Tonight's edition of Talking Earth has a theme, based on host Patrick Bocarde's unfinished poem "The Places That Died, Died." When he first wrote the piece and performed it, little did he know that his own workplace, the Everyday Music on Sandy Blvd, would join Cameron's Books and the Greek Cusina as places he would mourn. Joining him in this show with poetry and conversation are his ex-co-workers Arya Imig and Stephen Meads, as well as the former owners of '90s poetry restaurant Cafe Lena, Leanne Grabel and Steve Sander.
Leanne Grabel is a writer, illustrator, performer and retired special education teacher. In love with mixing genres, Grabel has written and produced numerous spoken-word mult-media shows, including "The Lighter Side of Chronic Depression"; "Anger: The Musical"; and "The Little Poet." Her books include Lonesome & Very Quarrelsome Heroes, Flirtations, Gold Shoes, Badgirls and Brontosaurus. Grabel and her husband Steve Sander are the founders of Cafe Lena, Portland's legendary poetry hub of the 90s.
Steve Sander served as the Poetry Editor for Spectrum Magazine of the Arts while making his living in a natural foods bakery, a men's clothing store, as a job counselor with the City of Portland, and as a small business owner. Sander is a poet, songwriter, guitar player and ex-New Yorker who settled in Oregon in 1971. On the closing of Cafe Lena, he said, "The past ten years have been the best twenty of our lives!"
Arya Imig has booked shows at Backspace and Valentines, and ran the music label Sound Judgement (the title comes from his KPSU radio show from 2005-2009). Arya recently read his poetry at the Surprise Surprise reading series at Kelly's Olympian. He worked with Patrick Bocarde at the Everyday Music on Sandy Blvd.
Stephen Meads (he/him), originally a Bay-based poet, now living and performing in Portland, has been performing spoken word for over seventeen years. He has featured at slams all across the country – from Portland, Maine to Honolulu, Hawaii. Stephen stormed IWPS in 2013, 2014, 2017, and has competed in NPS five times with various teams. He has been featured on Drunk in a Midnight Choir, SlamFind, Write About Now, and Button Poetry, and he occasionally contributes to the web-site Nailed. Stephen also worked with Patrick at the Everyday Music on Sandy Blvd.
- KBOO