Greg Bem is a multidisciplinary, individual and collaborative artist whose poetry and other creative works are rooted in place.
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New Artist’s Bio
Author: Greg
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Four Drafts of Process
The following texts were created for four readings in Olympia, Portland, and Oakland. Each long piece was written in single sittings, semi-spontaneously, at a computer in a library in Kirkland, Washington. The pieces were only slightly edited after the fact, with the main intention behind them being a Spicer-esque channeling of energy, spirit, and emotion.
It was a thrilling evening of literary wonders across the small neighborhood (which I call my neighborhood, now) of Hillman City, Seattle.
After some time of debating whether or not I wanted this publication to be print-only, I’ve decided to release an e-version of it. Because why? Because it’s the 21st century, and this publication and collection is as much about the digital developments of place as it is about the physical.
My stepfather, a figure who has been in my life for many years, passed away several nights ago.
Yesterday I traveled with the Nevada road trip crew to the Olympic Peninsula, where we took a walk along the Dungeness Spit, a large land body that extends like a scythe out into the water of the Pacific Ocean.
This morning I took a short trip to Coal Creek Falls on Cougar Mountain in Issaquah, and then proceeded to extend the morning trip to Snoqualmie River’s Middle Fork area, which is about 34 miles outside of Seattle.
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Pictures: Bend, Oregon
A recent business trip (Feb. 12-14) to Bend, Oregon, was a brief but utterly beautiful interjection to my soggy existence in Seattle.
Rainier Valley Lit Crawl #3
Join for the third iteration of the Rainier Valley Lit Crawl, which focuses on bringing writers and listeners to Southeast Seattle locations for another night of literary engagement. This lit crawl will include the following venues: Spinnaker Bay Brewing → Big Chickie → The Collaboratory → Union Bar. It will feature the following diverse literary artists: Paul E. LaPier, Kathryn Burgomaster, EJ Koh, Erika Michael, Justine Chan, Philip Randolph, Faiza Sultan, Becca Hall, Claire Yazza, Thomas Schabarum, Jed Myers, and Mary Crane. Hosts and organizers include Jeanne Morel, Raanan David, and Greg Bem. The event is open to all. People of all literary interests and pursuits are invited to attend.
As I am one of the organizers, feel free to email me for any questions or comments, or to be involved in a future iteration of this series.
The first Rainier Valley Lit Crawl was in March of 2015, and the second in October of 2015. Both were tremendously successful in terms of audience and enjoyable in terms of literary merit. Please consider attending, and sharing the word on this event.
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A bunch of poets in a room together
Last night was the Live from the Angeline! private event, which featured one guitarist (Salt Mouth a.k.a. Chris Phillips) and a bunch of readers (Paul Nelson, Nadine Maestas, Raanan David, Sonya Vatomsky, Aaron Kokorowski, Faiza Sultan, Scherezade Siobhan, and myself). This group picture demonstrates the power of a diverse line-up, and the power of friendship. Videos of the event are, of course, available for viewing.
From left to right, standing: Raanan David, Aaron Kokorowski, Maria Winters, Jason Conger, Scherezade Siobhan, Greg Bem, Paul Nelson, Tanya Holtland, Justine Chan, Jeanne Morel, and Faiza Sultan. In the front is Matt.
The following videos were all shot at the Ghost Tokens: Inumbrating Pinnacle event series, which I’ve been posting about long enough on here for people to understand, I hope. The videos include all of the readers/performers: Tanya Holtland, Libby Hsu, Arlo Smith, Cooper Smith, Thomas Walton, Paul Nelson, Graham Isaac, Jeanne Morel, Jeremy Springsteed, and Libby Chan. The video quality is, of course, a bit messy, as my primary function was hosting the events (not recording them). I’m still happy with how it all turned out, and I was able to strip the audio quite easily as well, which benefits the overall archive.
The following pictures are of the Ghost Tokens: Inumbrating Pinnacle micro-series that occurred last week. Though I didn’t get a gazillion images of the event, because I was mostly using the camera to record video, I am happy with the shots that I did take. Video is on the way–I will have that available in the near future. Minimal editing was taken on the images below, and I have provided descriptive captions when images are not the Space Needle.
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Ebey’s Monster
Pictures from a visit with my friends Emiliana and Barnabus to Mt. Eerie and Ebey’s Landing yesterday, by Emiliana Chavez.
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New Review: The Inventors
A new review: Inventors and Other Poems
My new review of The Inventors and Other Poems by René Char (Seagull Books, 2015) is now at Queen Mob’s. Read it and let me know what your thoughts are. Oh, and you should totally buy that book.
My girlfriend, Scherezade Siobhan, has recently had her poetry book, Father, Husband, released via Salò Press. Buy it. Read it. Share it.