A fair bit of good stuff, and some standout stuff, but I couldn't help but feel that the poetry/jazz thing is only news to Formalists (and I'll confess to skipping it at the time).
As for the readings themselves, obviously, as with anyone, some readers were more to my taste than others. Sarah Busse struck me (and I hesitate to say this, because she really is very nice) as the very model of Poetry of Quietude. As for Sunil Iyengar... he's a sharp guy and very friendly, but his very presence on that stage was an insult to the rest of us who've actually earned our stripes (or at least slogged in the trenches for a while). A clear case of not what you know, but who you know. Which is a shame, because I suspect that he could develop into a very good poet. He struck me as a fairly competent beginner, frankly, who would be well served by reading at open mics for a few years.
And yes, yes, yes, you're implicitly not supposed to say anything negative on these threads, and I'm sure I'll be accused of jealousy, envy, and all the rest. But really, when one shells out $800, one has the right to criticize weak readers and apparent cases of cliquishness. And Iyengar in particular seemed to be up there due to his connections.
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