July 1, 1998

As I write this, excitement fills up inside me as I go on my third year as the Backroom Words host. Three years?!! Three fuckin' years?!! Damn, a black man sure do have patience, don't he?

What can I say? The ride was thrilling. Man, I still can't believe it's going on three years. Hell, I hadn't even had a decent romantic relationship that lasted three months!

Am I going to celebrate? Hell yes! There will definitely be a celebration of some kind. Everyone will be invited, of course. That has always been the vibe of the Backroom Words, all walks of life welcomed.

I ask myself what else I can say about the night. Well, I can say this: Because more stories have been written about it more than any other poetic night, the Backroom Words rules the Orlando poetry scene. There now I've said it. I know it sounds egotistical to some. What can I say? It's true.

In 1997, the Orlando Weekly had a reader's poll that voted the Backroom Words as the best place to hear poetry. The people have spoken. There's no doubt about it. The Backroom Words rules the local poetry scene.

Why do I still do it, you ask? Well, it's definitely not for the attention. Attention is one of many things that I do not like to attract too much of.

I don't do it for the women. Has anyone ever tried getting romantic with a downtown person? Please, listen to me. If one of those always-hanging-downtown people offer you romance, just say no. I'm talking about the ones that hang out there night after night. Stay away from these types. These types are usually blood sucking leeches that drains the life of anything or anyone that is considered hip.

Why do I still do it, you ask, again? I do it for the poets. Where else in this conservative-infested city can a person read what he or she wants to read in front of an attentive audience without having people screw with them about what they just read? Nowhere, my friends, nowhere.

Most poetry readings are usually filled with anal-retentive types that just want to spout out beautifully worded, meaningless crap. They don't want to be challenged. They don't want to have their feeling aroused. They want to be bullshitted. This is why I keep doing it - to give the poets an unrestricted atmosphere that welcomes everybody.

Oh, there have been the unnecessary aggravations: jealous folks, irritating poets, hecklers in the audience, irritating poets, people not wanting to pay the two dollar cover, irritating poets, nights being taken away because of band schedules, irritating poets but with the encouragement of friends, I keep with it. There has been numerous times where I almost quit.

What are the plans for year number four, you ask? One thing I definitely hope to accomplish is a project Richard Miller and I have been working on. We're working on a documentary about the Backroom Words.

Another thing would be is to finally gain nationwide attention to Orlando's poetry scene. I don't know how this will be accomplished but when there's a will, there's a way.

It's not as if I want Orlando to be the best city to hear poetry. I want it to be one of the best. I feel if I was to focus on trying to be the best, I would lose focus on what's best for the poets. I would settle for being number ten on the top ten chart. I don't particularly care about being number one. Although, it would be nice to be number one. I just want it to be known that, despite the hillbillies and conservatives we got here, Orlando is a place that has a scene that is very serious about poetry.

One thing the Backroom Words will definitely not be doing is slam contests. Don't like them. Won't do them. I find the best way to win a slam is to come up gimmick or over-act a poem. When, this happens, sometimes, the best poet doesn't always win. Regardless of how bad the poem really is, the best performer does. Because of this, I find slams to be a disservice to poetry and this is why the Backroom Words won't be doing them.

Three years! Three fuckin' years! Well, Orlando, you hadn't gotten rid of me yet.

Come celebrate the 3 year anniversary of the Backroom Words at the Go Lounge on Tuesday, July 7th. The party starts early, so be sure to get there by 8:30.

Patrick Scott Barnes is a local playwright and poet who has run the Backroom Words readings for three years. Other Articles I've Written