On Saturday, April 25th, I attended the Chicago Poetry Fest at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago. There was a poetry reading sponsored by ChicagoPoetry.com from 2 to 4 at which WBEZ's Chicago Amplified recorded poetry readings by the local poets present, professional and amateur alike. Additionally, at this event copies of ChicagoPoetry.com’s free publication Poetry Cram 5, in which one of my poems “The Confession of Urias” is included, were handed out to the public.
It was definitely an interesting experience. Emotions ran high and there was an army of poets hungry for the opportunity to read before an attentive audience. Although the organizer CJ Laity had the best intentions and signed up everyone who wanted to read, cramming fifty-three poets in a 150-minute time span was an overly ambitious feat. Unfortunately, this meant many of us who read later in the program had to quicken the pace of our own poetry readings (myself included), and still there were poets who never got to read because the library was closing. This meant the tension was high, especially in that last half hour.
Although I was fortunate enough to read, WBEZ cut off their recording a good fifteen minutes before I got up there, so alas that opportunity passed me by. Still, it was liberating to go up there and command the attention of a captive audience, even if only for two minutes. It was definitely an empowering experience. Even better, my sister recorded the whole thing and I can upload the video along with some images into this posting for those of you who might be curious to see and hear me read my poetry.
This is definitely something I will want to do again. Having a forum through which to express one’s ideas and creativity is certainly one of the great gifts of a free society. That so many people wish to engage in such an event is encouraging.
Below is a transcript of the poem, in case the audio isn’t clear enough. Thanks again for checking me out. I’ll continue to post such experiences in the future.
The Confession of Urias
By Giuliano A. Fontanez
Of Man’s First Will to Act & thus Refute
That Bestial side which threatens to consume
& ravage him till he no longer Lives,
But Undead makes this World a living hell,
Until the Coming of our noble Arthur,
Sing Goddess Three: Thy servant Urias
Remembers Thy chaste Lady of the Lake,
Her tender gift to me made profusely;
To Her I grant the Grail of Christ’s Message
To keep as testament of what’s to come
That She may grow into womanhood Lov’d,
& justifie Thy Promis’d Throne ‘mong men.
With tears I sought Her in oceans of hate;
I howl’d for Her after years lost at sea,
Lost in that oblivion selfishly
For hurts done long ago, for hurts of which
I no longer know, but the residue.
I took much to heart, things said & things done,
That were naught in weight had I not thought ‘pon.
I burn’d my house down & all bridges, too.
Alone I became Le Bel Inconnu,
Hiding in the black forest from all men,
Victim to succubi & spider webs.
Two twinkling stars alone offer’d me hope;
A faint Jupiter warm’d up my dead nights.
Until I, desiring these divine flames,
Built a ship seeking escape in the sea
Only to be trapped one hundred eight moons
By Circe’s cruel winds in a maelstrom of doubt.
Then a brief calm blanketed the sea that
Oft times before went unheeded by me;
& I in meditation now seeking
To improve, notic’d the sparkle in the depths
& seeing my chance dove into blackness.
I, pearlfisher bard, dar’d to risk my life
For the thought of Her whom I had known once.
©2009 Giuliano A. Fontanez
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