In the mid 90's, our monthly First Tuesday Poetry readings were hugely popular, with 30 to 50 people attending the first Tuesday of each month. Pairs of poets read from chapbooks, bestsellers and unfinished journals. Often well known local poets read with "unknown" poets. It made for good, unpredictable chemistry. We had great sharing and lively Q and A's following each reading. Poets read each other's work, took chances with works-in-progress. Only once in four years did a local reader back out, when the season's schedule was announced.

Michael Chitwood, Georgann Eubanks and the North Carolina Writers Network helped coordinate the events. One summer we had a grant for sign language readers. Those were kinetic evenings, as the signers stood side by side with the poets, making each phrase come alive. Talk about poetry in motion.

It was the hey-day of spoken word and I wanted to share what looked like an unforgettable evening of rhyming with my oldest daughter, then eight. She wore a favorite party dress, had a great seat for a poet who brought along a back-up drummer and guitarist. All very hip, and fresh. And loud and X-rated. I loved it. The crowd loved it, immediate and contemporary. These words had power!

My daughter was equally engaged. I wondered if she thought that all poetry readings were as vibrant as this one. I asked her what she thought.

"Well," she said, thinking hard. "I really liked it. It was really exciting, Dad. But do you think Mom would have minded some of those words."

John Valentine