Sunday, September 24, 2006

How to Meet and Dance with Your Death (Como Encuentrar y Bailar con Su Muerte): A Cure for Suicide

How to Meet and Dance with Your Death
(Como encuentrar y bailar con su muerte): A Cure for Suicide

This was told to me by an old Curandera, an India from Brazil whom I met in the Yucatan. She gave me this recipe and cautioned me that it could be done once, and only once.

To meet and dance with your Death, take:

2 gallons of pulque (fermented Mayan beverage), or if unavailable, gin
1 case tequila
Several cases beer
1 bottle Mescal
2 ounces good marijuana
carton cigarettes
three large peyotes
coffee as needed

For three weeks, do not eat meat, starch, sweets, or cabbage of any kind. You may have citrus fruits, papaya, watery vegetables, yucca and bacalǻo, salted nuts, cream, and a little halvah.

Drink and smoke everyday, reserving the Mescal and peyote. Smoke the marijuana in silence; drink only when there is music playing and people are dancing; at other times, walk, preferably uphill.

Bailar con fuerza cada dia: dance vigorously every day, either alone or in a group, but never in a couple. Be friendly with the other dancers but dance with no one partner longer than a few moments, and do not stay in one spot as it causes blood clots. Dance until your hair and clothing are entirely wet and your chin tilts upwards naturally.

When you are not dancing, be silent or listen to music, but do not chatter and certainly do not converse. By all means, sing and chant, but do not ululate, because this brings forth unnecessary demons.

When you have finished the pulque and most of the tequila, go to the city. Find two men, one dark and one light; they will be your guides. It is good if you like them, but they must not be your lover—your lover always blocks your view of Death (su amante oscura su vista de la muerte).Go together to an old room and take the peyotes; chop them well and mix them with strawberries and yogurt; the sour will help you not to vomit as much.

An hour after you have taken the peyote, the light-haired man will appear to be asleep. Do not disturb him: He is calling your Death.

Take the hand of the dark man. Ask him where he wants to go, and go with him: He will lead you to your Death.

Follow the dark man until he brings you to a crowd of people. You will see familiar faces in the crowd, family and old friends, but each time you turn to greet them, it will be a stranger. This is where you will meet your Death.

Your Death will be a man who looks like you, a little taller, but with the same color hair and possibly the same nose. He will be wearing a hat. He will appear preoccupied, perhaps agitated. He will be sweating.

You will wonder where he has come from, and whether he is sick. Do not ask. And do not ask him to dance. Wait.

When he sees you, you will feel something just below your hair, or in your nostrils, as if the room suddenly had become very cold, or very quiet. You will hear a song—an unusual but very familiar song—and then both of you will leap to the floor at the exact same moment and begin to dance.

You will dance for a long time and you will never dance better. Death will continue to sweat. As his face begins to shine, you will see beneath his skin and know that you are not dancing with a man, but with Death. After that, you will never fear him again, nor seek him.

When the dancing is over, go somewhere and drink the bottle of Mescal; leave the worm in the bottle for Death.

Do this correctly the first time, because it can not be done more than once. To do this once is sagrado, sacred; to do this more than once is common, so no lo jode. If you do this more than once, you will do it often, and then you will become an old borracha who sleeps with common men. Punto.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Howl! Fest

SPIRIT OF HOWL! FEST

3 EVENTS! 2 POETRY EVENTS AND 1 MUSICAL EVENT

CONTACT:EKAYANI CHAMBERLIN ekayani2002@yahoo.com (212) 475-6547
BACK UP: Mike McHugh newcenturybooking@yahoo.com (212) 561-9789

WHEN: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 FROM 5-10 PM
WHERE: SUTRA LOUNGE http://www.sutranyc.com
16 1ST AVE
(BET. HOUSTON & FIRST ST)
PH: (212) 677 9477
$8 ADMISSION GOOD FOR ALL THREE EVENTS
ALSO: THERESA SAREO AT CRASH MANSION 7-10PM 199 BOWERY $10 ADDITIONAL COVER
1. SAT 9/16 7:30 – 10:00: SLIDING SCALE POETRY PRESENTS:

REGIE CABICO-Regie has appeared on MTV’s Def Poetry Jam, PBS’s In the Life, and in over 30 anthologies. http://www.globaltalentassoc.com/site/clients/cabico.htm

ANNE ELLIOTT:-Anne is a fiction writer/poet/ ukulelist/ feral cat tamer, and author of the reknowned http://Assbackwords.blogsite.com.

BOB HOLMAN- Recently dubbed a member of the "Poetry Pantheon" by N.Y Times Magazine. Holman has been crowned "Poetry Czar" (Village Voice), "Dean of the Scene" (Seventeen), and this generation's Ezra Pound(San Francisco Poetry Flash). http://www.bowerypoetry.com

SAPPHIRE- Sapphire's books include American Dreams, Black Wings & Blind Angels, and Push; NEA chairman John Frohnmayer was fired when he defended her work. http://Amazon.com.

JACKIE SHEELER- Recently featured in the New York Times, poet laureate of Riker’s Island, Jackie has two books and one CD out, is the talk in Talk Engine, and has hosted a weekly reading for the last seven years at Pink PonyWest. http://www.poetz.com

LARISSA SHMAILO-Larissa has a CD, “The No-Net World”, and teaches the class Publish, Perform, or Perish! http://larissashmailo.blogspot.com

HAL SIROWITZ- Hal is former Poet Laureate of Queens, reads Brooklyn work. halsirowitz@yahoo.com

ANGELO VERGA- Angelo is a poet, teacher, editor, curator of literary events, five collections of poetry, currently engaged in "deep research" for a book of love poems.

MC CHOCOLATE WATERS- Chocolate is a pioneer performance artist, director of Eggplant Publications and bon vivant. http://www.chocolatewaters.com

2. MIKE AMERICA AND THE FREE WORLD Acoustic music TIME 5-10 PM with:
5 PM- ADRIENNE NIGHTINGALE- "folk singer songwriter based in Brooklyn, NY. She holds tight reign on the raw emotional material in her songwriting... http://www.myspace.com/AdrienneMusic
5:30-LITTLE EMBERS (feat. Theresa Hoffman) "Little Embers music is a dark swirling revelation ... her new songs like "Radio" and the surreal "Curious Little Clowns" have the mystical poetic feel of sixties Dylan. Her voice is dark and sweet and it draws you in.Her dark, caustic perspective on reality has a world weariness and innate wisdom that is quite compelling" – McQ http://www.myspace.com/littleembers
6-TALK ENGINE feat. JACKIE SHEELER
Talk Engine is rock & roll's answer to hip-hop. "if you’re not dancing at the end of their set it's cause you're flying."-BOB HOLMAN When we do quieter sets, mostly based on spoken word, the material is "tough, savvy and true," -Thomas Lux. http://www.myspace.com/talkengine
6:30-TAMARA HEY-Referred to as "One of NYC's little treasures”, native New Yorker Tamara Hey aligns heart & soul with a natural, unaffected quirkiness & originality in every song.
http://www.tamarahey.com
7-NED MASSEY-The late, great, talent scout John Hammond Sr. called Ned: "The best thing I've seen since Bruce (Springsteen) " – McQ . http://www.nedmassey.com/
7:30-KAREN Maria Schleifer & WALTER Finley's NEW DUO –
'This feisty songstress was a child star in the title role of 'Annie' on Broadway. She still has that natural curly hair and a set of powerful pipes. The new songs slated for her upcoming second CD are strong.' -McQ -
http://www.curlykaren.com & http://www.walterfinley.com
8 PM-CASEY CYR - "Casey Cyr is a seer. A visionary poet and singer songwriter in the beat tradition. Beat as in beatific. Her Buddist faith infuses her work and her music and art has a quality of timeless illumination. Her song "Phantom Moon" is a classic. No wonder the legendary David Amram has called her "the female Dylan." –McQ http://www.caseycyr.com
8:30 PM -ALICE BIERHORST – (of RockDove) "Her chameleon vocals change character with each distinctly crafted song bringing to mind the photography of Cindy Sherman...beautifully weird pop that reminds us that less is more." - Performing Songwriter http://www.alicebierhorst.com.
9 PM-McQ as MIKE AMERICA -"A great knack for song stylization and writing"
Anne Leighton, 'The Music Paper' http://www.myspace.com/newcentury 9:30 PM-NOM de PLUME feat. SARA GENN "a chamber butter bandaid for your broken heart"Sara Genn: voice & rhodes guitar & Keith Witty on double bass
http://www.myspace.com/songsforlonging

3. “FREE WORLD MICROPHONE” POETRY EVENT TIME: 5-7 PM presented by ART HOUSE PRODUCTIONS http://www.arthouseproductions.org DOWNSTAIRS at SUTRA LOUNGE 16 First Avenue NYC 10009

MC CHRISTINE GOODMAN is Founder/Director of Art House Productions, a multimedia arts organization presenting THE ART HOUSE (Jersey City’s longest running poetry series), original theater pieces, a television show for JC and NYC, live music events, JC Fridays (a seasonal, citywide celebration of the arts), and publications featuring local writers works. She also serves as an Arts Commissioner for the City of Jersey City.
http://www.christine-goodman.com & http://www.myspace.com/christinegoodman

GARLAND L. THOMPSON, JR. - Poet, Writer, Actor, Producer, Director, and Playwright, Garland established the Annual West Coast Championship Poetry Slam now in it’s 9th season after moving to Monterey, Ca in 1998. http://www.westcoastslam.com This yearly rite of passage takes place at the breathtakingly beautiful Henry Miller Library in Big Sur & has become one of the largest events of it’s kind, hosting slam teams from around the country for a chance to win $2000.00 in cash prizes.

PATRICIA SMITH - Award-winning poet, playwright, journalist and performer, Patricia Smith is a renaissance artist of undeniable and unmistakable signature. She is four-time national individual slam champion.
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/s_z/p_smith/about.htm.www.louderarts.com/poets/smith/

SURVIVOR- is a four-time semi-finalist in the Nuyorican slams. John Blake (aka Survivor) was born addicted to heroin and raised on the lower east side of Manhattan, the youngest of 9 children. After losing his entire family to addiction and AIDS, he was able to give up a 20 year addiction for poetry after seeing a segment of Russell Simmons' Def Poetry on HBO. http://www.myspace.com/survivor

DUJUANA SHARESE- is an eight-time slam champion, & member of the Orlando Slam team 2002. D. Sharese has performed across the nation, in the 2006 Heritage Pride Rally, NYC, and serves as Artistic Director for the Cypher Movement open art and poetry slam. http://www.cyphermovement.com

CASEY CYR’s lyrical poetry & haunting melodies from her debut CD "Phantom Moon" reflect the unconscious realm of magic. Casey co-founded & produced the NY Underground Music & Poetry Festival in 2000, performed in CMJ 2000- 02, and curated Old Angel Midnight Tribute to Jack Kerouac & David Amram for HOWL! Fest 2004. Cyr’s work has been published by Hozomeen Press, Pop Rocket Records, Mystic Discs & Calque Cinema. She is featured on "Hozomeen JAM", a spoken word & music CD with David Amram, Ron Whitehead & Lee Ranaldo. http://www.caseycyr.com

MIKE MCHUGH - aka MIKE AMERICA is a poet, singer/songwriter and community leader who has been booking emerging musical acts and performing on the downtown New York music scene for more than two decades. Tonight he performs songs and poems from his rock opera 'Son Of A Nation' a poetic prophesy as conceived by Walt Whitman. http://www.myspace.com/newcentury

EKAYANI - singer, songwriter, music journalist & front woman for the jazzy/world/ spoken word musical group “Ekayani and the Healing Band”, she is an ISC & Billboard World Song Contest Honoree' 05, New Century People's Choice Awards Winner in '06 for her # 1 single “La Raihna” in the R&B and smooth jazz categories from her award winning album FULL LENGTH. http://www.ekayani.net

ALSO-THERESA SAREO AT CRASH MANSION 199 BOWERY 7- $10 COVER AND AFTERPARTY

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