A Poetic Celebration

As part of our celebration of CreativeMornings/Austin’s second season, we launched a poetic collaboration. Before you read this poem, you should know: none of the words were written by the poet. Instead, it was compiled from the words of twelve different people—all speakers in this past season of CreativeMornings/Austin events. 

In a process she refers to as klepto-collaborative, poet Denise Lanier tirelessly combed through all twelve talks and then cut them up, rearranging phrases and turning the words of these 12 separate people, spoken in 12 different months, into one cohesive, lyrical and powerful piece of poetry. 

The first performance of this poem was by Austin poet and slammaster, Danny Strack, at our #CMATX celebration on April 29, 2015.

Can you spot the phrases that came from your favorite speaker?

“Second Cut”

Edited and compiled by Denise Lanier for CreativeMornings/Austin
Performed by Danny Strack

Let’s start things that lead to meaningful change, really big transitions, ecstatic dance, a permanent sense of place.

Let’s have a burial ceremony for artificial realities, helplessness & hopelessness, too many rules, this Rolex, 400 pages of legalese, the ugly sweater scene, oppressors of the margins, the myth of having it all.

Let’s open ourselves up to traveling cross-country in a Volkswagon van through a metaphysical Mojave desert of self-discovery. Know it’s gonna get messy, know that you’re worth it.

Believe in the process, the core idea, high fives all-around, “I need a little bit of help,” the blank spaces, losing things, resizing, reshaping, disrupting, walking into a big crossover, declaring “I fail!”

It’s okay to say, “I don’t know what I’m doing.” Intense discomfort is just compost fermenting. See yourself blooming blues on oranges, greens on pinks, pinks on greens with a willingness to risk. Failures, shortcomings & flaws… the seeds of do-overs, successes & small businesses

Don’t follow in the same footsteps as everyone before you. Close your eyes, make a commitment. Jump off the “normal” train.

Take a few steps back every once in a while, or up stairs that double as monkey bars, willing to Evel Knievel outside your comfort zone. Take suggestions, photographs, a bow, time out to celebrate, a seat between every third drink.

Come back home to Austin. Come back to open up a ramen place. Come back to center. Come face-to-face with multiple generations in crisis.

People who avoid risks are rewarded with a series of really bad judgment calls in the middle of nowhere with very little cell reception, surrounded by stuck, uninspired, fuck-you hippies.

People who take risks are rewarded with happy little accidents, a lot of mojo.

Give everybody a turn, a round of applause, honest advice another chance, a Thank You. Give an awkward side-hug to the shit show half the time of your life. Get breakfast tacos, a Stetson hat, one big inspiration. Get accountable, get tempted. Get loud, get tattoos, get acquainted in a kitchen. Have a rock, paper, scissors tournament.

Throw a bone, a sign, a zombie for his love, a fist-bump, this mantra, “You can do it, You can do it, You can do it.” 

Stand up & raise your right hand, promise to participate in amazing cultural things, volunteer work, a journey of transformation, collaboration, something unexpected, a very long weekend of pizza & beer.

Find your voice, creative solutions, a compulsion to make. Hear the kids. Hear the band. Stand up & dance. Shake up the status-quo boat. Shake it, you sexy thang.

Burn past pain & hurt, mix up the soot with rainwater. Paint what you know, what you’d like to see, an enormous dragon mural about that tug inside, your legacy.

Everybody needs to be playing in that place where failure’s gonna happen. Scary & painful, like a giant sewing machine going over your skin for hours & hours. But you survive it, coming out wild, stately, impressive more bad-ass & brave.

It’s up to you to feed new ideas, fire-starters, this Friday morning community.

Go out there, be fully you and create magic.

A taste of Danny’s original performance:

About Denise

Denise Sebesta Lanier is an educator, advocate & storyteller, who believes in the power of narrative to transform, transport & create connection. As inventor of a poetic form called klepto-collaborative, she pickpockets words & phrases from others, reshuffling & reshaping the puzzle-pieces into a colorful mosaic of diverse voices. Denise founded WordPlay, a poetry-in-the-schools project inspired by Dave Eggers, which was recognized with a TED Prize Spirit Award. She has an MFA in Poetry; her writing has appeared in Bloomsbury Review & Best American Poetry blog.

She also writes a blog about life with MS, a service dog & a recumbent trike at wonkybent.com

About Danny

Danny Strack has been performing poetry live for over a decade. He holds slam championship titles at national, regional and city levels. He is the author of 10 books of poetry and two plays, a five-time member / three-time coach of teams representing Austin at the National Poetry Slam, and the current Slammaster/Executive Director of the Austin Poetry Slam.