http://www.coconutpoetry.org/leon1.htm
I’ve decided to discuss Jon Leon’s poem entitled “81.” (And of course someone else would decide to comment on him on the most recent post before mine…) At any rate, I was drawn to Leon’s use of numbers in this poem (and all of his poems, for that matter). It’s interesting how one can interpret the numbers and imagine what (or who?) they stand for. This poem in particular drew me in because of the lines “No way to tell really where this big hulking/ piece of machinery will crash.” It helps that they’re in the very middle of the poem; they anchor the reader down and gives him/her something to grab onto amidst all the numbers and phrases that are hard to grasp. Plus it just sounds cool.

Here's another website you guys might find interesting (or not): Last year in my creative writing class (at Big Sky here in town) we set up a website and put a bunch of (potentially) useful stuff. We made a bunch of word banks as well as a list of magazines you can submit to be published in. I'm hoping that this year they'll update it with the dates of all their upcoming readings. Last year we also held an open mic reading and two Spoken Word Poetry Slams (one at the Roxy and another at the Wilma) last spring, and both were wildly successful, so there will most definitely be more in the future. The site also gives info about Big Sky's literary magazine (Aerie), if you're interested.....
Here's the site: www.BigSkyAerie.org

And speaking of spoken word poetry, do any of you guys write it? Have you attended/competed in slams?