I have a pair of Hand-to-Hand Haiku events upcoming that I guess I should sweep the dust off the website and let you know about, in the off chance anybody actually still peruses the internet in this traditional (relatively speaking) fashion.
Next Thursday, Sept. 19, at BON Coffee on South Street in Charlottesville, we will be having our monthly hoo-ha. Bring yourself. If you want to participate, come along with like 20 or so haiku (or short poems) and throwdown at the hoedown. As usual, part of this event is me - Raven Mack - doing a sort of ramble/read thing testifying upon the Rojonekku Word Fighting Arts. I'm not usually sure what the fuck that means, and honestly what I talk about sometimes comes to me like right before the event. I am open to the universe's suggestions, but try to keep it positive, try to keep it entertaining, and definitely try to keep it empowering. Event is free, but bring a few dollars to get yourself a damn drink and remember to tip the barista.
Also, the following Monday, on Sept. 23, at Gallery Two Three on Main Street in Richmond, we'll be conducting our first Hand-to-Hand Haiku hooha back in RVA, as a benefit for the Richmond Zine Fest 2013. This event runs along the same lines as what I say above - bring yourself, plus haiku if you want to get involved, expect rambling musings from your host, and bring a few dollars to kick in to the Zine Fest because buildings don't rent themselves. I'm excited about coming to Richmond for the first time, as I spent a long ass time living and growing in Richmond, and still love that place a whole fuckin' lot.
Here is a google doc what which explains how the actual Hand-to-Hand Haiku event goes down - GOOGLE DOC EXPLAINING THE THING.
As for me, with regards to writing, or what I talk about, I don't know. Life has been kind of a big fat piece of shit lately, and I haven't had a lot of time to write the things I'd like. I'm also not entirely sure the world needs more writing. I've been enjoying having oral stories and just tweeting gibberish (@SSVa_Raven), though I can't really say I've been "enjoying" anything. Strange times we live in right now, and an overload of written words by thousands maybe millions of individuals who don't really put much thought into their words is sort of overwhelming. There's this belief that somehow with all this information at our hands via the digital revolution, we are allowing ourselves to be more informed and intelligent. I think the opposite might actually be the case, where - much like you can always find a quote from the bible to back up whatever point you're trying to prove - we can always find examples that affirm what we already believe. Thus we've become more insular in our beliefs, more firmly entrenched in what we already assume is true, without any real fresh input to challenge ourselves. Basically, we're cheating natural selection at this point, and minimizing whatever benefit might come from cultural evolution (although of course, this is our evolution; it's just that "evolution" doesn't necessarily mean "for the better").
I would expect me to ramble on that subject in Cville next Thursday, and probably speak on self-publishing in a world that's self-important as fuck in Richmond, but I might have a relapse, spend the weekend in a hotel in Waynesboro getting high with stabbitty types, and have something completely different to talk about. It's a week away. That's a lot of life between here and there still.
Anyways, hope to see your faces and hear your words in real life.
Oh yeah, also worth mentioning if you are within travelling distance of Scottsville, Virginia, on Sept. 29th all afternoon there will be the James River Artisan Festival at the Farmer's Market Pavilion, what which I will be vending my junkyard photographies and haiku railroad spikes as seen at WORKINGMAN ETSY and probably some books too. There is a James River Brewery in town where you can have a couple localized craft beers, enjoy our little town, then go the fuck on home. You can come by my table at the Festival and holler at your boy Raven Mack, too. Like literally holler. I want at least fifty people to come by yelling at me during the course of the day, because I think that would be funny, and make everybody else uncomfortable, but also liven up the atmosphere.
