DANK PHART The Pirate Poet A.K.A Matty Bovard is a community organizer and cultural instigator based in Boulder, CO.  Growing up in Fairfield, IA, a small rural farm town that is also the epicenter of Transcendental Meditation in the U.S., he was exposed to many different world views. This cosmopolitan experience reflects deeply in his work and he walks his path as an artist to help heal the broken wounds among nations so we can all rise together as the ancient rainbow tribe of all colors, creeds and orientations. He studied theater and English at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA.  In 2009 he graduated with a B.A. in theater and a minor in English. In 2011 he moved to Boulder, CO where he’s been ever since organizing local community art events and working the regional music festivals while developing a sustainable poetry brand.

This is Mitch writing now. Just to be clear and to cover my ass: don't take financial advice from podcasts. DYOR, YMMV, etc.

Sam Amabile joins the show to discuss his journey into music, musical styles and poetry, what a night at the Mercury Cafe looks like from behind a piano, boogie woogie music, jazz, the blues, music as a profession, and much more. Sam plays piano at the Mercury Cafe on Friday nights, and is open for booking. Contact Sam via IG @samamabile

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Questions? Comments? Want to be featured? Email [email protected]

Sojo (So-Joe) is a multimedia artist who is passionate about investing herself into many forms of creation. Her favorites art forms include: poetry, collage, music, fashion, up-cycling found materials, tie-dye, photography, videography, as well as combining poetry and collage together. She finds peace in reading small-artist books at local coffee shops and stumbling into random hidden gems when she’s not talking to her cat and eating every color of the rainbow in fruits. Additionally, she is currently in her senior year at CU Denver studying philosophy, creative writing, fine art, and music. Sojo is involved in a wide variety of circles, so you can catch her around the city most days of the week at open mics, art events and exhibitions, anything funky or jazzy, the thrift store, or frolicking around town in style. She is always seeking to collaborate with other like-minded artists, so if you’re interested, you can contact her on Instagram:

⁠@imaginingbutterflies⁠ (main account)

⁠@groovygalactic⁠ (art account)

Mark DuCharme’s sixth full-length book of poetry, Here, Which Is Also a Place, was published in 2022 by Unlikely Books.  That same year, his chapbook Scorpion Letters was released by Ethel.  Later this year, C22 Open Editions will publish his collection Thousands Blink Outside. His poetry has appeared widely in such venues as BlazeVOX, Blazing Stadium, Caliban Online, Colorado Review, Eratio, First Intensity, Indefinite Space, New American Writing, Noon, Otoliths, Shiny, Spinozablue, Talisman, Unlikely Stories, Word/ for Word, The Writing Disorder, and Poetics for the More-Than-Human World: An Anthology of Poetry and Commentary.  A recipient of the Neodata Endowment in Literature and the Gertrude Stein Award in Innovative American Poetry, he lives in Boulder, Colorado, USA.

Raised in Minneapolis, a fourth generation on Positively 4th St., Deborah lived many years in Chicago and is home in Colorado. Her poems are found in journals based in the US, Canada, and Europe. A graduate of Northwestern University, Deborah has worked, lead, and written widely on behalf of non-profit organizations in the US and Mexico. More information is available on her website: https://deborahkaykelly.com

In this episode:

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Questions? Comments? Want to be featured? Email [email protected]

Aimee Herman is a gay writer and educator. They are the author of the novel, "Everything Grows" (Three Rooms Press) and two full length books of poems, "meant to wake up feeling" (great weather for MEDIA) and "to go without blinking" (BlazeVOX books), in addition to being widely published in journals and anthologies including BOMB, cream city review, and Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics (Nightboat Books). Aimee currently hosts three literary series in Boulder: Queer Art Organics Open Mic; And Now: Featuring…Variety Show; and Friendship Goodybag Poetry Open Mic. They teach creative writing workshops in addition to collaborating with Rocky Mountain Equality on their queer creative programming.  Aimee is the founding member of the poetry band, Hydrogen Junkbox. They are turned on by public libraries, garage sales and receiving mail. Find them at aimeeherman.com.

Direct link to Aimee's books.

Direct link to Aimee's events.

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Questions? Comments? Want to be featured? Email [email protected]

Yasmin appears on the show shortly before moving away from Denver to share the poem and discuss family, her path into poetry, smoking, Catholicism, finding community, and more. We also get into poetic differences between English and Spanish. Yasmin will have moved away by the time this episode goes live, but she can be found on IG @yasmin__c

You're missed, Yasmin (:

Setlist:

1. A Monstera Grows (0:23)

2. Communion (2:36)

3. Smoke Break (3:44)

4. I Want Your Sundays (5:41)

5. Holidays (6:06)

6. En Los Tanques (7:23)

7. To My Father (8:48)

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Questions? Comments? Want to be featured? Email [email protected]

Lauren "Robbie" Velasquez Robinson is a non-binary lesbian mixed Chicano poet currently pursuing their MFA at Regis University. They are Denver poet and educator for the past 5 years. Their poetry is a testament to resilience and identity, weaving a vibrant tapestry of personal narratives and universal themes. Robbie is not only a poet but also an activist, currently spearheading fundraising efforts for a scholarship honoring two Chicano queer Denver locals. Their dedication to social justice and community empowerment shines through in both their art and activism. Currently working on their debut poetry collection: Listening Party: House Music and Other Conversations,  follow their journey on IG @officially_robbie.

Cristina A. Bejan is a local and international author and artist. Born in Colorado at the height of the Cold War, she moved back just before the pandemic and has been teaching locally and launching books internationally ever since. To learn more about Cristina's creative work please visit her IG: @cristinaabejan_ladygodiva and website: cristinaabejan.com ~ if you are an artist interested in amplification please follow @bucharestinsidethebeltway (IG) and BiB will follow you right back!