SLAM

it's a shame i don't write much because i have such a bad memory there are so many things that will be forgotten. but who has the time to go back and read it all anyway...? well, last night i went to valerie's friend kristine's slam thing at the bar "les deux tours". slamalamer (translation- SLAM at the sea). it was so great, full of people from all walks of life and an african dreadlocked contingent that one doesn't see too often in la rochelle, especially not in la genette! drums, accordions, guitar, spoken word and a few songs thrown in, one by a beautiful young man that i could have listened to for hours. in the beginning i concentrated to the poetry, trying to catch all the words and follow the meaning but after a glass of wine and many texts, i just listened as if it was music and didn't follow a thing. though i came to the event with a slightly skeptical attitude, and though there were a few duds, overall the effect was one of inspiration and rhythm. it made me want to speak, tell a story, sing, about what i didn't know, but just anything, to take part in the ambiance and the feeling of family that spread throughout those at the bar that night. of course valerie knows everyone and those she didn't know when she arrived she did by the end of the night so there was no shortage of peole to talk to during the breaks. but i also ended up feeling like my french is so far from perfect there are so many words, expressions that i don't know and after an entire evening of speech, poetic and full of slang, though i felt like i was floating in it, after a certain point, i also felt like i was drowning in the impossibility of ever knowing it all.

picture is me and valerie's daughter who came for a bit.