CRUMB #8

Monday 26 September 2022

A Little Crumb

Sometimes ‘Yes’ Sometimes ‘No’

“…You say yes, I say no…” A little bit of Beatles culture that may have greater significance now that it did back when the band sung it in the song Hello Goodbye.These two little words hold us together and equally, drive us apart.

The strength of our ‘yes’ and the power of our ‘no’ determines who drives the bus we are riding on. They are inherently political words.

Charles Eisenstein notes in his essay ‘There’s No One Driving the Bus’ that the words ‘yes’ and ‘no’ are the atoms of agreement.

He says, “ They form the will of the governed. No small group can hold power over the rest for very long without their consent. But are we the masters of our own consent? That is the foundation we must restore if we are to restore democracy. Whatever powers pretend to rule the world today will wither in the radiance of the collective agreement of humans fully empowered in their ‘yes’ and ‘no’.

“To recover ‘yes’ and ‘no’ requires commitment and community. Strong are the bribes, threats, and habits that induce us to surrender sovereignty, to feign agreement with the intolerable, to shy away from the beautiful. It takes commitment to renounce the bribes, ignore the threats, and change the habits. When my commitment flags, I am blessed to witness others who are strong in their ‘yes’ and their ‘no’, who through their example restore me to my own.’

Just two little words, yet they have the strength and power to control your destiny, to set you free and to create your own place to stand.

Say ‘yes’ to the array of fabulous open mic nights coming up this month; say ‘yes’ to the new community initiative called ACTIONS SPEAK happening first Sunday of each month.

Enjoy Crumb – a small morsel of delight!
Peace
Mark

Read Charles Eisenstein’s full essay here: https://charleseisenstein.substack.com/p/theres-no-one-driving-the-bus?utm_source=email&publication_id=427455&post_id=74032708

Two Little words

Let your tongue
speak bold your heart,
speak it yes and yes,
speak it strong,
speak it no and no,
speak it powerful;

firm the foundation,
the rock of your feet,
the truth that you know,
speak it ‘yes’
and speak it ‘no’.
keep it simple,
straight forward,
courageous and brave,
link your arms,
speak it yes and yes
speak it no and no.

THE MICROPHONE IS LIVE

a moon-lit evening in collingwood

The moon lays itself, a sheet of gold, on the Ruataniwha estuary lapping at the feet of Collingwood. It peeps through the window of the MAD Cafe and bounces off the solitary microphone.
Some say this is where the open mic night known as MOONSHINE on the MICROPHONE got its name. Others put it down to the refreshing drinks that whet the whistle and lubricate the courageous voices that stand up to the mic.
Whatever story you want to believe, is up to you – just so long as you come down from the Aorere Valley, travel the coast from Pakawau and Puponga and Parapara, wander along the beach from Milnthorpe or amble down from the village and make it to the MAD Cafe with a poem, a song, a story to share.

I know, this is almost exactly the same copy as last month. That’s because I couldn’t think of a better way to introduce this wonderfully intimate open mic night.

MOONSHINE ON THE MICROPHONE
Thursday 6 October, 2022.
Kick off around 7.30 pm. Koha entry.

Open Microphone

slammin’ down the flames!

Yeah I know. It’s spring and the hearth may not be dancing to the fire as the evenings warm up. But the ACID ON THE MICROPHONE is sizzling, no matter the season and it is eating up timidity!!

Our featured guest at this months gathering is current NZ Poetry Slam Champion, Dan Goodwin who is on a nation-wide tour after representing NZ at the World Poetry Slam in Brussels.

Open mic will run before Dan takes the stage. So come on down, be courageous, put your name on the board and give the microphone a poem or a song to think about!! Make a night of it. Without you, it will not be as good as it could be!

ACID ON THE MICROPHONE
Thursday 20 October 2022
Mussel Inn, 7.30 pm. $5
Featuring Dan Goodwin

THE MICROPHONE IS LIVE!

There is power in the Microphone

In a time when it has never been so important to speak out, to assert one’s own sovereignty and to be true to yourself, the Dangerous Microphone delivers the opportunity for us all to stand and be counted. There is power and affirmation in that.

It is liberating to find the courage to stand up and sing or play for the first time; to write and present a poem or a story; or to recount a little of your own journey or to deliver a new song. And it is a joy to behold the joy and belief on the faces of those who do it! Power in the microphone? Yes there is. Your power.

Look forward to seeing you each Wednesday at the Dangerous Kitchen. Here you will find great food and refreshing drinks from the kitchen and bar and simply wonderful hospitality from the friendly Dangerous Kitchen staff. Make the DANGEROUS MICROPHONE the highlight of your week.

Performers, you can book one of the seven minute slots from 5.00 pm at the Dangerous Kitchen

THE DANGEROUS MICROPHONE
Every Wednesday, 5, 12, 19, 26 October 2022
5.30 pm kick off.

POETRY SLAM COMPETITION

slam poetry competition

NOW ON THIS THURSDAY 20 OCTOBER

NELSON REGIONAL EVENT. LIVE. MUSSEL INN.
THURSDAY 20 OCTOBER, 7.30 PM.

A POETRY SLAM is a spoken word event where poets ‘slam off’ against each for the honour of representing the Golden Bay/Nelson region at the National event in Auckland in November.

Competitors come armed with three poems, each no more that three minutes long and each being performed from memory. No props are allowed – just your voice.

The event is run over three rounds, with competitors dropping out until three are left in the final round. Each round is judged by random audience judges who mark each performance out of 10. After round one, the top six scores go through to round two and from round two the top three scores go through to round three.

The winner is flown to Auckland to represent Golden Bay/Nelson in the National finals.

Sound like a bit of fun to you? Full details will be provided to all competitors on the night.

Enter by emailing: mark@drycrust.com
OR enter on the night

GOLDEN BAY/NELSON POETRY SLAM
Mussel Inn, Thursday 20 October, 7.30 pm
$5

COMMUNITY HELPING COMMUNITY

ACTIONS SPEAK

Community helping Community
This Sunday 6 November

Do you want to lend a hand trimming a hedge, mowing a lawn or digging a garden?There are plenty of people who would love you for it!

This is how ACTIONS SPEAK works.
Big hearted volunteers meet at the iSite centre in Takaka on the first Sunday of each month at 10.30 am armed with tools of the trade.

The co-ordinator, Barrett Newton, – whose great idea this is – will have a number of people who would like help with jobs that are proving too difficult on their own.

Volunteers will be assigned a location and a task and will set off to carry out the work.

At day’s end – 6.00 pm – everyone is invited to a BBQ on the Village Green for a catch up and a chat to see how the work went.

So, if you have a job that is proving too much for you by yourself and you would like a hand, please email Barrett with the job you would like done and your location.
Email: newton.b@protonmail.com

Make Use of CRUMB

subscribe to CRUMB

In CRUMB you will find all the events sponsored by Golden Bay Live Poets Society plus a few other gigs and community happenings.

If you would like to be kept up to date with open microphone events happening around the Bay, then subscribe to CRUMB here

And you can even submit a gig or event that you want us to know about.

GOT A GIG, EVENT, NEW BOOK or RECORDING COMING UP ??

Got events or gigs coming up that you’d like to let CRUMB readers know about, please email the details, jpeg pics and jpeg posters to: mark@drycrust.com or use the link below:

submit a gig or event

And if you have a new book of poems, stories coming out, or a new recording of songs, let us know and we can let our small but dedicated readership in on the action.