At the Circle, At the Fire by Rachel L. Johnson

The Fire Begins
During Winter 2016 at Allegany State Park, poets around the fire sat in a circle to welcome old and new voices. Some began to share their work. Others listened. Joe Hall was one of these poets. He would speak the following day but that night, he partook as a listener. Lissa, Nathan, Julio…continued to share, feeling warmth and embrace. The fire flickered throughout the night. The gathering was ongoing breathing life, lighting the hearts at the circle.
​
During Spring 2016 at WNYBAC, readers from the University at Buffalo’s Innovative Writing Program brought the first line of their work to the circle, threw wood to ignite flames within the heart of the listeners; poems aflame, had become a life of their own:

• Mother’s Milk birthed by Poem’s oracle, Nathan Moore: “From beneath the darkened waves, she speaks to me.”
• Bucket Showers demonstrated by Poem’s traveler, Emily de Beer: "121.133 liters of water in a bucket in the corner of a tiled room with a drain in the middle of the floor."

---

• ​Untitled recalled by Poem’s youth, Alex Thayer: “I’m standing in front of the dresser, the oak dresser in the family room that my mother keeps candles and an arrangement of porcelain statuettes on, pacing, maybe shuffling across the front of it.” 
• Fanadik Pacific scanned by Poem’s inhabitant, Shayna S. Israel: “First mark—branches on loose ground”
• Lesson 6.3 or Getting the Fuck Over a Name (And Other Things) articulated by Poem’s teacher, Woogee Bae: “In high school gym class Marcia Griffiths sings, ‘It’s electric!’ and everyone follows, ‘Boogie woogie woogie woogie’”
• Dys-Body-Morph Question Set answered by Poem’s man, John W. Bateman: “A=SILLY"

---

​The Circle Forms
Blue, yellow, red flickers, smoke rises into darkness. Becomes part of the scent in the environment, soot in the air in the park.  Authentic voices blazing in the exhibit. To listen to the voices that are not familiar and to see what lights up is part of the performance.

The first reader, Nathan Moore explained the title, A Prime and how his work related to it: “We were thinking about 'primacy', the idea of being the first or seminal. We are the first cohort of Innovative Writing students, this was our first reading together; so the idea of origins and beginnings was already there. I'm really interested and inspired by history, legends; especially histories and knowledges that have been marginalized, erased or forgotten. So, I turned to the primal, violent space and system that created America: Slavery. And the work just kind of came from those two streams of thought.”
​
The community at the exhibit was engaged listening to the readings, watching the performances, speaking over refreshments, and asking questions. 

---

• As Mother’s Milk influenced by comics and sci-fi.
• As Kevin asked what guidelines used for bucket tricks, Emily said: “Personal tips. Not from text. Travel inspired.”
• As Nina sat in the circle, she said parts of Untitled were: “Inaudible. I just wanted to get out of there.”
• As for the scroll for Fanadik Pacific, it reminds the community of a musical text, an Abolitionist scroll. 
• As Bae said her “A” words and used emojis, she held up the cards and flung them onto the floor.
• As John took off his clothes to write answers to the questions on his body, the equations projected onto the wall. The mountain projected onto his body.

The camp fire at the park and circle at WNYBAC sparked us to keep writing. Keep sharing. Keep hearts open to the warmth that sustains the community. 

About Poets’ Camp
Poets’ Camp is a retreat during the summer and winter to bring together writers for workshops and relaxing in the outdoors. There are three writing workshops Saturday and a Keynote Speaker Sunday. The past Keynote Speakers: Joe Hall and Paige Melin. Past workshop teachers: Marcus Bizzle, Nathan William Stolte, Rachel L. Johnson, Lissa Roads, Katie Coleman, Ben Brindise, and Misty Khan-Becerra
​
About A’ Prime
A’ Prime IW Reading Exhibit was at Western New York Book Arts Center on Saturday, May 7th, 2016. The reading exhibit was a collective effort from the Innovative Writing Program Students at UB; Professors Dimitri and Myung supported the event and curated the Q&A part.

Thanks Ablazing
The readers would like to thank…

• WNYBAC.
•  Professors Dimitri Anastasopoulos and Myung Mi Kim. For without them, there’s no way they could have done something like this around the end of the semester. 
• Thank you to all the beautiful people that come out time and time again to support the literary arts in Buffalo and of course, America.
• Thank you to Christina Milletti.
• Kevin at Squeaky Wheel. 
• Alex’s grandma. One love. 

---