step towards a non-English international coalition of boykittens. 

                The individuals at the reading stated Steve Roggenbuck brought everyone together. When Spencer Madsen talked about the beginning of the lit scene he mentioned how difficult it was to find like-minded people. Once Steve added him, this entire online community was available to help him through. “James Franco” was one of Spencer’s poems. He read it with vigor. The poem reminded me of college. I miss college. 

                “There are all these girls. Why do none of them like me?” began one of them. This was perhaps the best beginning of any poem I’ve ever heard. It had a good self-depreciating sense of humor; a type of humor New York patented in the early 70s. Spencer Madsen wrote this poem. Actually Spencer Madsen read a lot of poetry based heavily around college, moving and unrequited love. Listening to it felt wonderful. One of his poems focused on a girlfriend who moved away to Florida to go to college, leaving him in the cultural wasteland of Staten Island. 

                The poetry reading was emotional. Spencer wrote extensively about trying to find love. Jess Dutschmann broke that focus. Instead, she wrote about the person she was dating, a man named Jim. Apparently she brought the only experience of happy relationships. Looking at her, I felt the sass. Listening to her poems end with “That’s it” confirmed it. 

                “Ode to Flatbush” was a sweet poem by Jacob Steinberg. Dedicated to Flatbush, a place that many New Yorkers feel uneasy about, it was extremely tender. Considering the harshness the neighborhood often receives, it was great to hear some positive words about the place. 

                Poncho Peligroso’s poem “Epilogue Part II” was read by Spencer Madsen. For most of these poems, Spencer ended up being the main reader. We hope that by reading more poems from Poncho, he’ll attend more ustreams. Whether or not there is any fact to this hope remains to be seen. 

                FM Stringer (a man I’d never heard of) wrote a long poem. Jess did the honors of reading the poem. It was a long poem. A three part series, she saved the other parts. She referred to him as a ‘fierce guy’. Other parts followed later. 

                Spencer speculated on relationship statuses on Facebook. By now, he had recovered from his drinking. To indicate his sobriety he stood up. Jordan Castro may or may not be in a relationship according to this poem. After that was a poem about his work in a bike shop, in case you weren’t certain whether or not he lived in Brooklyn. “I want to pet a pigeon” was one line. He counted toes. 

                Poetry can be flattering. A series dedicated to J R came up. This was the reason for the ustream. So much poetry is based off of the love of others. Jacob Steinberg wrote based off of the love for another. Unrequited love ended up being the theme of the night. Large amounts of space separated Jacob from J R. What I felt was the extreme rawness and heartfelt quality. I’d like to explain why I enjoyed this, but words fail me, especially in such an overwhelming series. 

                Happy time eluded the reading. I thought if I had attended the reading in person perhaps I could have brought some smiles. Rather than hearing about the constant sadness of failed relationships, I might have read about happy relationships. The humor of Spencer and Steinberg made it a bit easier to handle. Poets feel.

                “I’m X” came up, continuing the theme of Argentine poetry. Jacob read it in English. The little books looked like passports. How a book or item looks is extremely important to me. “You” followed. Both of these poems were written by a mother of two in Argentina. We were advised she was beautiful, something none of us were able to independently confirm. 

                Jess Dutschmann went away to New Jersey. Before she left, she read some poems off of her blog. Recently she released an entire chapbook. You can read it all for free online at her blog. Hopefully at some point I’ll get around to reading it. 

                Steve Roggenbuck got read. Before Spencer read Roggenbuck he mentioned how he went on a date with someone from OKCupid, a favorite dating site of mine. As the date progressed, the date had not merely heard of Roggenbuck but had Steve’s chapbook in her purse. Unfortunately for Spencer, the date did not go well. While Steve has swag, it has its limits. 

                Allie read her own poetry. Finally we got to hear her voice. Her delivery was forceful. The poem itself had a certain rhythm. Once she had finished, everyone in the room felt overwhelmed. We wished we had heard more from her. In future readings (which Jacob and Spencer seemed keen on) we’ll get to hear more of her poems. 

                Finally it ended with a dance party. The song was a remix of Neon Indian’s “Should’ve taken Acid with you”. Drama ensued for a brief moment as Spencer’s laptop nearly died. Soon they realized it would live. 

Next time I’ll bring hugs.