Today, for $1.99, I secured access to 365 poems on my iPhone via Poem Flow. Whether you’re reading a poem by Derek Walcott or H.D., when you beam up the poem, the app will tell you — anonymously — where on the planet and when that poem was last read on Poem Flow. You’ll get the sense that there’s a community of readers out there with you on the same path sometimes in the unlikeliest places. There’s a little voluptuous mixture of surprise and satisfaction there as I call up another poem to enjoy.

Reflecting on this summer’s Hip Hop camp, I recall last year Affrilachian Poet Bianca Spriggs saying that she is passionate about “empowering people, alleviating ignorance through the arts.” A vibrant thought, indeed!

Institute, WV — West Virginia State University Extension Service is hosting its annual 4-H Hip Hop Camp, a weeklong overnight camp for youth ages 12 to 18 that focuses on skill mastery in Hip Hop Arts traditions. The camp will take place at Camp Virgil Tate, July 25-29.

On Tuesday, July 27 at 2 p.m., campers will be on the WVSU campus for a special Hip Hop Summit featuring a panel discussion with renowned poet Nikki Giovanni; Apollo Theater multiple award winner Jessica Care Moore; Affrilachian Poets Crystal Good and Norman Jordan; 98.7 the Beat DJ Leeshia Lee; Dr. Gail Mosby, Chair and Professor of Sociology at WVSU; and other local hip hop artists and commentators. The public is invited to this portion of the camp, which will take place in Room 122 of Wallace Hall.

The 4-H Hip Hop Camp is a program of WVSU Extension Service’s 4-H Youth Development Arts and Leadership Academy and has been held annually since 2004, formerly under the Hip Hop Boot Camp title.

– Crystal Good

Buy the book at http://www.amazon.com/Haiku-Mind-Poems-C…

Today, I’m thinking about Hiroshima in a reading from “Haiku Mind” by Patricia Donegan.

Check it out on my audioboo page:
 http://audioboo.fm/boos/152656-on-july-1…

Tamara Woods and Ted Webb are offering a workshop called “Poet’s Guide to Metaphor and Marketing” on Saturday, August 7, 2010, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Monongalia Arts Center (MAC).

Tamara Woods

Ted Webb

They say they’ll show you how to spiff up your poetry and then they’ll show you how to sell it.

The postmark deadline for early-bird registration is Friday, July 9. Those, who register early receive a $10 discount on fees. The final mail-in registration date is Friday, July 30. To get a registration form, contact: Ted Webb on Facebook and/or at:  tedwebb at care2.com or call: 304-285-8784.

Seats will fill up fast, and the workshop is limited to the first 40 people registered.

“While being involved in the poetry scene in town, we’ve had people ask us about poetry workshops and if there is one available,” said Woods. “The idea is for the workshop to be compact, but filled with useful knowledge to help the poets to take their work to the next level.”

The MAC is located at 107 High Street beside Hotel Morgan.

Following the workshop, the Second Annual Brew Ha-Ha will be held in downtown Morgantown. This one-of-a-kind event brings together comedians, food and beer.

About the authors:

Ted Webb is a co-founding member of Morgantown Poets, a monthly event serving the literary arts community in north-central West Virginia. His poem, “Star Bus” was recently selected for Mountain Line “Poetry on the Move” program. Webb’s writing has been published in Appalachian Sand & Gravel, West Virginia Words, Outstretch, Appalachian Crier and Trillium, among other places.

Tamara Woods is also a co-founding member of Morgantown Poets. She has hosted Tha.Speakeasy, a poetry slam open to the community since 2005. She has written for a number of West Virginia newspapers including the Dominion Post and The Wheeling News-Register. She blogs for Indyposted.com.