Raise a glass

"Snap your fingers! Change the world!" -Jack Kerouac

Yes, you will recognize some of the names in this story as members of the Catalyst staff. But there's something good and funky goin' on, and sometimes, something needs to be said in the name of funkiness. So, I introduce you to the Drunken Word Poets. Go ahead, ask yourself, "The what?" No typo. But stop for just a second and think of all the unrestrained implications that the name itself implies. You can't deny your curiosity now.

Described by former Arizona Daily Wildcat editor in chief Tom Collins as perhaps the "only spoken-word troupe in Tucson," The Drunken Word Poets are a self-proclaimed word/poetry/expressionist/musical and whatever-else-the-moment-might-bring troupe. Composed of five (sober) members, the Poets are a collection of structured spontaneity.

The troupe formed when four cats sat around one evening and decided to do something open-mic-ish, minus the extreme openness of the mic and the inclusive of a little structure. The result, according to original member Collins, is a "performance of unconventional poetry readings" accompanied with musical inflections and reflections by the same readers. The speakers (some poets, some performers), which include journalism senior Collins; UA MFA candidate Carl Marcum; UA alumna Erin Whitfield; Catalyst assistant editor and English and creative writing junior Annie Holub and creative writing senior Belikose Gray, bring, according to Collins, a "wide breadth of experience in style and content as a group of people," to the words and music.

Saturday night, come by Congress and start your evening off with something truly entertaining. It's free, all you need to bring are a couple of ears and an open mind. Sit back and let the words, the music, the whole whatever-it-may-be performance devour your senses.

The Drunken Word Poets perform this Saturday evening at 7:30 at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St.