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Make Art, Not War

Saturday, June 18, 2011

A night of villainy at Butter Bakery

So, last night's performance at Butter Bakery Cafe's benefit show was, unexpectedly, one of the most important performances of my life (...so far). I mean that. It was a small crowd, small space, but it was so great to be able to contribute poetry to such a good (and real) cause. I am glad I got to perform my art at a community event, and for such a cool local shop. I recognized many of the people there from around my neighborhood, and it felt good to be among them, participating in this with them.
To back up, and give this some context, Butter was robbed in May and the event was a fundraiser to help the bakery raise some dough. I had actually never been to Butter before this evening. But I had heard of them, because they donate desserts to Anti-War Committee dinners all the time. And even though I had never met the staff of this small shop, I felt that they had helped me -without even knowing me- to raise money for my cause, and my work. Because they have great politics. And for me to be able to give back (and to do it with art) was an incredible thing. It is mostly, a personal sort of sense of "proud to be of service".
And I think it went over well with the audience. It was, admittedly, not my best performance. I was nervous, and a little short of breath. But I did To tell it like it is, this is how it goes: and Beautiful World. The first one hit very close to home with folks (having only been a few weeks since the robbery), and then the second tied it all together (what we were all doing there). Honestly, Beautiful World was made for this kind of event. I'm really glad I got to perform it for this reason. And I thanked Butter from the stage for the donations they've given us, and I'm glad I got to represent the committee in this sort of way. It was a mere five minuets, but along with the other wonderful performers, it made for a very entertaining night. Well, I guess that's my baised opinion. But there you have it.

More of this, please.

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