The Michigan Daily
Facial
anatomy
engulfed
in fire
4Y KEVIN FENCIL
E HEN I first heard that I was to
do a piece on the Flaming Lips, the
only word to describe my feelings
was "fear." I didn't sleep that night
- my mother had warned me about
stuff like this. "Always eat your
vegetables, wear clean underwear ev-
ery day," she said, "and above all,
beware the Flaming Lips." What did
I know about capitalization? I
thought that "flaming lips" was a
simple metaphor for mean girls
who, at the time, I was all too eager
to avoid.
After listening to the Oklahoma
City band's latest album Telepathic
Surgery and after extensive mental
preparation for their show at the
Blind Pig, I have come to the real-
ization that I have nothing to fear. I
am ready.
It seems that the Flaming Lips
have come to a few realizations of
their own recently. As their bio so
*aptly puts it, "Unlike any other,
they have an understanding. A grasp.
They know time." Perhaps, perhaps
C S
** ATTENTION: Supreme Course Tran-
scripts, the LS&A lecture notetaking service,
,has the following notes avail. at Alpha-
pgraphics Printshops at 715 N. Univ.: Anthro
;O, Anthro 161 Anthro 368 Astro 101/111,
Astro 102/112, ass Civ 11 Comm 103,
rComm 320, Econ 201, Econ 262, Econ 395,
1Econ 401, Geog 101 Geol 100, Geol 101,
:Geol 107, Geol1 15f eoI 222, Mist 160, list
:200, list 332 Ilist 366, Physics 125, Physics
m140, Physics tL40, Poli. sct. 395, Physiology
1101, Psych 10 sych 171, Psych 331, Psych
,B 8. Call 663-6816 for more info.
OOK LIKE A MILLION! Feel like a mil-
ion! Get all your cosmetics at the Village,
W Apothecary, 1112 S. University.
Do you know Michelle Futterman?
If so,
Wish her a Happy 21rst Birthday
TODAY
IPE ACE C i

ARTS
Tuesday, October 3, 1989

Page 7


Do away with berets
Poetry Slam is for the unpretentious



Whoa, man. These amorphous beings known as the Flaming
to cap a pleasant evening of grunge at the Blind Pig tonight.

BY KRISTIN PALM
SMOKE encircles the dimly lit
room as people in black clothing
sitting at tiny, round tables sip
coffee and ponder the meaning of
life. Their gazes are fixed on the
small stage in the corner where a
woman feelingly utters the words
"I am a tree," visually illustrat-
ing her words with flowing body
motions as a saxophone moans
quietly in the background. Wow,
man, these poetry readings are all
the same.
Actually, says Vince Kueter,
organizer rof the Ann Arbor
Poetry Slam, they're not. The
monthly slams do emphasize al-
ternative writing, however.
"It is an alternative to what
the University does. We bring in
people doing experimental things
the University would not get in-
volved in," Kueter said of the in-
stitution which stemmed from a
similar program in Chicago.
Like its predecessors, tonight's
15th Poetry Slam will begin with
an open mike, move on to fea-
tured readers and culminate with
the actual slam where audience
members are chosen to judge all
who, by reading their works,
choose to vie for the $10 prize.
The featured readers are Judith
Roche from Seattle and Ken
Mikolowski, a poetry writing lec-
turer in the Residential College.
Kueter said Mikolowski was
asked to read tonight because he
is popular with many poets and
poetry readers.
"He has been sort of an inspi-
ration to a lot of people," Kueter
said. "He has disciples running all
over the place."
Mikolowski is also well
known for his work with the 20-
year-old Alternative Press which
publishes the writings of such
highly regarded poets as Allen
Ginsberg and Anne Waldman in

the form of postcards, bookmarks
and the like.
Mikolowski has published
two volumes of poetry, Thank
You, Call Again and little myster-
ies. He is currently working on
his third book, BIG ENIGMAS.
Mikolowski said he will read
some of his big enigmas, which
are actually quite short, at the
slam but will not concentrate on
one particular theme or type of
poem.
PO CRY LIE ANDS
Mikolowski
...brings U's "legitimacy" to
Poetry Slam.
"There are a variety of things I
am trying to deal with," he said.
"My poems tend to be politically
engaged but I'm impressed usu-
ally with the absurdity around me
so the poems are usually funny."
"I'll read some big enigmas
which are very short and funny,"
he continued, adding, "God, I
hope they are funny. We'll find
out. I guess people should bring
along things to throw in case
they're not."
Mikolowski said his topics
include chaos, Central America
and an area closer to home which
has influenced his work.
"Detroit leaves its mark on
you," he said.

Mikolowski said his approach
to writing variesas much as his
subject matter.
"I have no formula at all. Not
only don't I have a formula but
there is nothing that seems stan-
dard in my approach to writing."
However, he said, there is one
practice which remains central in
his no-formula approach.
"The only formula is, finally,
discipline," he said. "No one
loves that word. It's a matter of
even when you can't write and
you feel, quote, 'uninspired,' your
sit down and you put a word on a,
piece of paper, you follow it with
another word, no matter what that'
word might be. You can provoke
inspiration," he said.
This will be Mikolowski's
first Poetry Slam. Roche, on the
other hand, has participated in a
similar format in Seattle, said
Kueter, at a place called Squid
Row which houses the Red Sky
Poetry Theater.
The featured readers do not par-
ticipate in the slam portion of the
show, which, Kueter said, is a
game-show parody. However, he
added, the featured readers are
probably the only exclusions.
"Anyone can come in and do
this. That's the idea," he said.
Although he is a poet him-
self, Kueter said he cannot fully
explain the Poetry Slam experi-
ence.
"Most of what goes on you
really have to get the feeling of
the mood and character," he said.
That's the scene, man. Can
you dig it?
The ANN ARBOR POETRY
SLAM takes place on the first
Tuesday of every month.
Tonight's festivities begin at 8
p.m. above the Old Heidelberg,
215 N. Main Street. Admission is
$3. Black berets and goatees are
optional.

li,

Lips promise

not - it is not easy to judge from
their album whether this is true.
What can be judged from the al-
bum, though, is that they do not
completely fit into the stereotype
that their name "Flaming Lips" con-

veys. On this album, there is, be-
lieve it er not, variety. They do have
the capauility of creating sensible
noise - "flaming" noise when they
want to. There are some very inven-
See LIPS, page 8

;JFED ADS

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AMY (#2) MILLER happy 21st Birthday!
Hopeyou get alot of quarters! Love Stef &
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Wish Her A happy 21st Birthday
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WANT TO learn word processing? At the
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we'll show you how easy it is to master .&
Word. Drop by the Arc Mon. 2-4, Tue.Fri. &
Sun. 2-5.

t.

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