value

first, something completely off-topic. is it because it's spring that i can think of at least four bloggers yanging and yacking about new boos? the blog circuit is absolutely gushing about the kissing and the hugging and the tingling... y'all a trip! i won't call you out individually, but congratulations to each of you and best of luck with being boo'd up. it must be because of spring. something about that spring green on trees and blooming flowers and crisp blue skies in the morning must have y'all inspired. y'all must be getting out more or something... enjoy!

on to matters of old business. yup, i was on the radio. it was pretty cool. there's this sista - she writes poetry and she also performs with a band. she has a sweet energy, and because she can do so much, i'll call her the juggler. i ran into her in the park a while back and she mentioned getting me on a radio show she hosts weekly on a community radio station. i gave her my number and forgot all about it. well, she called me later and booked me to be the featured artist on the show for this past saturday. silly me, i put the word out to folks about it at the last minute (in all fairness, i wasn't confirmed til like the last minute). plus i forgot that not everybody has myspace - but if they did they shoulda got the bulletins.

anyway, i did a little preparation over a nice homecooked meal, separating radio-friendly pieces from the others, categorizing them into subject areas, and doing a little thinking about which pieces i should absolutely positively do. i've been in a radio studio before. they're kinda like how they are on tv, with the booths and the controls and microphones and big glass windows and stuff. me and the juggler sat down a few minutes before the show and i watched her at work. the format was simple: the first hour would be a mix of interviewing me and letting me do my thing, and the second hour would be an open mic where listeners could call in to share their own pieces. but it was so much more complicated than that.

you know how on tv you see that there's the radio personality, and then there's the engineer? yeah well the juggler did both those things. she kept track of the commercial breaks, the music tracks, the callers, interviewing me, and timing it so my pieces or the songs didn't get cut off. she was good at it - so good in fact, that when she got hit up on her mobile, she still didn't miss a beat. she's been at this for three years - i'm proud of her!

i'm not sure how many pieces i did, but i'd say several. we talked about my favorite authors, how i got started with writing, how i got started with poetry, how certain pieces were inspired, my writing methods, and i also plugged my favorite venues and hosts, my poetry collective, and our local urban arts newspaper, which i love to pieces and contribute to. my pieces ranged from community pieces to cultural pieces, to not-quite-love pieces, to love pieces. i had a good time sharing them, and was pleased that the juggler and the callers liked the pieces i chose to share. i picked them on the spot, vibing off of the music and conversation which set certain moods throughout the show. before we got started, i couldn't imagine that i could go for an entire hour talking about and sharing my poetry. i should've known better, me being my father's longwinded child and all. with the juggler's guidance, everything turned out just fine.

luckily for me, i got some friends of mine to tape the show so that i'll be able to listen to it and more importantly, so that i can send a copy to my mom and dad, who are out of the listening area and want to experience as much of me enjoying my passion as they possibly can. and i'll also get to keep a copy for myself (that i'll probably be embarrassed to listen to over time... i'll let my babies laugh at it one day.) i figure this is another part of my growth as a writer, since this inspires me even more to write things that inspire or enrich or provide comfort and release to the listener. 'cause if my words had been empty, why would it ultimately have mattered to me or anyone else that i got some air time on the radio? but if nothing else, i know that i said some things that the juggler got value from, some of the callers got value from (we even had one of the callers call the show back just to tell me so), and that the next radio personality appreciated (he told me on the way out of the booth).

i had a good time, and if the juggler ever asks me back, i am so there!