In a city as large and involved in the arts as Madison, it is not all that surprising to find a thriving poetry community. It is surprising, however, to find a poetry reading series that incorporates elements from every poetry reading this city has to offer.
This is where the Crosshatxh Poetry Series comes in.
Curated by Laurel Bastian, the current Halls Emerging Artist Fellow at the WI Institute for Creative Writing, the Crosshatxh Poetry Series crosses the line between academia and community – creating performances that can range from sonnet material to spoken word and everything in between. Crosshatxh devotes itself to finding new writers as well as those immersed in their community, and gives voice not only to poets who are familiar to Madison’s scene but also those who have never performed before.
Bastian recently sat down with The Badger Herald to talk about her current project. Full of energetic hand gestures, an intent gaze and a voice full of animation, to say Bastian is passionate about the Crosshatxh Series is an understatement.
Starting out in Milwaukee as a slam poet and eventually owning her own venue, Bastian is no stranger to the poetry scene, on either side of the stage. While attending several readings throughout the Madison community, one thing in particular stood out to her: How fractured and in their own world each performance was.
“I thought, ‘That’s what I’m hungry for,'” Bastian said, “I’m hungry for going to a show where there’s at least two people I’ve never heard before and where there’s going to be something for everybody…That was how I started conceiving the project.”
Crossover is just the beginning of where this series differs, however. In addition to being able to boast shows that incorporate aspects from all sub-genres of poetry performance, Crosshatxh brings dead poets “back to life” every couple of months. Last semester, Emily Dickinson graced the stage and last night’s performance at Avol’s Bookstore featured the deceased Anne Sexton.
“We’re always influenced deeply by those who came before us. We don’t always have access to the spark of life belonging to that one original voice, but when somebody is embodying the poet it allows us to access their work in that way. So it’s just like a fun reorientation to these folks who have been really important in our art,” Bastian said.
Crosshatxh’s break from the traditional is further intensified by the second dynamic Bastian stated as different from other series. Active in the community, Bastian is the founder/coordinator of the Writers in Prisons project and teaches a weekly poetry/spoken word class at the men’s prison in Oregon, Wis.
“When you’re in academia, you want to be able to have an impact on folks who aren’t necessarily inside of an institution or [are] in a different kind of institution,” Bastian said, “So it felt like my work there was in some ways more real than my work with students here as many of the men have been in there longer than I’ve been alive.”
Bastian’s involvement with the prison transcends prison walls, as students of hers are all welcome to perform at readings upon release and removal from parole.
“Some of the most skilled writers that I’ve heard are these guys behind bars, and it would be really nice for them to be re-welcomed into their community or seen in a different way than they have in the past 10 or 20 years,” Bastian said.
All proceeds from the performances benefit the Wisconsin Books to Prisoners project, which sends books to prisoners in the state free of charge. So far, Crosshatxh has raised almost $500 for the program.
While the next Crosshatxh Poetry Series reading is not until March 17, Bastian will continue to be busy generating even more unique performances and audiences willing to give Crosshatxh a listen.
“The one thing that’s been most exciting to me – besides listening to great readers – over the past six months has been the audience shift. In the beginning, the audience was whoever I could heckle from my friends and colleagues to come,” Bastian said. “I get really excited when people come who I’ve never seen before and who don’t know any of the readers.”
The Crosshatxh Poetry Series performs monthly at Avol’s Bookstore at 315 Gorham St. Performances are free, though donations are welcome. More information can be found at Crosshatxh’s blog: http://crosshatxh.blogspot.com/.
