This in from the Ocotillo Literary Endeavors, Inc. (dba Tucson Poetry Festival) press release:

Incredible Lineup in a Once-in-a-Lifetime Event!!! The theme is “gallery of the unexpected,” and will not be your average poetry event. Behind every set of doors, in different corners, and throughout the home there will be mini-performances on Saturday, November 20th at 7:30 p.m. at a beautiful private residence, 4133 E. Pima, Tucson, between Alvernon and Columbus.

Poets, performers and musicians including Logan Phillips, Maya Asher, Teresa Driver, DJ Transeo, Kelly Lewis, Heather Woodrich and many, many more bring never-before-seen multimedia performances/poems in a beautiful, private-backyard setting. There will be some exclusive seating available for an additional charge, which will be available on a first come first service basis. There will also be some donated art for sale, from local artists. Tickets will be 10 dollars, sold at the door.

The Tucson Poetry Festival has brought the biggest and brightest names in the literary world for almost 3 decades. Previous performers have included Czeslaw Milosz, Quincey Troupe, Allen  Ginsberg, Patricia Smith and many more. As TPF puts together an eclectic lineup for its 29th year, we’ve decided to hold a huge bash for the city of Tucson to celebrate the amazing literary scene in our city that can support and has supported such an incredible event. There will be food, drinks, music, poetry, and multimedia presentations. This event will end with two live DJ’s, traveling from out of town to play an eclectic mix featuring dub bass. Come for the art, stay for the music and support our wonderful and local scene.

At this event, Logan Phillips will be showcasing his newest project “NoVOGRAFIAS: the poem before the pen” which will change how you think about spoken word and performance art. Heather Woodrich will be showcasing her film “Artifact” which has been release briefly at the Loft theater, this film is not available online. There will be two poems done in American Sign Language, with an English translation voiced. Other poets will be local, and will be utilizing the Festival’s theme for 2011 “Poetry in Action.” This event is being held to benefit the upcoming 29th Tucson Poetry Festival on April 1-3 2011!

For more info contact Matthew Conley, matthewjohnconley@gmail.com or call 520.413.2382 and 480.390.1063 or visit their website, www.tucsonyouthslam.blogspot.com.

Julie Ray, Sheila Wilensky and I met at 47 Scott the other day for happy hour. We try to get together monthly at different restaurants to share professional and creative information, to inspire each other and to catch up personally. And to have fun.

It turns out that each of us have a blog and the two of them blogged about our meeting. So, I’m blogging about their blogging. Sheila’s blog is tucsonwritereditor.com and Julie’s is tucsongraphicdesign.com and you can follow the links to what they had to say.

One of the things I’ve noticed about our informal meetings is that we talk very fast to get everything in because after a month of not seeing each other we all have lots of stories to share. Stories about what we’ve read, who we’ve met, how our families are doing, creative projects, fashion decisions, the list goes on.  Just like anytime you get together with good friends, stories are what fuels conversation. And happy hour is the lubrication.