On Saturday, April 28th, in celebration of National Poetry Month, the Washington State History Museum hosted Mouths & Mics: Poetry in the 253, a collaborative event featuring 7 talented Tacoma poets and an abundance of local artists and musicians. Hosted by Antonio Edwards, Poetry in the 253 took art form to new heights, as Tacoma poets enhanced their timeless pieces using visual imagery, theater, dance, lighting and music.

Featuring performances by: Kiah lee, Emilie Rommel Shimkus, Elliot Trotter, Josh Rizeberg, Ariel Zimmer, Korama Williams, Zeek Green, Antonio Edwards, Colin Cronin, Mark Monlux, Lee Sledd, Tammy Robacker and more, Poetry in the 253, kicked ass. Everyone brought something fantastic to the equation and all of collaborations were out of sight. Anyone who missed out on seeing this live really missed out.

The evening was capped with the passing of the poetic torch to the 2010 Urban Grace Soul of the City Tacoma Poet Laureate Tammy Robacker.

The Melon was on site to film and document this awesome occasion. Thanks to Antonio Edwards for his work making this happen and Adam the Alien for his photography work.

Here ye! Here ye! Announcing the biggest Poetry event to ever grace the City of Destiny. On Saturday, April 24th at 7pm, in celebration of National Poetry Month, 7 fantastic poets will take the stage at the Washington State History Museum to present poetry in a new light.

This event will take the art form to new heights as Tacoma poets enhance their timeless pieces using visual imagery, theater, dance, lighting and music. Mark your calendars for what is sure to be an historical event as the poetic torch is passed to the 2010 Urban Grace Soul of the City Tacoma Poet Laureate.

Included in this bunch are current Poet Laureate Antonio Edwards, and The Melon’s own Electric Elliot.

Tickets for the event are $7 a seat, but will be a slim price to pay for what is in store.

Pecha Kucha Night, devised and shared by Klein Dytham architecture, was conceived in 2003 as a place for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.

Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.

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Pecha Kucha. Say it to yourself. You’re probably saying it wrong. What is it? Pecha Kucha is a series of presentations consisting of 20 slides at 20 seconds per slide. The event, started in Tokyo, has branched into many cities world-wide and Tacoma is one of ‘em. This December 2nd, 2009, Tacoma will be hosting its 3rd-ever Pecha Kucha event at The Harmon Hub Gallery located at 203 Tacoma Avenue South.

The event begins at 5:30pm and features nine awesome presenters. Included in the list are Poet Laureate of Tacoma, Antonia Edwards, and The Melon’s very own, Electric Elliot (yeah, that’s me).

The theme for this session of Pecha Kucha is “Work”.

The Melon filmed the last session of Pecha Kucha in Tacoma. Our shoots can be found here.

Full list of presenters:

Robert Horner
David Curry
Antonio Edwards
Lawrence Houston

Jen Newton
Elliot Trotter
Madera Architectural Elements
Kate Burnham
Albert Desantis

Come out and support some awesome presenters! Find the facebook event here.

Today at 7pm, over 15 authors from the recently published collection of Tacoma poetry, In Tahoma’s Shadow, will be performing at King’s Books. Included in the bunch is Poet Laureate Antonio Edwards, former Poet Laureate Bill Kupinse, recently published Tammy Robacker and, The Melon’s own, Electric Elliot.

Join some of the greatest poets in Tacoma in one of Tacoma’s greatest venues.

Tacoma is Antonio Edwards city. After 25 years, he can’t think of living anywhere else and as Poet Laureate of Tacoma is determined to helping transform the City of Destiny into the bustling arts scene foreseen by prophecies.

The Melon sat down with Antonio to discuss his art, his message and his accomplishments as Poet Laureate. Listen for a presentation of his poem “Hilltopia” at the end of our interview.

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photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/maybelline/