Sunday, February 7, 2016

Rancho Cucamonga Outsider Poetry

As one of the five holy cities of Outsider Poetry, Rancho Cucamonga takes the tradition of Outsider Poetry very seriously. The mayor of Rancho Cucamonga has declared the first Monday of every month Outsider Poetry day citywide. 

Poet laureate of Rancho Cucamonga, James Laurenson, presides over an open mic poetry slam on Friday nights at the Legion Hall where all residents of The Kook, as it is affectionately known to the locals, are encouraged to participate.


James Laurenson, the Poet Laureate of Rancho Cucamonga

Rancho Cucamonga was actually the first of the five sacred cities of Outsider Poetry to adopt a city charter. In 1878 the residents released an anthology entitled Koo Koo Cucamonga, containing poetry written by every resident of the city except the local baker, Savil Studly, who abstained due to aesthetic differences with the editor, Festus Livermore. The anthology went through eight editions, and is now considered a classic of American literature. 


Other notable Outsider Poets have been residents of Rancho Cucamonga, including Loyd Bridges of the television program Ocean Hunt, and inventor of the paper clip Charles Bekinger. 

The Outsider Poetry League of Rancho Cucamonga is currently looking for someone to create an archival Wiki page for the history of the city. 

Update: We have just learned that Mexican slam poet champion Chico Isthman has agreed to join the Rancho Cucamonga Kookamungas slam team for the 2016 season. 



We have just learned our first slam will be against Kokomo on May 7th.

Also, as a result of our recruitment drive held at Rancho Cucamonga Dry Cleaners we are pleased to announce the addition of new members Squints Whizner and Becky Bach to the Rancho Cucamonga Kookamungas. Both have mad written word and performance skills that will add immeasurably to the team. 

We'll be there in Rockford May 11th for the debut bout of the Outsider Poetry League of America! Stay tuned because we'll be having some very exciting news soon about new members and a corporate sponsorship. 






No comments:

Post a Comment