1

11/09/05 11:09pm
I had my first feature today. It was at Mitchie's African American art gallery. I was told ahead of time that I would be the feature. I got ready. I selected my pieces in interest of time and subject matter. I developed the sequence in which they should be said, to include commentary in between each piece, for substance. Everything was as it should be, which is why it amazes me that I choked so badly. I almost literally completely flopped. If my pieces weren't as good as people say they were the show would have been a total loss. I wanted to apologize and walk off the stage.There were 3 or 4 great poets in the stage, and I wanted to stop and ask one of them to come up and pick my slack because I sucked. I was shaky nervous, and they knew it. I forgot lines, I got them mixed up, and I came off sounding contrived at best.I want to be better at this, I need to be but I get up there and I get the shakes. Reggie told me he didn't even notice, plus the crowd wasn't that responsive anyway. But I did manage to secure another feature, and I sold 4 of the last five chapbooks I had.