The Chicago Poetry Scene has endured a number
of changes, both positive and negative, affecting its
standing in the general cultural landscape of this fair
city; from the early days of obscurity when poets merely
wanted to hang out together and couldn't have cared less
about an audience, to the first flushes of celebrity, the
days when there were 'too many famous poets in this town,
and not enough poetry' (to quote Marvin Tate), to the
virtual balkanization of the scene that led to its seeming
collapse in the wake of the 'next Seattle' alternative band
explosion from late '93 to '96. Even as the poets have
persevered, through the death of "Letter eX" - a sorely-missed monthly poetry magazine, through the establishment of more venues and regular open mics today than ever before, through major events like the Annual Poetry Video Festival and the Poetry Slam Championships, one can still sense the survival-mode posture so easy to fall into here in Chicago.
 This being a hard-nosed business city, it's always been good to have an angle, a reputation, a book in print -
something to set one apart from the verse-reading rabble
(translation: the poet actually gets paid!). Nothing wrong
with that - I'd like a little fame and fortune myself. But
sometimes a poet can get lost in their relatively minor
celebrity, forget what being a 'performance' poet is all
about and refuse to read at events without being paid major
bucks (let alone show up at an open mike just to read new
work and listen to fresh voices, whether they be good or
bad...) What's up with that? Are poetry venues no different than baseball's farm teams, places to struggle through while developing your craft, then leave behind in the dust...
There is a cultural event happening here on Saturday and Sunday, August 23rd and 24th, called Taste of Logan Square. Music, food, family fun, and poetry readings. Pamela Miller, a very good local poet who has been on the scene for a number of years and is involved with arranging readings at the Logan Square branch of the Chicago Public Library, had the task of lining up poets to read on Saturday. When she asked me to read that Saturday, she mentioned having a bit of trouble finding
Latino/a poets for this event. I asked her for just the
facts; this is what she told me:
"I called Carlos Cumpian to get the phone numbers of some Latino/a poets who might want to read at Taste of Logan Square. Since Logan Square has a large Latino/Hispanic community, I wanted to make sure some Latino voices were represented in the programming. I was also hoping to find some people to read at Logan Square Library in September for Hispanic Heritage Month.
"Carlos told me personally that he wouldn't read at
Taste because he doesn't do any readings anymore unless he
gets paid. I asked for the phone numbers of Raul Nino,
Gregorio Gomez and Olivia Maciel. He told me Nino would
definitely not read for free and that Gomez and Maciel would probably not read for free either. He said that Raul Nino would probably laugh in his face if he asked him to read for free. He said it was sort of ironic, since Nino lives in the Logan Square neighborhood right by the Library. I told Carlos I thought it was pretty disgusting that Nino couldn't even be bothered to do one lousy free reading once a year for Latino people in his own neighborhood. Carlos then said
that perhaps Nino would be willing to do a free reading at
the Library in April '98, because he'd have a new book out
then. (I have since decided not to have him in April,
because I don't want to deal with him and his shitty
attitude.) Carlos then said he would talk to Gregorio Gomez
(who incidentally has read at the Library for free, though
that was a few years ago) about reading at the Taste and
that Gregorio would call me if he was interested. I never
heard from him." [note: I tried to contact Gregorio at
Latino Chicago Theatre, but was unable to reach him in time
for his comments before publishing this article - lw]
"Later, Frank Varela confirmed that Raul Nino would not read at his library (Humboldt Park) for less than $300. Other than that, I have not tried to contact any of these
people because (1) Carlos wouldn't give me their phone
numbers, and (2) I have enough stress in my life right now
and prefer not to hassle with difficult people any more than
I have to. I decided instead to contact Ben Ortiz to see if
he'd be willing to read for free.
"Ben said he would be happy to do it, but wasn't sure if
he'd fit in since there were no other Latino poets on the
bill. So I explained the whole problem. He gave me a list
of several people who would probably read for free,
including: Eduardo Arocho, Carlos Gonzales, Santiago Lopez,
Naomi Martinez, Deborah Paredez, Mayda Del Valle, and
Vanessa Villareal. I ended up booking Gonzales and Del
Valle for Saturday at the Taste. Naomi Martinez
would also have read for free but she was not able to make
it that day because of other plans. I will probably also
book some of these people for the September reading and
other possible Library readings in 1998 (we are currently
booked up through March).
"On Sunday, Latino poets Frank Varela and Mike Puican
will read at the Taste (i.e., for free). I am only in
charge of booking for Saturday; Carolyn Paprocki is booking
Sunday. I suggested to her that she contact Eduardo
Arocho and Deborah Paredez about reading on Sunday, so we
could get some more Latino poets in (having filled up all my
Saturday slots). However, Carolyn spaced out at the last
minute and decided she didn't have time to do it.
"In September, Ray Gonzalez--who is a pretty damn big
name--will be reading at the Hispanic Heritage reading, with
Ben Ortiz. Neither of them have a problem with reading for
free. I might also point out that many, many other very
talented and well-known poets have gladly read at our
Library for free, including John Dickson, M.L. Liebler,
Carolyn Rodgers, Jim Banks, and Larry Winfield."
The poetry scene (the WHOLE poetry scene) is still much
too small in the grand scheme of things for situations like
this to even matter outside our coffee- and beer-soaked
salons; sometimes we shoot ourselves in the foot, sometimes
our own insulated and isolated 'big art' sensibilities makes
it easier for the larger creative community to overlook the
Chicago scene (anybody out there still steamed that the
excellent series "The United States of Poetry" had NO Chi-town scribes - not even the famous ones - spewing verse?
Lots of people grumbled about it, but kept it to
themselves...).
The art scene in general in Chicago is beginning to
make a little more room for us; poets aren't stereotyped as
effète and weird as often nowadays. The scene has lasted
long enough to be legendary, people come here to experience
the vitality, share in the sense of community. Sure, it's
also a hustle, but poetry is more art than business. I'd
like it to stay that way.
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