Tonight's spoken word artists are part of a special "Spoken Word Roundtable".

Join local storytellers Lynne Duddy and Lawrence Howard of the Portland Story Theatre, as they share tales and adventures that captivate the heart & mind!

Local poet Emmett Wheatfall will also be in the studio to share poems that move the spirit, toes and fingers!

Portland Story Theater was launched in 2004 to bring the urban community together for a unique performance experience, telling tales that stimulate the mind and rouse the heart. We are a grass-roots operation, building awareness and appreciation for narrative. In late 2009, we established ourselves as a not-for-profit business. PST uses a unique collaborative approach to produce shows of people performing stories drawn from real-life experiences. We also offer workshops and one-on-one coaching for people who want to learn how to tell stories. Portland Story Theater has been recognized by The Oregonian for our groundbreaking work that "keeps audiences entranced from start to finish." <?xml:namespace prefix = o />

From the heroes of Celtic myth to the wise men and fools of Yiddish folklore, Lawrence Howard takes us on a journey through the rich landscape of story. One of the original co-founders of Portland Story Theater, he creates personal stories that really resonate with adult audiences. He is well-known for his Armchair Adventurer Series that includes "Shackleton's Antarctic Nightmare: The 1914 Voyage of The Endurance," "Mawson's Mettle, Alone On The Wide Shores of The World," and he's researching another piece, "Polar Opposites: Amundsen, Scott, and the Race For The Pole" to premiere next January at PST. Lawrence is originally from New York but has lived in the Pacific Northwest most of his adult life. He has a keen fascination for Antarctica, is a lover of limericks, and enjoys homemade ginger ale. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon.

Storyteller, monologist, narrative artist ... whatever you want to call it, Lynne Duddy tells stories. She's a self-described cross between Laurie Anderson and Linda Barry. Lynne co-founded PST in 2004 to give adults a chance to have a sense of connection through stories. She recently participated in the First National Story Slam in Chicago and is now on her way to LA to the National Storytelling Network Fringe Festival to share her new piece, "There's No Place Like Home."  Lynne is the producer of Singlehandedly, Portland's Solo Performance Festival and she's an ordained minister of the Church of Sexual Healing. She's native to Portland, is learning to play the mbira, and enjoys hanging out with her dog in the garden. She currently lives in Portland, Oregon.

emmett wheatfall is an aspiring poet. When it comes to poetry, the first letter's of his first and last name are in lowercase. He says “I lowercase the letter's “e” and "w" out of my respect for the art and craft of poetry, and in recognition of what my poetry mentor suggests I am at this time. I am an Apprentice Poet.”

His very first poetry reading of his own work was held on September 25, 2009 at the Manhattan Café in Portland, Oregon. The proprietor of the café Angela Snow was so enthralled by emmett’s poetry that she opened her cafe for an evening of poetry called “The Poetry of Emmett Wheatfall: Imagine with Me.” It was a wonderful evening, with a full house of friends and guests who were inspired by his poetic artistry.

Subsequent to that time emmett has written numerous poems as well as recorded two CD’s. The first CD is entitled “When I Was Young” and the second “I Speak.” His first CD release concert was called “The Toast of the Town” and performed to a standing room only audience on January 27, 2010 at Portland's premier jazz club Jimmy Mak’s. The musicians who recorded the album with him and performed at the CD release concert were Gordon Lee, pianist, Andre St. James, Upright bass, Ed Coleman III, drums, Noah Peterson, alto and soprano saxophone.

At this time emmett continues to read, write, study, and perform poetry.

*Independent, local musical artists Shabâvâ's song "Baran" will air tonight *SHABAVA, live in concert

Friday, July 2nd at
TaborSpace
5441 SE Belmont
Portland, OR 97215

7:30pm/$10 all ages
http://www.shabava.com

Please join us for a special evening, as we celebrate the conclusion of Reza Antoszweska's Ebru (also called marble painting) art exhibit.  Shabava will take you on a musical journey across the Silk Road, featuring the poetry of Rumi, Hafez and Khayyam, as well as excerpts of recent works by contemporary poets.

SHABAVA is a trio with members trained in Iran, Morocco and the USA.  They combine their backgrounds in classical Persian, Arabic and flamenco music to deliver fresh presentations of traditional pieces and create
original compositions with a unique voice.  Shabava features Bobak Salehi on Persian kamancheh and sehtar, Nat Hulskamp on Arabic oud and flamenco guitar, and Pouria Sayrafi on tombak and percussion.

For more info please visit http://www.shabava.com

Contact: Nat Hulskamp or Bobak Salehi, info@shabava.com

Local and/or Independent Musical Artists

Tonight's show was one of the most fun, creative and inspirational "Paula's Picks" yet! There was great music, but also AMAZING poets who were local, established and generous with their time and art.

Four poets joined us for a "Poets' Roundtable", which I hope to make a monthly series to showcase a slice of the local poetry scene. Each poet shared a few poems, some reflections and insights on poetry and their lives as poets and left us in awe! A big thanks (in order of reading) to: Barbara Drake, Scot Siegel, Penelope Scambly Schott and Mark Thalman.

Oregon's newest (read: 6th) Poet Laureate, Paulann Petersen also joined us to share more information the Friends of William Stafford - a 501(c)3 non-profit established to continue the legacy of the late, great William Stafford.

As Paulann mentioned, anyone interested in the community of poetry, as well as the creativity inspired by William Stafford, should visit the website for more information on becoming a member, or to find out about upcoming events.

Please support independent and/or local musical and spoken word artists. You can click on the links below for more information!

And feel free to leave feedback (constructive criticism appreciated) about this show!

Local Spoken Word Artists (links provided as available)

Barbara Drake - newest book of poetry Driving One Hundred .

Paulann Petersen - http://paulann.net/ . More information about her recent appointment as Oregon's 6th Poet Laureate - http://www.oregonartscommission.org/creative_oregon/stories/poet-laureate.php .

Penelope Scambly Schott - newest book of poetry Six Lips .

Scot Siegel - newest book of poetry Skeleton Says (check it out on Facebook) 

Mark Thalman - newest book of poetry Catching the Limit .

All poets books can be found at or requested from Looking Glass Bookstore in Sellwood (Oregon), Powell's or your local, independent bookstore.

Local Musical Artists

Ashley Maher - http://www.ashleymaher.com/ or on Facebook or on MySpace .

Elephant Revival - http://www.elephantrevival.com/ or on Facebook or on MySpace .

Eastern Sunz - http://www.easternsunz.com/ or on Facebook or on MySpace  .

Here's the Pick List!

As promised, the show was packed with TONS of surprises - in-studio guest Mick Schafer of Tree Top Tribe; featured in-studio guest Will Redwood, who chatted with us about his artistic melding of poetry and visual art AND treated us to a reading of his poem"A Bird Song" now available as a picture book!

There was a ticket giveaway to Elephant Revival's performance on April 2nd at The Woods.

We had spoken word artistry through a poem by local poet Scot Siegel, an inspirationally poignant essay by Dana Roc and an excerpt of an interview with The Mighty Third Rail!

The Mighty Third Rail shared their thoughts about one of their pieces, "The New America" - a timely lyrical essay nestled on a bed of violin & bass. Simply amazing!

What else? Plenty! More music from independent artists. It was a show full of fantastic music and spoken word poking out from every corner.

As always, please support local artists by seeing performances and/or purchasing their art from local sources.

Spoken Word Artists

Will Redwood

Scot Siegel

Dana Roc

The Mighty Third Rail

Independent Musical Artists/Notable Musical Artists

Tree Top Tribe

Ashley Maher

Sharelle

Toshi Reagon

Elephant Revival

Taarka

Tina & the B-Side Movement

DX Twinz

Brothers Next Door