Samar Albuhassan joined your humble narrator for a SPLAB-on-the-Road workshop at the Newcastle Library in Renton, WA, Saturday April 4, 2015. While the group gathered was small, perhaps due to the holiday weekend, they were inspired and witnessed a poetry bout demonstration, with Samar and me alternating reading of other people’s poems and judged by a panel of three. Poems by Brenda Hillman, Claudia Rankine, Allen Ginsberg and Victor Hernandez Cruz vied for votes and a lively workshop featuring prompts by both Samar and YHN gave the gathered a good start to National Poetry Month.

My gratitude goes to Donna Day of the Newcastle Library and the KCLS, which has booked perhaps 70 different SPLAB-on-the-Road workshops over the years and has not, as of yet, deleted us from their database.

Samar Albulhassan and Paul Nelson (Your Humble Narrartor) at the Newcastle Library April 4, 2015