Today’s poem is Wonder Wheel by Wo Chan. The Slowdown is your daily poetry ritual.

In this episode, Major writes… “Late spring, I attended a brilliant performance of Pretend It’s a Boat Poetry Tour, featuring comedian/poet Derrick C. Brown and actress/poet Amber Tamblyn at Coop Gallery. They stood behind a makeshift boat fashioned from a card table turned on its side and invited everyone to imagine they were in it. We were no longer in a gallery but on the seas, being carried along by their stand-up comedic performance and poetry. The evening reminded me of readings of yore, the kind of ease and whimsy that happens between artists and longtime compatriots — no stiff explications of theory smothering a poem, no solemn acts of confession, just a shared vulnerability and intimacy, an overflowing love between friends.”

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