why wy?

Fortified with teh palegar (cardamon) and chicken masala dosai (remarkably the tea was $2, which is what I once paid in serangoon road), we head for a hip n' happening night of... poetry readings. There's a poetry fest on right now, so instead of waiting around for an indie band to play, we wait for a bunch of suitably boho people to get comfortably sloshed before reading from bits of paper. It starts fashionably late, closer to 1130pm than the billed 1030 in a shabby-chic style pub-lounge.

It wasn't all bad, but it wasn't great either, then again maybe it's just me. If I didn't "get' TS Elliot or Erza Pound, I don't expect to recognise budding underground talent, for instance, the man who read over a background tape of screeching parrots to thunderous applause.

But even among the poets, there is differeniation. For instance:

Lame: black nail polish
Fame (see, I also can rhyme): black nail polish when you are 60

Lame: hoodie (parrot guy put one on just to perform, hood up, rapper style. it's not cool when you have to try too hard.)
Fame: tweed jackets

Lame: reading to the beat of the dance music in the next room
Fame: making gargling noises

Lame: reading from a notebook
Fame: holding the sheets at arm's length because you are far-sighted

Lame: black eye shadow
Fame: black eye (obviously serious poetry can get violent)

Lame: wearing your pyjamas to market at noon (plus hello kitty plush slippers)
Fame: wearing your pyjamas to a club (the type you can buy at pasar malams, a garish silk dragon dressing gown, with a bright singapore tourism orchid shirt under)

Lame: using words like sex, fuck, fucking, cunt to sound controversial
Fame: unusual metaphors (where's neruda when you need him)

The fest ends with a WWF (word wrestling federation, get it) grand slam, and the prize-winning belt is massive, with two bronze pens flanking a medal of sorts. I think they should give parrot guy a prize for breaking the geneva convention, under the category: unusual forms of torture. We left when he came up to do an encore.