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After the first day of our mini poetry tour, we picked up Jacob where the Megabus let him off in downtown Cincinnati, then drove toward Akron. The plan was to find some breakfast food at Bob Evans, post up, drive a bit more, hit a rest stop, rest, drive, maybe stop somewhere else, find a Whole Foods or something like that, hang, rest, get to Akron, meet up with Mike Krutel and Alexis Pope from Big Big Mess Reading Series and see what was going on.

We pretty much did that, except we didn’t hang very long at Bob Evans, we couldn’t sleep at the rest stop, we couldn’t rest anywhere, we found a Whole Foods (which, in itself, was a long process…our maps kept saying we were in the wrong place…iPhones), and when we got to Whole Foods, we couldn’t decide what to eat. Though, we all pretty much ended up with some bomb salads.

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After that, Sarah bought Candy in this time-machine of a chocolate store, and we posted up in Starbucks (next to Whole Foods). We graded, worked on our poems, and eventually, Sarah and Jacob went back to the car to pass out while I kept grading. After I graded all my papers, I went back to the car and tried to sleep but couldn’t. None of us could. After a while, we headed back toward Akron, and while on our way, Mike called us and gave us directions to his house.

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The reading was in the basement of Annabelle’s Bar, which is a local punk bar where the Big Big Mess Reading Series always has its readings. There was a decent crowd there with some real nice folks.

Mike wrote bios for Jacob and me, and Alexis wrote bios for the two Sarah’s. They were great! It felt like they really researched us before they wrote them.

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First up was Sarah Dravec from the NEO MFA program, then Jacob with his self-immolation poems (plus a love poem in which he stared at Sarah the whole time), then Sarah Tarkany with her poems about stairwells and the color blue, and then me—I read about ghosts and wolves and punk, among other things.

Mike & Alexis, if you’re reading this, know that we are so grateful for the reading and can’t thank you enough for making us feel welcome to your city and scene, writing the BEST BIOS ever, and taking us out to gourmet Grilled Cheese!!! and Lots of Beer. It was great to meet to you, and we hope to we see you around!

Mike, if you’re reading this, thank you for giving us a place to shower, letting us sleep in real beds for the night, and letting us hang out with you and your kitty-cats! You were the best host, and the favor will always be returned. We miss you (and your kitty-cats)!

To be continued . . .