Attention Bikers!
Okay, so maybe you never thought poetry could be your cup-o-joe. Or, maybe you thought poetry was only for wusses. Think again, cause the Biker Poets gathered in "Rubber Side Down: The Biker Poet Anthology" can hold their own with any poet and any Biker around. As tuned into being a Biker as the folks who work the line at the Harley factory in York, and as gritty as any motorcycle ridden coast to coast and back again, they are also poets and they know how to turn a phrase!
From the poetry of its editor Jose (JoeGo) Gouveia, to K. Peddlar Bridges, J. H. "Colorado T." Sky, Allen Ginsberg, and Blaze Elliott; from Michael Lichter’s photographs to a tribute to Indian Larry, this volume holds up to my personal litmus test for an anthology. When I randomly open an anthology to any page, and come across something that captures my attention, that is a collection worth recommending!
Yours in poetry,
Barbara Brenner
Rubber Side Down: The Bike Poet Anthology edited by Jose (JoeGo) Gouveia, published August 2008 by Archer Books, ISBN 978-1-931122-19-1, $16.00
To give you a deeper sense of the poets behind the Bikers in "Rubber Side Down", some of the contributors share a sampling of both their Biker poetry, and other work.
Baiku
Jose "JoeGo" Gouveia
from Rubber Side Down: The Biker Poet Anthology
Baiku: n. A Biker lyric verse form having three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables, traditionally invoking an aspect of riding or biker life, or referring in some way to the nature of riding or riding season.
Jesus she’s dirty!
bugs & mud splatter my bike-
Ah, riding season!
Okay, so maybe you never thought poetry could be your cup-o-joe. Or, maybe you thought poetry was only for wusses. Think again, cause the Biker Poets gathered in "Rubber Side Down: The Biker Poet Anthology" can hold their own with any poet and any Biker around. As tuned into being a Biker as the folks who work the line at the Harley factory in York, and as gritty as any motorcycle ridden coast to coast and back again, they are also poets and they know how to turn a phrase!
From the poetry of its editor Jose (JoeGo) Gouveia, to K. Peddlar Bridges, J. H. "Colorado T." Sky, Allen Ginsberg, and Blaze Elliott; from Michael Lichter’s photographs to a tribute to Indian Larry, this volume holds up to my personal litmus test for an anthology. When I randomly open an anthology to any page, and come across something that captures my attention, that is a collection worth recommending!
Yours in poetry,
Barbara Brenner
Rubber Side Down: The Bike Poet Anthology edited by Jose (JoeGo) Gouveia, published August 2008 by Archer Books, ISBN 978-1-931122-19-1, $16.00
To give you a deeper sense of the poets behind the Bikers in "Rubber Side Down", some of the contributors share a sampling of both their Biker poetry, and other work.
Baiku
Jose "JoeGo" Gouveia
from Rubber Side Down: The Biker Poet Anthology
Baiku: n. A Biker lyric verse form having three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables, traditionally invoking an aspect of riding or biker life, or referring in some way to the nature of riding or riding season.
Jesus she’s dirty!
bugs & mud splatter my bike-
Ah, riding season!
02/07: Dear Dr. Anna,
Dear Dr. Anna,
My penis has been itching. Any ideas why?
Scratchy in Seaville
Dear Scratchy,
Someone is probably talking about it.
My penis has been itching. Any ideas why?
Scratchy in Seaville
Dear Scratchy,
Someone is probably talking about it.
02/07: Dear Dr. Anna,
Dear Dr. Anna,
I need surgery, but have no insurance. Would you be willing to perform the operation for a reasonable price?
Sick in Shiloh
Dear Sick,
I was a whiz at the operation game as a kid. And I create wood sculptures. Carve a chunk out of one object , and you’ve carved a chunk out of them all. How hard can it be? Sure, I’ll do your surgery. BYOS! (Bring your own scalpel.) And since my “anesthesia supplier” had to leave the country in a hurry, you probably want to bring some of that, too, but bring enough to share!
I need surgery, but have no insurance. Would you be willing to perform the operation for a reasonable price?
Sick in Shiloh
Dear Sick,
I was a whiz at the operation game as a kid. And I create wood sculptures. Carve a chunk out of one object , and you’ve carved a chunk out of them all. How hard can it be? Sure, I’ll do your surgery. BYOS! (Bring your own scalpel.) And since my “anesthesia supplier” had to leave the country in a hurry, you probably want to bring some of that, too, but bring enough to share!
Walnut Street Theatre Celebrates its 200th Anniversary
by Debra Miller
In addition to reaching the impressive milestone of 57,000 sold subscriptions during this 2008-09 season, the Walnut Street Theatre, headquartered in its own historic building at 825 Walnut Street in Philadelphia (figure 1), celebrated its bicentennial with a powerful revival of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. The American classic debuted at Walnut Street in the fall of 1947, prior to its sensational run on Broadway (and its subsequent transformation into the legendary Hollywood film), launching the career of the young Marlon Brando and garnering a Tony Award for Jessica Tandy. As described by the theater, Streetcar “was an exotic, passionate and dramatic story, with performances so raw they changed the American approach to acting for generations to come.”
by Debra Miller
In addition to reaching the impressive milestone of 57,000 sold subscriptions during this 2008-09 season, the Walnut Street Theatre, headquartered in its own historic building at 825 Walnut Street in Philadelphia (figure 1), celebrated its bicentennial with a powerful revival of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. The American classic debuted at Walnut Street in the fall of 1947, prior to its sensational run on Broadway (and its subsequent transformation into the legendary Hollywood film), launching the career of the young Marlon Brando and garnering a Tony Award for Jessica Tandy. As described by the theater, Streetcar “was an exotic, passionate and dramatic story, with performances so raw they changed the American approach to acting for generations to come.”
DEAN AND BRITTA’S 13 MOST BEAUTIFUL . . .
SONGS FOR ANDY WARHOL’S SCREEN TESTS:
TOP PICK FOR THE 2009 PHILLY LIVE ARTS FESTIVAL
by Debra Miller
One of the most highly anticipated events in this year’s Philadelphia Live Arts and Fringe Festival is a multimedia performance combining the best of indie music and art film. 13 Most Beautiful…Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests features music by Dean and Britta (formerly of the downtown NYC rock band Luna), which they composed for a selection of thirteen of Andy Warhol’s silent four-minute film portraits; the Warhol Screen Tests will be seen in large-scale video projection above the musicians performing live on stage. Two shows are scheduled for Friday, September 18, beginning at 7:00 pm, at the Warehouse Festival Bar, 5th and Fairmount, in Northern Liberties. Get your tickets early, as the venue only holds 200 people per show, and the performances are likely to sell out quickly.
SONGS FOR ANDY WARHOL’S SCREEN TESTS:
TOP PICK FOR THE 2009 PHILLY LIVE ARTS FESTIVAL
by Debra Miller
One of the most highly anticipated events in this year’s Philadelphia Live Arts and Fringe Festival is a multimedia performance combining the best of indie music and art film. 13 Most Beautiful…Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests features music by Dean and Britta (formerly of the downtown NYC rock band Luna), which they composed for a selection of thirteen of Andy Warhol’s silent four-minute film portraits; the Warhol Screen Tests will be seen in large-scale video projection above the musicians performing live on stage. Two shows are scheduled for Friday, September 18, beginning at 7:00 pm, at the Warehouse Festival Bar, 5th and Fairmount, in Northern Liberties. Get your tickets early, as the venue only holds 200 people per show, and the performances are likely to sell out quickly.
Millville, New Jersey, February 3, 2009 – Tom Schenk visited Millville’s Glasstown Arts District for a Third Friday evening four years ago. He never left. The self-taught photographer “fell in love with the people, the arts and the uplifting feeling” and soon thereafter moved to the town. The former Egg Harbor Township resident was one of the first artists to sell work at the new Artist’s Consortium at 129 North High, a unique gallery/shop/workshop space.
“It was an incredible night (Third Friday grand opening in January),” commented Schenk. “Despite the freezing temperatures outside there was a constant flow of people.”
Managed by Jenny Klein, former owner of East Main Street’s Artist’s House, the new Artist’s Consortium provides local artists a spacious venue in which to display their work for a $35 monthly fee. The gallery takes a low 10% commission, considered a bargain in the art world. Artists can also paint in the site’s studio and even conduct their own workshops. The back of the gallery additionally contains The Artist’s House, an art paper and supplies shop which is also operated by Klein.
Philadelphia Tattoo Convention
By Luanne Smith-Kanevsky
You gotta love irony. We Americans seem to do it so well with a straight face or, dare I say it, without even realizing what’s at hand is ironic. Take the recent Philadelphia Tattoo Convention, for example. Three days in the Sheraton in downtown Philadelphia. What could be more normal, more mundane, more American, than a convention at the Sheraton Hotel in a major U.S. city?
The word itself—convention—means normal and mundane. Customary. The usual, please.
But a tattoo convention? Forget the suitcase wrinkled, navy blue business suits, the muted or power red neckties, the low heels on the women for comfort, the bad chicken dinners and boring speakers and the visual aid slides or transparencies or business models and laser pointers. Forget the drone of yet another seminar. Forget the happy hour at the hotel bar meant to “loosen up” the business atmosphere and allow for continued discussion of today’s topics, networking and, just maybe, the occasional cheating on the spouse. Go to bed early because tomorrow’s meetings start early? No way.
Walking up to the Sheraton on the weekend of March 6-9, 2009, and, in spite of the 22 degree weather, the first thing we see is a tall, slightly doughy man with no shirt on and a body suit of green, red, blue, and yellow tattoos creating a vest of artwork on his upper body. His hair is a messy, neck length brown, a pile of straw, if he were a blonde. His earrings—yes, earrings, not a necktie—are heavy gold hoops crowding one ear’s edge. He’s smoking outside with many, many others—most far more covered up in the cold weather than Mr. No-shirt. He has the beginnings of middle-age man boobs going on. He doesn’t care. At this convention, what is conventional is showing off the ink, and that’s exactly what Mr. No-shirt is doing. He’s showing off hours of art work, pain, pinpricks of blood and the whorls and sweeps, the cherry blossoms next to the scowling samurai face of traditional Japanese tattoo—and art—design.
By Luanne Smith-Kanevsky
You gotta love irony. We Americans seem to do it so well with a straight face or, dare I say it, without even realizing what’s at hand is ironic. Take the recent Philadelphia Tattoo Convention, for example. Three days in the Sheraton in downtown Philadelphia. What could be more normal, more mundane, more American, than a convention at the Sheraton Hotel in a major U.S. city?
The word itself—convention—means normal and mundane. Customary. The usual, please.
But a tattoo convention? Forget the suitcase wrinkled, navy blue business suits, the muted or power red neckties, the low heels on the women for comfort, the bad chicken dinners and boring speakers and the visual aid slides or transparencies or business models and laser pointers. Forget the drone of yet another seminar. Forget the happy hour at the hotel bar meant to “loosen up” the business atmosphere and allow for continued discussion of today’s topics, networking and, just maybe, the occasional cheating on the spouse. Go to bed early because tomorrow’s meetings start early? No way.
Walking up to the Sheraton on the weekend of March 6-9, 2009, and, in spite of the 22 degree weather, the first thing we see is a tall, slightly doughy man with no shirt on and a body suit of green, red, blue, and yellow tattoos creating a vest of artwork on his upper body. His hair is a messy, neck length brown, a pile of straw, if he were a blonde. His earrings—yes, earrings, not a necktie—are heavy gold hoops crowding one ear’s edge. He’s smoking outside with many, many others—most far more covered up in the cold weather than Mr. No-shirt. He has the beginnings of middle-age man boobs going on. He doesn’t care. At this convention, what is conventional is showing off the ink, and that’s exactly what Mr. No-shirt is doing. He’s showing off hours of art work, pain, pinpricks of blood and the whorls and sweeps, the cherry blossoms next to the scowling samurai face of traditional Japanese tattoo—and art—design.
Successful arts districts – a continuing series
The faltering economy and bleak outlook has put a damper on new development nationwide. Only the truly courageous and intrepid, or the seriously deranged would attempt to open a new business in today’s climate.
With politicians looking to tax small business whilst bailing out the criminal acts of wall Street and big bankers, those souls in business for themselves are having to get creative to stay afloat.
And what better place for creativity than in an arts district?
South Street Philly has been hit particularly hard, with new vacant storefronts popping up weekly. A bleak picture until the artists came to the rescue. I apologize for the bad pun.
Property owners were faced with empty storefronts, ripe for vandalism, as well as mounting utility bills. That is until a consortium of artist and businessmen came up with an idea. The idea was called “Arts on South”.
The faltering economy and bleak outlook has put a damper on new development nationwide. Only the truly courageous and intrepid, or the seriously deranged would attempt to open a new business in today’s climate.
With politicians looking to tax small business whilst bailing out the criminal acts of wall Street and big bankers, those souls in business for themselves are having to get creative to stay afloat.
And what better place for creativity than in an arts district?
South Street Philly has been hit particularly hard, with new vacant storefronts popping up weekly. A bleak picture until the artists came to the rescue. I apologize for the bad pun.
Property owners were faced with empty storefronts, ripe for vandalism, as well as mounting utility bills. That is until a consortium of artist and businessmen came up with an idea. The idea was called “Arts on South”.
The final farewell
Well, folks, this is it. So long, farewell, Au'voir, auf wiedersehen, good bye. This is the twilight issue of Inferno.
It is with fear and trepidation that I enter the next phase of my life. Many events have unfolded in the past seven years. Inferno has had a loyal following, and many talented writers and contributors.
However, life’s circumstances change, and we grow. The Inferno creative staff has made some difficult decisions to follow their heart-felt callings.
Mo Pagano, author of the ever-popular “Mo Knows” has penned his last article. Mo informed management last week that he is joining a convent.
Well, folks, this is it. So long, farewell, Au'voir, auf wiedersehen, good bye. This is the twilight issue of Inferno.
It is with fear and trepidation that I enter the next phase of my life. Many events have unfolded in the past seven years. Inferno has had a loyal following, and many talented writers and contributors.
However, life’s circumstances change, and we grow. The Inferno creative staff has made some difficult decisions to follow their heart-felt callings.
Mo Pagano, author of the ever-popular “Mo Knows” has penned his last article. Mo informed management last week that he is joining a convent.
02/07: Tim McKenna Wins Logo Design
Art Student Tim McKenna Wins Logo Design
for the American Cancer Society’s 2009 Bike-a-Thon
By Debra Miller
Good news out of Philadelphia! Da Vinci Art Alliance intern and Hussian School of Art junior Tim McKenna has been selected the winner of this year’s competition for a logo design for the American Cancer Society’s annual fundraising bike ride. Tim’s design will appear on 60,000 tee-shirts, and will be used as the branding logo for the event. The decision was made by a panel of art directors from the ACS, combined with votes submitted by the general public on the ACS website. Tim’s donation of his design is yet another example of the generosity of artists in our country and the important contributions they make to our society. We applaud Tim’s well-deserved victory, his outstanding design, and his gracious philanthropy.
for the American Cancer Society’s 2009 Bike-a-Thon
By Debra Miller
Good news out of Philadelphia! Da Vinci Art Alliance intern and Hussian School of Art junior Tim McKenna has been selected the winner of this year’s competition for a logo design for the American Cancer Society’s annual fundraising bike ride. Tim’s design will appear on 60,000 tee-shirts, and will be used as the branding logo for the event. The decision was made by a panel of art directors from the ACS, combined with votes submitted by the general public on the ACS website. Tim’s donation of his design is yet another example of the generosity of artists in our country and the important contributions they make to our society. We applaud Tim’s well-deserved victory, his outstanding design, and his gracious philanthropy.
