http://subs.zinester.com/93490 Announcement list for the Boston-area spoken word series GirlsNQueers First, which is produced by Amazon Slam founder Ren Jender. en http://archives.zinester.com/93490/121865.html?rss=1 This message is for everyone who ever looked fondly back on the golden days of
The Amazon Slam. If you consider The Amazon Slam a dark and sordid part of your
past that you can discuss only with your therapist, this message isn t for you.
This Friday, Feb. 16, I m hosting a sort of reincarnation of The Amazon Slam
called the GirlsNQueers Talent-Is-Beauty Contest. Unlike The Amazon Slam
1) The performances can incorporate music and
2) Performers can be queers who *are not* girls.

The show includes J*me and his band The Radio Sweetheart as the feature (not
competitors!). Unadorned spoken-word artists are still welcome on our stage as
are girl-performers of all types whether they are queer or not (but we have a
special place in our hearts for the queer ones).
The rules are somewhat, but not completely slam-like.
1) Performers must perform original work
2) Each slot is five minutes (not three minutes) max.
... ]]> 121865 Tue, 13 Feb 2007 14:55:34 MSK http://archives.zinester.com/93490/121817.html?rss=1 This message is for everyone who ever looked fondly back on the golden days of
The Amazon Slam. If you consider The Amazon Slam a dark and sordid part of your
past that you can discuss only with your therapist, this message isn t for you.
This Friday, Feb. 16, I m hosting a sort of reincarnation of The Amazon Slam
called the GirlsNQueers Talent-Is-Beauty Contest. Unlike The Amazon Slam
1) The performances can incorporate music and
2) Performers can be queers who *are not* girls.

The show includes J*me and his band The Radio Sweetheart as the feature (not
competitors!). Unadorned spoken-word artists are still welcome on our stage as
are girl-performers of all types whether they are queer or not (but we have a
special place in our hearts for the queer ones).
The rules are somewhat, but not completely slam-like.
1) Performers must perform original work
2) Each slot is five minutes (not three minutes) max.
... ]]> 121817 Tue, 13 Feb 2007 01:51:32 MSK http://archives.zinester.com/93490/113859.html?rss=1 Hey Everyone,
Come on out for a queer old time the Sunday after Thanksgiving. After spending
the holiday with your relatives you'll need it. Details below.

Ren
***
Sunday, November 26
Thankgiving Weekend: Flee Your Family!
Ren Jender (host of GirlsNQueers First and The Amazon Slam) is the feature at
The Poetry Jam
With The Jeff Robinson Trio
The Lizard Lounge
1667 Mass. Ave.
(Near Harvard Square)
Cambridge, MA.
... ]]> 113859 Tue, 21 Nov 2006 07:46:10 MSK http://archives.zinester.com/93490/110013.html?rss=1 Hello Everyone,


Please join us for the next GirlsNQueers First this Tuesday, Oct. 17. We have a
great line-up of J*me, Toni Amato, Kit Yan, Margaret Caruso and, um, me. If
there were, like fantasy baseball, fantasy spoken-word I would want these folks
on my team! Skybar is not terribly far from Porter Square on the Red Line and
management there has been very welcoming to us. Details are
below.


Ren Jender Presents
GirlsNQueers First
An Evening of Spoken Word and Music
Hosted by Ren Jender (host and founder of The Amazon Slam)
... ]]> 110013 Sun, 15 Oct 2006 02:40:07 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/93490/99547.html?rss=1 After spending the day screaming (or singing if it's like previous times) my
guts out to protest the amendment to ban queer marriage (at The Statehouse
starting at 8 AM tomorrow), I'll be performing Wednesday night at The Cantab.
Stop by if you like! Also don't forget about the great, new, live, queer music
event "Bent" on Thursdays, Downstairs at The Middle East. This Thursday will be
the last time to take advantage of the admission discount you can receive by
downloading and then presenting at the door the flyer at http://users.rcn.com/
ngender/bent.jpg.

Wednesday, July 12
Ren Jender, (founder and host of The Amazon Slam)
Will be the feature
(With Musical Accompaniment from Margaret Caruso) at
The Boston Poetry Slam
Cantab Lounge
... ]]> 99547 Wed, 12 Jul 2006 12:50:04 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/93490/98891.html?rss=1 BENT is GAY!!!! OPENING NIGHT
Ordinarily I promote only poetry-related events, but this event is special for
a number of reasons. First, the community could really use a regularly
scheduled night in Cambridge, especially one at a venue like the Middle East
(downstairs). We could also use some diversity in the music that's played at
regularly scheduled queer nights, which we really haven't had since ManRay
closed. Finally this event is artist-run. The woman who started it is in the
dyke garage band The Fun. Most cities that have a vibrant local scene of
musicians and other artists have at least one big, artist-run space to foster
that scene. Wouldn't it be nice if Boston had a space like that too? Below is
info about tonight's event as well as a URL for the flyer you can download for
$2 off admission. If you can't make tonight's event, please make an effort to
go to at least one of the Thursdays in July, since the Middle East will be
paying very close attention to how many folks attend.

... ]]> 98891 Thu, 06 Jul 2006 17:10:21 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/93490/98888.html?rss=1 BENT is GAY!!!! OPENING NIGHT
Ordinarily I promote only poetry-related events, but this event is special for
a number of reasons. First, the community could really use a regularly
scheduled night in Cambridge, especially one at a venue like the Middle East
(downstairs). We could also use some diversity in the music that's played at
regularly scheduled queer nights, which we really haven't had since ManRay
closed. Finally this event is artist-run. The woman who started it is in the
dyke garage band The Fun. Most cities that have a vibrant local scene of
musicians and other artists have at least one big, artist-run space to foster
that scene. Wouldn't it be nice if Boston had a space like that too? Below is
info about tonight's event as well as a URL for the flyer you can download for
$2 off admission. If you can't make tonight's event, please make an effort to
go to at least one of the Thursdays in July, since the Middle East will be
paying very close attention to how many folks attend.

... ]]> 98888 Thu, 06 Jul 2006 15:58:06 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/93490/94094.html?rss=1 Hey Everyone,

You might be wondering why you should spend the (predicted) sunny Sunday of
Memorial Day weekend in a dark basement club. Well any of you who have ever
been to The Amazon Slam, GenderCrash or any of the other queer spoken word
events in town, whether you know it or not were participating in the legacy of
Lisa King, a great performance poet and producer who died in February. I urge
all of you who are in town this weekend to try and catch at least part of her
Memorial on Sunday. Look at the list of performers: we have an amazing line-up
for an amazing poet. We will also have open-mike time, so anyone who signs up
(not just poets) can share their memory of or tribute to Lisa. There will be
food at the Cantab but also (as many of you know) plenty of other options in
Central Square if you want to take a break or plan a meal before or after you
attend. You don't want to miss this.

... ]]> 94094 Thu, 25 May 2006 17:19:16 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/93490/92936.html?rss=1 Feature at GotPoetry Live on Tuesday, May 16
I am featuring at GotPoetry Live in Providence this Tuesday. I will have some
kick-ass live musical accompaniment from guitarist Margaret Caruso (recently
named by The New York Times as someone to watch on the Boston music scene) and
will be debuting a lot of new material. There is also an open mike, so some of
you writers can share with other human beings the material you've been working
on during this recent spate of terrible weather.

Tuesday, May 16
Starting at 8:00 PM
GotPoetry Live
featuring Ren Jender
accompanied by Margaret Caruso
@ Reflections Cafe
8 Governor St, corner of Wickenden St
... ]]> 92936 Mon, 15 May 2006 04:48:19 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/93490/89706.html?rss=1 Please forward this notice on far and wide

LISA KING MEMORIAL:
An Open Call To Artists and Others


To honor the late Lisa King s (see previous entries) strong presence and
influence on the Boston and national spoken word scene a wide range of artists
from around the country will perform on Sunday, May 28, 2006 (the Sunday of
Memorial Day weekend) from 2-8PM at the Cantab in Cambridge, MA in tribute to
Lisa. This show will be free: the Cantab is donating their space to give Lisa a
proper send-off. The show will include artists who knew Lisa personally as well
as those inspired by her work or just following the path for which she laid the
groundwork. If you are an out queer who has ever performed at a poetry slam you
are a part of Lisa King s legacy. In the early nineties folks like Craig
... ]]> 89706 Mon, 17 Apr 2006 18:13:13 MSD http://archives.zinester.com/93490/83676.html?rss=1 I put up a simple page of MP3s I have of the late Lisa King winning an Amazon
Super Slam at http://users.rcn.com/ngender/lisaking The first four of these
tracks are actually on MySpace which you can go to directly at http://
www.myspace.com/lisakingaudio. You can either stream or download the MP3s at
MySpace. The first track will automatically start playing when the page loads,
which is a little eerie. I know that those of you who knew Lisa and her work
will be going to the site to listen, but I also urge those of you who have
never heard Lisa's work to go too. The poems are a decade (or more) old, but
they still hold up. The tracks also give you a good idea of what a vital, funny
presence Lisa was on stage even when she wasn't performing poetry. Please tell
your friends to go to the site and listen too. As I say in the accompanying
note on both sites, Lisa really wanted her name and her work known.

The original cassette off of which I took Lisa's poems was damaged so that part
of one of Lisa's poems and three from other performers aren't on it anymore. I
... ]]> 83676 Thu, 23 Feb 2006 23:06:39 MSK http://archives.zinester.com/93490/83023.html?rss=1 Beloved pioneering dyke slam poet Lisa King has died. She was 45. Lisa was a
winner in the very first Amazon Slam in 1996 and was one of our first Amazon
Super Slam repeat champs. She was also featured in the documentary SlamNation.
There is a lot more info (including on her Boston-area wake and relevant links)
at http://girlsnqueers.livejournal.com.










... ]]> 83023 Sat, 18 Feb 2006 00:15:02 MSK