Rss Feed

Tag: John Rhodes

Words are Meant to be Heard

John Rhodes and Dale Jensen. Click to see the show.

The booming of the internet has created a stage for players great and small.  Thanks to the ever advancing technology, individuals have never been so visible.  Video hosting sites are a perfect platform for some poets whose works are best presented live.

Not to say that the traditional paper publishing is not necessary.  Books are like music scores that need to be preserved for posterity.  But what makes a score comes alive is the performance.  Through the internet, poetry performance has risen from cafe and salon readings to having a global presence.

Dale Jensen, surreal Dadaist of the cut-up consciousness, was a guest at John Rhodes’ SF Poetry, Open Mike, TV show.  Let him give you a bird’s eye view of the absurd and the mundane with equal potency.  Surrender to his voice.  Hold onto your seat and enjoy the ride.

Share

SF Poetry TV Show

In the early 1980’s I was stopped by a reporter on the street.  He said he was from some TV station and wanted to ask me a question.  I said OK and he proceeded.  But when the camera man swung his huge lens in front of me I froze. Unable to speak into that big black cold and expressionless eye, I shook my head and walked away.

John Rhodes with guest Ken Saffran

30 years later I was given the chance again.  John Rhodes is one of the lone soldiers who documents the now poetry scene.  Poverty and health problems do not deter him from realizing his artistic endeavor.  He carries his equipment and go places by bus.  When he started the monthly TV show in 2010 he asked me to co-host.  Each of us have fifteen minutes to feature a poet.  We tape the shows at BVAC (Bay Area Video Coalition)’s very nice studio.  Back in his tiny room, John edits the segments and sends them out into cyber space.

The terror that haunted me so long ago subsided in time.  Now I calm my guests and warn them about Big Eye.  “He’s cold.”  I said, “but make love to him.”

Share