In honor of Shakespeare’s birthday, my setting of Sonnet 130.
*This recording was made by a student vocalist at Montreat College. I post it to share my setting, as opposed to his performance. He wants me to note that this is not an accurate depiction of his current vocal abilities.
Nathan Hathaway Adams
This winter, I ventured out one cold night with my sister Artemis and made my way to the Masonic Temple in Downtown Asheville. The purpose of this outing was to attend Poetry Slam Asheville.
I had never attended a Poetry Slam before, and I had no clue what to expect. I was amazed at the talent that was showcased that night, in both the writing and the performance. I performed a poem in the open mic section, and felt very warmly received. The guest slam teams were incredible, and it was nice to be shown a wide variety of the possibilities with spoken word.
It was a long show to be sure, and after an intermission, the slam (the competition section) began. What astounded me here was the complete and total honesty that was laid bare in the auditorium. Topics that people are afraid to discuss in private were performed openly for total strangers. The entire time the slam was going I was being hit with inspiration for poems, and I definitely plan on participating in the slam in the next few months.
Spoken word is a refuge for pure performance. Just like Homer or the choruses of the Greek Theatre, the poetry slam touches on a very basic style of communication, one that we don’t often see in today’s society. Without the bells and whistles, we still have each other.
Nathan Hathaway
A little poetry to liven up your life . . .
Babylon College Library 306.74
“I have a friend to the end
Kayla is her name
Curly is her mane
Tiny is her fame
She’s a whore
To be sure
Not for dicks
Are her tricks
No such luck
Not for muff
Only books
Earn her looks
As I said
She’s a whore
She’s the whore
A very definite article
She’s the whore of Babylon College
She’s a slut for knowledge
Feel the thrill so divine
When she strokes a book’s spine
How all her lust rages
When she turns the pages
Not content with one subject
Each shelf has love objects
She’s the whore of Babylon College
Just the whore of Babylon College
If only she could teach us
And then she maybe wean us
From the joy of muff and penis
Then maybe
Just maybe
The world would be a better place.
All thanks to
The Whore of Babylon College”
Also!
The Huffington Post is running a poll on their website called “Bookstores We Love For Their Spirit of Independence.” Asheville favorite Malaprops is in the running! It’s been in and out of the top five, but we can still win this thing! Go to the website and rate it a ten. I think you can vote more than once, so go crazy (if you haven’t already).
Doing some reading,
Nathan Hathaway