Creative Contemplations

The Conjure Woman hosted the Grand Finale of The Austin Writers Roulette. For this special occasion, her sister flew in from Virginia. After 8 years of producing The Roulette, a menagerie of extra details had to be taken care of–hint, check out the sign.
They finally got things together!The Conjure Woman’s sister (CWS), a former model, used the time prior to the show as an impromptu photoshoot, despite the fact that several housekeeping tasks needed to be done. BIRDMAN 313 joined in on the impromptu photoshoot.The Conjure Woman indulged her sister, stating that this was the closest to a wedding shoot she’d get.Nonetheless, since this was the last show ever, a little picture-taking indulgence was in order.  STEPHANIE WEBB lent a friendly hand getting things together for the show.Newcomer JASON HILL discovered The Roulette at the eleventh hour. Despite the invitation-only status of this last event, Hill reached out weeks in advance with a compelling story and arrived early to participate. The Conjure Woman created an introduction and snuck him onto the lineup. The impromptu photoshoot evolved into a hybrid family reunion crossed with a farewell tour. THOM THE WORLD POET came decked out in his signature yellow and DONNA DECHEN BIRDWELL dressed in costume in solidarity to the theme.Even the pedestrian tasks, such as getting the video release forms from THE MALVERN BOOKS staff, was documented.As Rouletters arrived, the farewell photoshoot continued with PAUL NORMANDIN, BRENNAN UTLEY,JACK MCCABE while the host ticked off attendance, HOPE RUIZ during a breather in between hosting duties, then joined by others since we were already posing. LARRY MAYFIELD traveled the farthest to participate in the grand finale. NICOLE CORTICHIATO merely wanted to meet CWS, but of course, became a part of the photoshoot. And gracing the place minutes before the festivities officially began, RENEE AMOS and RG HOOK breezed in. How appropriate that one of the celebratory cakes provided by MALVERN BOOKS reminded one of a present since the venue itself has been a gift to the literary community. The second cake provided by MALVERN BOOKS had a split personality, half vanilla and half chocolate with a scrumptious raspberry filling.The Conjure Woman exacted her own photoshooting revenge just before the show.Rouletter JIM TENNY gifted a series of host pictures. Finally, the picture everyone had been waiting for, the group photo. The Conjure Woman rang finger cymbals three times to open the show, explaining that unlike previous Roulettes, all featured artists had received an invitation to perform and since many responded, every feature had a timed 5-minute slot and there would be no open mic. ALLYSON WHIPPLE led the audience in a creative mediation.

During intermission and after the show, many audience members expressed needing  that mediative moment. LARRY MAYFIELD described his meditative style prior to conscious reasoning.

NICOLE CORTICHIATO colored her creativity with vivid imagery.

BIRDMAN 313 recited a medley of poems from shame to love.

DONNA DECHEN BIRDWELL shared both her very first Roulette poem from July 2012 along with the last in 2019.

JIM TENNY presented AWR producer/host, TERESA Y. ROBERSON, with a plaque, appreciating her muse effect.   Then, he dedicated a song to the AWR muse.

DANIEL DAVILA ruminated about creative germination.

HOPE RUIZ consulted the wise woman within herself.

She then honored the late Rouletter,

BRIAN GROSZ, by reading one of his pieces.

RG HOOK paid tribute to a gruff-voiced New Yorker muse.

CWS struck again during the ten-minute intermission. JASON HILL soul-searched about his purpose.

PAUL NORMANDIN dreamed other people’s dreams.

BRENNAN UTLEY showed how a fictional writer wrestled with creative style.

STEPHANIE WEBB pushed through the life’s negatives to create.

URSULA PIKE daydreamed in the Spanish subjective tense.

TERESA Y. ROBERSON spoke of the very first live show she hosted as a child during bath time and other creative ideas she’s conjured throughout her life.

THOM THE WORLD POET, accompanied by DANIEL DAVILA on clarinet and JACK MCCABE on acoustic guitar, recounted the creative history of AWR and his performances.

In the end, TERESA Y. ROBERSON invited the AWR fans to check out her upcoming podcast about CBD & Poetry.

Wildest Dreams

This month’s roulette was hosted by Strict Librarian.Rouletters came out in full force for their “Wildest Dreams” event. STEPHANIE WEBB riffed of the wildest dreams from different times of her life.

RON SEYBOLD told of his own love and basketball story.

NICOLE CORTICHATO gave a taste of her fantasies and nightmares.

RG HOOK explained how the adventure of a lifetime cannot be planned.

JONATHAN WOODS showed what can happen when you give into your impulses.

ROBERT CARRANZA wondered if She existed only in his dreams.

ILENE HADDAD demonstrated that sometimes the wildest dream was actually the funniest.

GARRETT ANDERSON rode the rollercoaster of nightmares.

TERESA Y. ROBERSON wished that a magical book would cure the human condition.

THOM THE WORLD POET lead a guided reading from his poetry book of dreams, which he distributed to the audience beforehand.

OPEN MIC

Click on the link below to few the following open mic artists: STEPHANIE ELISE FRENO, LINDA MASTERS, ANANYAA RAVI, DONNA DECHEN BIRDWELL, EDITH BLACKBIRD, BRENT CROSSON, & THOM THE WORLD POET 

STEPHANIE ELISE FRENO LINDA MASTERS ANANYAA RAVI DONNA DECHEN BIRDWELL EDITH BLACKWELL BRENT CROSSON

THOM THE WORLD POET

Too-Woke Insomniac

LITTLE RED hosted this month’s Austin Writers Roulette.  She brought all her star power to the show. But she did NOT walk the straight and narrow like in the fairy tale.The Rouletters were bright-eyed and bushy tailed for the Too-Woke Insomniac event. THOM THE WORLD POET spoke of the coming end times whether we’re awoke or not, but from midnight to dawn are the poets’ hours. Accompanied by DANIEL DAVILA on guitar.

RT KILGORE revealed a post-apocalyptical world with walls.

ELLEN SWEETS navigated through political correctness one Lyft ride at a time.

RG HOOK shined a spotlight on dangerous, willful ignorance.

STEPHANIE WEBB attempted to clean up the environment, starting with the nonprofits.

HOPE RUIZ battled with the dominant narrative.

TERESA Y. ROBERSON described the battle to control the narrative between the Extreme Dominant Narrative Defenders and the Extreme Politically Correct Crusaders, using a popular fairy tale.

OPEN MIC

Click on the link below to enjoy the performances of the following artists: DONNA DECHEN BIRDWELL, HOPE RUIZ, STEPHANIE E. FRENO, DANIEL DAVILA, ELLEN BRAVERMAN, DANIEL BARON & ELIZABETH KAHURA.

DONNA DECHEN BIRDWELL HOPE RUIZ STEPHANIE E. FRENO DANIEL DAVILA ELLEN BRAVERMAN DANIEL BARON

ELIZABETH KAHURA

Volcanic Summer

 

An Upper Management Thug hosted the roulette this time around. The Rouletters came to share their volcanic tales and memorialize BRIAN GROSZ.BRIAN GROSZ, a gruff-voiced adrenaline-filled storyteller who, even in death, managed to sound like a cross between a joke and one of his crazy adventurous stories: “A man walks into a bar and…collapses.” We dedicated this show to him.  HOPE RUIZ recounted a summer experience that changed her life.

PAUL NORMADIN gave a hot, horny lesson about physics.

RT KILGORE shared an idyllic summer day at Barton Springs and a new species.

TERESA Y. ROBERSON warned that the craziness of the world continued its craziness, thanks in a large part due to the rise of an insidious evil machination.

THOM THE WORLD POET, accompanied by DAVIEL DAVILA on guitar, advised to interact with people in person rather than virtually.

OPEN MIC

Click on the link to enjoy the following open mic artists:  DANIEL THE WORLD WARRIOR, DONNA DECHEN BIRDWELL, RENEE AMOS, HOPE RUIZ, URSULA PIKE, RG HOOK, RAW, EDITH “BLACKBIRD,” THOM TERRIFIC WITH DANIEL THE WORLD WARRIOR. 

DANIEL DAVILA DONNA DECHEN BIRDWELL RENEE AMOS HOPE RUIZURSULA PIKE RG HOOK RAW EDITH “BLACKBIRD”

THOM THE WORLD POET with DANIEL DAVILA on clarinet

Apology Allergies

For this Roulette, Bougie Nerdy Black Woman hosted.Still, The Rouletters showed up to not apologize for being who they are. DONNA DECHEN BIRDWELL showed that in the great drama of life, you can’t keep apologizing for who you are.

NICOLE CORTICHIATO couldn’t bring herself to apologize for an elementary reaction from a crush.

HOPE RUIZ owed no apologies for her inner strength.

CHARLA HATHAWAY was unapologetic about exploring her own sexuality and healing others.

STEPHANIE WEBB offered no apologies to rich people.

RG HOOK delivered the most f-bomb laden nonapology about the changing demographics due to forced immigration. TERESA Y. ROBERSON spoke of being unapologetically comfortable in her own skin, regardless of whether she was too Black or not Black enough for some people.

THOM THE WORLD POET, accompanied by DANIEL DAVILA on guitar, brought up  the fact that indigenous people of his homeland, Australia, along with other indigenous people, were owed more than an apology.

 

Click on the following link to view the performances of these open mic artists: BIRDMAN 313, TREV, JEFFREY & JANELL TAYLOR, ELLEN BRAVERMAN, DANIEL DAVILA, RG HOOK, FONTY FOX, NICOLE CORTICHIATO, HOPE RUIZ, & SUNDAY THOM accompanied by DANIEL DAVILA  on oboe.

OPEN MIC BIRDMAN 313 TREV JANELLE & JEFFREY TAYLOR ELLEN BRAVERMAN DANIEL DAVILA BRIAN GROSZ RG HOOK FONTY FOX NICOLE CORTICHIATO HOPE RUIZ EDITH TAPIA

THOM THE WORLD POET & DANIEL DAVILA on oboe.

Laugh at My Lovelife

Once again, Cindie’s outdid itself with the His and Hers gift baskets for the best performer in both categories. These prizes were rewarded at the end of the show by audience applause.
Cupid hosted the show, explaining to the audience that they may think that she’s misfired some love arrows in their lives, but she assured them, the arrows always landed where they were supposed to and they’d just had to deal with it.
At least Cupid gifted audience members genital-shaped candy to cope with the bitterness of love gone wrong.
Cupid’s philosophy is, “One person’s heartache is another person’s punchline.” So, these Rouletters came to share their love survival story/punchlines. RG HOOK dealt with one of the age-old dating dilemmas: is a future boyfriend or criminal?

SUSAN MACK shared some ancient words of love.

LARRY MAYFIELD had his own version of the dating game.

TERESA Y. ROBERSON asked the contemporary, independent single woman’s question: why do men always f*ck it up?

THOM THE WORLD POET spoke from the heart of the joy and love for his homeland and his mother.

OPEN MIC

Click on the link below to view the performances of the following Open Mic artists: LARRY MAYFIELD, BRIAN GROSZ, R G HOOK, CAROL LENNOX, EMMA TUCKER & THOM YES.

LARRY MAYFIELD BRIAN GROSZ RG HOOK CAROL LENNOX EMMA TUCKER THOM THE WORLD POETAll the women shared the fun Hers basket in a four-way tie. BRIAN GROSZ won the audience vote for the His basket.

Yet he graciously shared some of the goodies with the other guys.

The End Is the Beginning

The Seasonal Butterfly hosted this last Roulette of 2018.The Rouletters gathered around and performed to a packed room. LARRY MAYFIELD showed that the end of childhood innocence started the appreciation of family traditions.

URSULA PIKE reminisced about an end-of-the-year gift exchange.

ASA MORRIS turned the corner for a better life, but still dealt with his past.

HOPE RUIZ delved into the romance of beginning again.

JIM TENNY moved past remorse to forgiveness.

STEPHANIE ELISE FRENO shared the things she had to give up in order to embrace the woman she’s become.

BRENNAN UTLEY told an alliterative story about acceptance.

TERESA Y. ROBERSON recounted her series of career transformations.

THOM THE WORLD POET, accompanied by DANIEL DAVILA on clarinet, spoke about past lives and reincarnations while bringing continuous sunshine to whichever self he was.

OPEN MIC

Click on the link to view the performances of the following open mic artists: STEPHANIE ELISE FRENO, COLLEEN SAFFRON, BIRDMAN 313, JIM TENNY, ELLEN BRAVERMAN, KATI TAYLOR, BRENNAN UTLEY, HOPE RUIZ, BRIAN GROSZ, DANIEL DAVILA, CHRISTINA CULVERHOUSE, THOM THE WORLD POET, accompanied by DANIEL DAVILA.

STEPHANIE ELISE FRENO COLLEEN SAFFRON BIRDMAN 313 JIM TENNY ELLEN BRAVERMAN KATI TAYLOR BRENNAN UTLEY HOPE RUIZ BRIAN GROSZ DANIEL DAVILA CHRISTINA CULVERHOUSE

THOM THE WORLD POET, accompanied by DANIEL DAVILA on acoustic guitar

Attitude of Gratitude

Lady Liberty hosted the Roulette on Veterans Day 2018.Two Rouletters had served in the Armed Forces: JIM TENNY in the Navy and STEPHANIE ELISE FRENO in the Air Force.Although the host dressed in costume, JIM TENNY wore his actual uniform from more than 20 years ago.The Rouletters gathered on this patriotic holiday to share their gratitude narratives. URSULA PIKE was grateful for the life hack demonstrated by her dog, Hercules.

HOPE RUIZ led the way for the Self Evolution Revolution.

STEPHANIE WEBB expressed gratitude for not being alone in the struggle.

STEPHANIE ELISE FRENO documented her transitioning journey with gratitude for everyone who’s helped her along the way.

JIM TENNY witnessed self-evident truths that all men are created equal.

TEREA Y. ROBERSON expounded upon what it meant to be a part of We the American People, inclusively.

THOM THE WORLD POET praised the veterans in his family and worldwide…and the people who supported Global Peace.

OPEN MIC

Click on the link to view the performances of the following artists:  STEPHANIE ELISE FRENO, JIM TENNY, SPENCER MIRABAL, VALERIE KLIEWER, LYNN HERRICK, HOPE RUIZ, BRIAN GROSZ, JOE BRUNDIDGE, THOM THE WORLD POET

STEPHANIE ELISE FRENO JIM TENNY SPENCER MIRABAL VALERIE KLIEWER LYNN HERRICK HOPE RUIZ BRIAN GROSZ JOE BRUNDIDGE

THOM THE WORLD POET

Otherworldly Intrigues

An alien hosted this month’s Austin Writers Roulette.The Rouletters didn’t seem to mind, though.

LARRY MAYFIELD detailed two different worlds he didn’t want to live in here on Earth.

RG HOOK shared visitation dreams from her husband.

JOSH DAVIS told about his journey to the astral plane.

TERESA Y. ROBERSON fantasized about alien technology defying The Second Law of Thermodynamics to right the world.

THOM THE WORLD POET stated his experience with a new-age guru, then led the audience in a read-a-long chant about saving the Earth.

OPEN MIC

Click on the link below to see the performances of the following open mic artists: LARRY MAYFIELD, STEPHANIE ELISE FRENO, BIRDMAN 313, KATE O’CONNOR, LIABLEWRITER, ELLEN BRAVERMAN, RG HOOK, & THOM THE WORLD POET accompanied by LARRY MAYFIELD on flute

LARRY MAYFIELD STEPHANIE ELISE FRENO BIRDMAN 313 KATE O’CONNOR SCHNACK LIABLEWRITER ELLEN BRAVERMAN RG HOOK

THOM THE WORLD POET accompanied by LARRY MAYFIELD on flute.

Out of Tune

The host may have been out of tune, but definitely not out of time…Especially for 10 shillings and 6 pence!The Rouletters harmonized through their discordant narratives. SPENCER MIRABAL read a trilogy of out of tune poems.

STEPHANIE ELISE FRENO shared questions from the heart.

SHLOMI HARIF spun a discordant tale of two Stevies.

HOPE RUIZ fought against the grain of the dominant narrative.

TERESA Y. ROBERSON discussed a myriad of discordant experiences, including her most recent: complimenting White people on their tans.

INVISIBLE THOM embraced reclaiming the sacred and harmonizing with nature.

OPEN MIC

Click on the link below to enjoy the performances of the following open mic artists: STEPHANIE ELISE FRENO, SPENCER MIRABAL, URSULA PIKE BRIAN GROSZ, JIM TENNY RENEE AMOS, HOPE RUIZ, SAM TREVINO, MASON MCCLAY, MIKE MATTHEWS, NICOLE METTS, MAX PERRY, & INVISIBLE THOM 

STEPHANIE ELISE FRENO SPENCER MIRABAL URSULA PIKE BRIAN GROSZ JIM TENNY RENEE AMOS HOPE RUIZ SAM TREVINO MASON MCCLAY MIKE MATTHEWS NICOLE METTS MAX PERRY

INVISIBLE THOM