The Stories Behind The Fly Girls, I.

I'm going to start updating this space with backstories on some of the poems published in Fly Girls and Other Poems. What does that mean to you? It means you better hurry up and order your copy so you know what the heck I'm talking about. I won't be commenting in-depth on all the poems, because (a) some of them have really boring backstories, and (b) some of them have really interesting backstories that aren't meant for public consumption. Still, there's some good stuff here.

My model for these notes will be the legendary liner notes written by ?uestlove of The Legendary Roots Crew.

1. Incantation -- The theory behind this poem was that I'd tape it over my bed, and it would be the first thing I read when I woke up in the morning. I ended up not doing that, but I still like to read this one early some mornings to give me a sense of what I sound like when I'm really motivated.

2. The First Time I Met -- I don't remember who gave me this topic, but I remember the topic clearly: "Weird"Al Yankovic playing the accordion while riding a unicycle. There's actually a great drawing by duD that goes along with this poem -- two, if I'm not mistaken. This is probably my favorite funny poem that I've written maybe ever.

3. Across The Room: A Sketch -- This was suggested to me by someone. The suggestion was something. I honestly can't even remember. I do remember that I wrote it in about fifteen seconds maybe twenty seconds after getting the topic. It flowed. I haven't edited most of the poems in this volume, but this one really wasn't edited. It was born into the world fully formed.

4. Teaching, Part One -- The "Teaching" series doesn't come out of any suggestions from anybody. All these poems (there are currently four of them) are based on true events in my teaching career. The first piece is based on a topic I've written about at least twice now--once here, and once in my ten-minute play Julio that was performed last year at Prospect Theatre. This version of the events of my first day teaching is a lot closer to what actually happened, and to me, that says a lot about what's great about poetry: being forced to be economically with your word choices brings you a lot closer to the truth.

5. Travel Hailu -- My buddy Cindy is responsible for several poems I've written, some published here and some not published anyplace. When I write for Cindy, I generally work in haiku. I'm not really sure how that came to pass. Cindy goes by the nickname Cindylu (or, in my case, CindyLuuuuuu); hence the term "hailu." The pieces that make up "Travel Hailu" are all based on personal travel experiences of mine, and they led, I believe, to Cindy's hailu challenge when she took a trip to Mexico. She wrote one haiku everyday of her trip--the results are pretty spectacular. Haiku's a great form, especially for travel, because, like I mentioned above, you're forced to be economical and crisp with your word choices.

Much like my use of the enter key, I think haiku can make anyone look and feel like a poet.

Hell, it can make anyone be a poet.

Next time, I'll explain the Fly Girls series, and I'll spell out backstories for these pieces:

Fly Girls: Serenity
For Fallen Fathers
The Elimination of...
Meat Locker: A Sketch
We Could Go You Know