Gary Mex Glazner (born 1957), is a poet and author. He was the Managing Director of the
Bowery Poetry Club
The Bowery Poetry Club is a New York City poetry performance space founded by Bob Holman in 2002.Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe. (2008). ''Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam.'' Chapter 26: What the ...
in New York City, 2007 to 2010.
In 1990, Glazner working as a florist in San Francisco.
[Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe. (2008). ''Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam.'' ]Soft Skull Press
Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company distributed by Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Avalon Publishing Group's Shoemaker & Hoard and the independent S ...
. "Chapter Six: Playing Nice; The First National Poetry Slam" Page 45. . As poet and organizer in that city's ever-evolving spoken word community, he was instrumental in organizing the first ever
National Poetry Slam The National Poetry Slam (NPS) is a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and, occasionally, Europe and Australia, participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurs in early August every year an ...
, which featured poets from San Francisco, Chicago and New York City. In the book, ''Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam'', author
Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz ( ; born November 26, 1978) is an American nonfiction writer and poet.
Life
A native of Philadelphia, Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz graduated from Central High School of Philadelphia in 1996 and received a B.F.A. in Dramati ...
wrote:
To promote the first
National Poetry Slam The National Poetry Slam (NPS) is a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and, occasionally, Europe and Australia, participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurs in early August every year an ...
, Glazner used such "unpredictable" ideas as hiring a circus barker outside of the venues in which the slams were happening "like at the freak show at Coney Island",
[Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe. (2008). ''Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam.'' ]Soft Skull Press
Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company distributed by Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Avalon Publishing Group's Shoemaker & Hoard and the independent S ...
. "Chapter Six: Playing Nice; The First National Poetry Slam" Pages 47-48. . selling hot dogs from a vendor during the slam, and the use of a "PoJ Kit," which Glazner described as a mobile DJ unit wherein poets can perform and broadcast their poems onto the street while being driven around in Glazner's car.
Glazner's relationship continued with the
Poetry Slam
A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery. ...
movement. In 1993, he helped organize the fourth
National Poetry Slam The National Poetry Slam (NPS) is a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and, occasionally, Europe and Australia, participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurs in early August every year an ...
held in San Francisco again. In 2000, he organized the "Slam America" bus tour, which involved "38 live poetry shows in 32 cities over 30 days with more than 100 poets."
[American Bus Tour description from Poetry Slam, Inc website](_blank)
/ref> The poets in tour would perform and tour together in various "legs" as the tour bus as they traveled to the 2000 National Poetry Slam The National Poetry Slam (NPS) is a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and, occasionally, Europe and Australia, participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurs in early August every year an ...
held in Providence, RI. The tour resulted in the documentary, "Busload of Poets."
Glazner also edited the anthology, "Poetry Slam: The Competitive Art of Spoken Word" which was published by Manic D Press
Manic D Press is an American literary press based in San Francisco, California publishing fiction (novels and short stories), poetry, cultural studies, art, narrative-oriented comix, children's books, and alternative travel trade paperbacks. It wa ...
in 2000. The book "documents 10 years of poetry slams, with 100 poems from national slam champions and a dozen essays on how to run a slam, winning strategies, tips for memorizing poems, and more."[''Poetry Slam'' Amazon.com page](_blank)
/ref>
In addition to his work in the Poetry Slam community, Glazner has authored four books: 2002's ''Ears on Fire: Snapshot Essays in a World of Poets'' (La Alameda Press), 2005's ''How to Make a Living as a Poet'' (Soft Skull Press
Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company distributed by Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Avalon Publishing Group's Shoemaker & Hoard and the independent S ...
) 2006's ''How to Make a Life as a Poet'' (Soft Skull Press
Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company distributed by Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Avalon Publishing Group's Shoemaker & Hoard and the independent S ...
) and 2014's ''Dementia Arts: Celebrating Creativity in Eldercare,'' (Health Professions Press).
Glazner was poet-in-residence at Desert Academy in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2005-2006. His Precision Poetry Drill Team was featured on National Public Radio's All Things Considered
New Mexico School Lets Students Letter in Poetry
Glazner is the founder and Executive Director of th
"Alzheimer's Poetry Project"
In 2013 the Alzheimer's Poetry Project was the recipient of th
"2013, Rosalinde Gilbert Innovations in Alzheimer’s Disease Caregiving Legacy Award."
In 2012, the Alzheimer's Poetry Project was the recipient of the MetLife Foundation Creativity and Aging in America Leadership Award in the category of Community Engagement. The award was administered by the National Center for Creative Aging. In 2018, Glazner was the co-recipient of the International Leadership in Arts and Health Award, administered by th
"Australian Centre for Arts and Health."
In 2020, in response to COVID-19, Glazner began to use robots to deliver poetry programs and creativity training to help reduce social isolation of elders in nursing homes
"Times Villager Robot helps senior-living residents communicate with families."
Glazner currently lives in Chicago, Illinois.
Works
* Glazner, Gary. ''Poetry Slam: The Competitive Art of Performance Poetry'', San Francisco; Manic D Press
Manic D Press is an American literary press based in San Francisco, California publishing fiction (novels and short stories), poetry, cultural studies, art, narrative-oriented comix, children's books, and alternative travel trade paperbacks. It wa ...
, 2000.
* Glazner, Gary. ''Ears on Fire: Snapshot Essays in a World of Poets'', New Mexico; La Alameda Press, 2003.
* Glazner, Gary. ''Sparking Memories: The Alzheimer's Poetry Project Anthology'', Santa Fe, Poem Factory, 2005.
* Glazner, Gary. ''How to Make a Living as a Poet'', New York; SoftSkull Press, 2005
* Glazner, Gary. ''How to Make a Life as a Poet'', New York; SoftSkull Press, 2007.
* Glazner, Gary. ''Nútreme Hoy (Nurture me Now) The Alzheimer's Poetry Project Spanish Anthology'', Santa Fe, Poem Factory, 2010.
* Glazner, Gary. ''Dementia Arts: Celebrating Creativity in Eldercare'', Baltimore, Health Professios Press, 2014.
Anthologies
* ''Revival: Spoken Work from Lollapalooza 94,'' edited by Juliette Torrez et al., San Francisco, Manic D Press
Manic D Press is an American literary press based in San Francisco, California publishing fiction (novels and short stories), poetry, cultural studies, art, narrative-oriented comix, children's books, and alternative travel trade paperbacks. It wa ...
, 1995
* ''Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Poetry,'' Nikki Moustaki, New York, Alpha (Penguin Group), 2001
* ''An Eye For An Eye Makes The Whole World Blind: Poets on 9/11'' edited by Michael Parenti, Allen Cohen, and Clive Matson
Clive Matson (born March 13, 1941) is an American direct expression lyric poet and creative writing teacher.
Biography
Early life
Clive Matson was born in Los Angeles, California in 1941, the middle child of five. His father, Randolph Matson, ...
, Oakland, Regent Press 2002
* ''Birth of the Chess Queen: A History,'' Marilyn Yalom
Marilyn Yalom (March 10, 1932 – November 20, 2019) was a feminist author and historian. She was a senior scholar at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University, and a professor of French. She served as the institute's dire ...
, New York, HarperCollins, 2004
* ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Slam Poetry'' edited by Marc Smith and Joe Kraynak, New York, Alpha (Penguin Group), 2004
* ''Bowery Bartenders Big Book of Poems'' edited by Bob Holman, New York; Bowery Books, 2005
* ''The Spoken Word Revolution Redux'' edited by Mark Eleveld, Naperville, Sourcebooks MediaFusion, 2007
* ''The Customer Is Always Wrong: The Retail Chronicles'' edited by Jeff Martin, New York; Soft Skull Press, 2008
* ''JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association,'' peer-reviewed medical journal, 2018; 320(22):2294-2295.
See also
* List of performance poets
* Poetry slam
A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery. ...
References
External links
WJFW News Poet arrives in Rhinelander to help boost morale with poetry.
WBay News, Poetry Robot helps senior-living residents communicate with families
Fox 11 News, Poetry Robot helps elementary students virtually sing holiday songs perform poems at Kaukauna nursing home
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Life Matters on the Celebrate Creative Ageing Sydney Conference
Australian Broadcast Company Weekend, Arts on the Alzheimer's Poetry Project
PBS NewHour special on APP, Poetry Project Helps Dementia Patients Live in the Moment
CBS- San Francisco on the Alzheimer's Poetry Project
Rob Casper, Poetry and Literature Center, Library of Congress on the Alzheimer's Poetry Project
L Magazine interview with Glazner on the Alzheimer's Poetry Project
Alzheimer's Poetry Project
NPR All Things Considered, New Mexico School Lets Students Letter in Poetry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glazner, Gary Mex
1957 births
Living people
21st-century American poets
20th-century American poets