The Alternative New Year's Day Spoken Word/Performance Extravaganza.
PLANET CARAVAN FEATURING GLOBAL WARMING: THE ALTERNATIVE NEW YEAR'S DAY SPOKEN WORD/PERFORMANCE EXTRAVGANZA BROADCASTS STARTING IN FEBRUARY ON BCAT THURSDAYS 12:30 A.M. - CHANNELS 35 & 68 FOR MORE INFO PLEASE E-MAIL Zaius316@theglobe.com
Time: January 1, 2001
4pm to midnight
CBGB's Lounge, 313 Bowery (at Bleeker) (212.982.4052)
Info: Bruce Weber (212.674.3585) or bweber@dellnet.com
www.poetrycentral.com/globalwarming
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Global Warming heats up CBGB's again on January 1st, 2001 with a river of off stream spoken word artists and a dynamic sprinkling of musicians, performance artists and artist etceteras. Now in its seventh year, this free, democratic alternative to the stasis of the St. Mark's Church poetry marathon has attracted a huge and faithful audience - necessitating last year's move from Cafe Nico to the much larger space at CBGB's. The "last free event in New York City," Global Warming succeeds Absolute Zero (2000), Nuclear Winter (1999), Fahrenheit 451 (1998), El Niöo (1997), In Heat (1996) and Out Cold (1995). Why do the names and themes keep changing? As a reminder that the goal of the Alternative New Year's Day SpokenWord/Performance Extravaganza is fluidity and change. We strive to bring new voices, new performers, and a new theme to this singular event every year. In fact, the only constant other than the inclusion of brand-new artists each year is the push toward social good, which has resulted in our four-year partnership with City Harvest. This year, in addition to collecting canned goods at the reading, an infotable on the problems associated with - you guessed it - Global Warming will be stocked with pamphlets and staffed with environmental activists. Another mainstay of the Extravaganza is our artist table, brimming with indie books, CDs and chapbooks - possibly the most extensive collection of hard-to-find works by underground writers available anywhere in New York City, and 100% of all proceeds go directly to the artists. And everyone is welcome to sign up for our open and get a shot at doing a three-minute performance as part of the Alternative New Year's Day Spoken Word/Performance Extravaganza - the event that is off the hook, off the charts, and totally on top of the Mark. Yes St. Mark's may have started it. But it took an Alternative to get it just right! Look ahead to see what they've been saying about us this last seven years* "These days there are more poets out there than
a marathon reading at St. Mark's can hold, so a few enterprising
souls have started up the alternative New Year's Day reading, featuring
such stalwarts of the downtown reading circuit as *." "1995 wasn't good but it's all we had! And In Heat,
the 'alternative' free reading which featured more than 100 poets
reading for three minutes each (you were gonged with a black flag
hanging from a wooden pole when time ran out, and if you didn't
stop, a tricycle bell screamed in your ear!), was a microcosm reflecting
the year*." "No doubt there'll be some hot winds blowing at
this somewhat more torn and frayed alternative to the big Poetry
Project marathon. Like last year, the projected list of readers
is (dubiously?) huge *. "Bob Holman, a Poetry Project artist who will also
take the stage at Cafe Nico, sums up the two readings thus: "It's
the difference between a church and a cafe. At St. Mark's it's Will
they show up?; at Cafe Nico it's Who will show up?" The 2000/2001 Event The only fallout from "Global Warming", the all afternoon,all
night, seventh annual New Year's day poetry reading, is this copy-
And what a shame! After all the preparation by founder Bruce Weber
and all the stage and set designs by Joanne Pagano Weber, the arranging,
the politicking, the poetry/ prose and the music, it's over. Like
the slap of a hand in eight quick hours without enough fanfare.
As usual no Time's reporters and apparently not even the Voice -
But for those of us there, the whole of these quick start 'ones'
are becoming as much of a homey tradition as holiday dinners-
Papier mache hands, holding up One Hundred Years of Solitude, Another Country, War & Peace, Tao Te King, some of our best books ever, set off the small stage. And a green clay replica of the Statue of Liberty's head lent a certain capital of the world feeling to the fete. It's as if downtown leads all of us straight to the edge of the planet and just outside Cooper Union is the gateway to eternal life- It was all there but the Empire State Bldg!
There was raunch, there was right, there was stirring, there
All the way to midnight folks waltzed in and out of CB's down stairs
and if you have a hankering to participate next year, plan it soon.
The crunch begins early!
- Ellen 'Windy' Aug Lytle / Jan. 28, 2001
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Performers at Last Year's Absolute Zero New Year's Day Reading Above
2001 Performer's List Katie Adams
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