Good Towns for Poetry

[Prufrock]

First I want to admit that I'm a complete newbie and have never travelled on my own. So if I say something stupid, please try to look past it. And if this is in the wrong section, I apologize.

Here's my situation -- Basically what I want to do is be a vagabond poet. I want to travel around the country and write. So I'm wondering if there are any people on here like me who might know of some towns with a good "poetry scene."

I realize that not many places have a large poetry scene, and I'm not even sure if "poetry scenes" exist anymore, but I thought I'd ask.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

[Beegod Santana]

I know a few rainbow ladies who do street poetry readings and it seems to work alright for them. Most major cities out west seem to have some kinda "poetry scene" then of course there's always NYC. Berkley seems to have the highest ratio of "too smart to work" bums in the country, I'd start there.

 

[CXR1037]

I think most people don't get poetry. If only there could be a short story scene!

Also, bay area is full of hipster fucks who like to think they can write epic poems in their moleskine notebooks. Disregard these people. Real poetry exists outside of those bullshit scenes. Real poetry, I think, exists in the most visceral of places. Think warzones, impoverished neighborhoods, freight yards.

cxR - "empty boxcars rolling down empty tracks/languid apparitions of capitalism"

 

[Raging Bird]

I've never found that in punk places. Hippies do more of it, but there's a lot of dumb shit to filter through to actually hear something worthwhile. CXR is right about Berkeley and especially the "too smart to work" comment

Hate to point out that Prufrock is by far the worst poem that guy ever wrote, though.

 

[bryanpaul]

haight st. in sf might be a good spot...... lot's of old hippie heads hang out in the front of the park.......plenty of homeless resources ...the tourists would probly get off on some starry eyed travelin poet yakkin at em and give you MONEEEZ.....just gotta watch yer back a lil bit... SF can be violent sometimes...... any college town esp..like a liberal arts college probly has at least some kind of community.........goood luck

 

[Prufrock]

Cool. Thanks guys.

And as for J. Alfred Prufrock -- I wouldn't say it's his best, but it's definitely one of his heavier ones, for me at least.

 

[Raging Bird]

Truth is, I've met some people into it in NOLA, and it seems like there's more of a zine scene there than a lot of other places.

Eliot was interesting. I read him as a cultural critic and anthropologist more than a poet in the sense that people usually mean that word. Prufrock may fit that sense more than most of his work. Just isn't what I read Eliot for.

 

[JannethintheWind]

BALTIMORE MD IS WHAT IS UP!!!!

 

[Prufrock]

Baltimore? Is that a good place? I've been trying to think of somewhere east I could go that doesn't have a reputation for gang violence like NYC. Not that I've ever been there, but you know, I'd prefer not to have my brains scattered along a sidewalk for wearing the wrong colors.

 

[JannethintheWind]

Yea they I a good open mic scene. Know some pretty interesting people very mellow not pretentious. Very mixed crowd as well. And I think you had mentioned something about hopping. Not for me but know Baltimores an easy place to catch into. Good music scene in Baltimore too.

 

[outskirts]

You might wanna check out Philly too? It's not far from Baltimore either.

 

[scatwomb]

Prague.

 

[scatwomb]

And, NYC is an incredibly safe city. Unless you're an Occupy protestor.

 

[ipoPua]

And, NYC is an incredibly safe city. Unless you're an Occupy protestor.

when you live outside?

also i'm gonna print up a booklet before i start my trip. i leave may 8th, i'm probably gonna start copying shit this week. just gonna try and sell it to rides or whoever. make more copies whenever i find libraries. tittin. ya dig

 

[Laz777]

North Columbia, California, population ?, as it says on the sign welcoming you to town.

http://northcolumbiaschoolhouse.org/

 

[miklo]

Oakland. its not far from sf all you got to do is go on the bart. (bay area rapid transit).
its beautiful , very green, and gloomy. i preffered it better than Berkeley.

in nyc i went to this poetry club thats right in front of where cbgb once was. its definately an amazing place
basically all of Manhattan seems like a good place for poetry.

 

[LeftCoast]

Baltimore City has a pretty good scene, also, for crazy old libraries check out Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. SUPER old literature. Some books are as old as two hudnred years. It's pretty friggin nuts. For live scene, nyc, philly, burlington, rochester, ithica. Some spots in NC are legit, Durham, Raleigh, but they are few and far between. Haven't been out that way in a good minute.

 

[Matt Derrick]

you should try writing poetry with a typewriter on the street. i saw someone doing that in new orleans years ago for $5 a pop, not a bad busking technique.

 

[outskirts]

I just left a poetry reading at Temple University in Philly.
I was at one there two weeks ago also, that time they had free food, cookies, mini sandwiches, veggie platter, soda!
My friend and I went drinking under a bridge first tonight, she kept finding ticks (crawling, no bites) on us on our way there.
I'm sure we left some there at the reading, lol.

 

[LeftCoast]

that sounds awesome