Poetry and JazzFest -- Come Groove!

It's JazzFest's big day! You might get a little wet, but no heat stroke this year: high temp of 83, SSE winds around 11, 70% chance of precip.

Of course, if you really don't like rain, come hang out in the Poetry Tent. Open reading begins at 2 p.m., followed by featured readers at 4 p.m. and the poetry slam contest (be the funkiest of the funky, win $200!) at 6 p.m.

Two of those featured poets, Norma Wilson and yours truly, had the pleasure of versifying for the electronic masses yesterday noon on South Dakota Public Radio. (SDPB will post the audio online soon.) Norma read some cool poems about jazz and blues—what could be more apropos for this weekend?—while I gave it my all with my usual wistful pinings for nature and love. And for those of you who cotton more to grit and a good horse than rhythm and rhyme, you can download the audio and hear historical Western writer P. A. Ritzer talk about his book Seven Ox Seven: Escondido Bound.

So bring your rain hat (no umbrellas allowed—people still gotta see the stage!), and bring your groove. See you at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls this afternoon!