New Mexico Based Poetry Tour Sets Out With a Lofty Mission

ALBUQUERQUE, NM, May 13, 2011 (Press-News.org) Taking the name of their book tour from the similarly titled arts collaborative Speak Easy Tangents they founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the three poets who make up the Off the Page On a Tangent! troupe have developed a strong reputation among literary circles as individual artists and organizers. Now, with their book release tour about to begin, they are beginning to gain notoriety as a significant presence on the poetry circuit not only for their writing and performance skills, but their mission to build the world's largest collection of poetry as well.

As challenging as that goal is, Jessica Helen Lopez, Zachary Kluckman and Katrina K. Guarascio are not artists who take their ambitions lightly. Between them, these three poets embody the idea of achieving your dreams successfully. Lopez, whose new book "Always Messin' with them Boys" from West End Press will be released during this tour, is a member of the Macondo Foundation, started by Sandra Cisneros and a member of several national poetry slam teams, including the champion University of New Mexico Lobo Slam team. Guarascio, whose second book from Casa de Snapdragon, "They Don't Make Memories Like That Anymore", is also premiering during the tour is the founder and coach of two high school poetry teams whose young members recently joined the Albuquerque Youth Poetry Slam Team and host of the very successful Smokin' Word poetry slam. Kluckman, whose new book is titled "Those Dust Shouldered Ghosts", is the founder and Director of the world's only Slam Poet Laureate program, award winning organizer of such events as the Verse~Converse poetry festival in Taos, New Mexico and the forthcoming Albuquerque Poetry Festival and a poet whose work has received nominations for the Pushcart Prize in Poetry as well as appearing on over 500 radio stations worldwide.

With all of these accomplishments at hand, perhaps it's not surprising that they would seek new ways to advocate their chosen art by seeking to build the world's largest collection of poetry. However, the mission isn't simply to collect as many works as possible, but to make these works available to educators, students, young writers and poets in the community as a means of advocating the vital role poetry plays in the arts while promoting literacy and a love of writing as well.

"What we're essentially doing is going out into the world with our new books and sharing that work with people, and while we're at it, we hope to lay the groundwork for the Cultural Arts Exchange program we're designing as a means of collecting poetry works and staging readings with poets from communities around the nation," states Kluckman, who has overseen much of the initial development of the program.

The Off the Page On a Tangent! Tour kicks off in June as the poets make their first appearance in Austin, followed by dates in Oklahoma City, Asheville, Chicago, New York, Wichita, Denver and Pagosa Springs. Details of the tour dates and the Cultural Arts Exchange Program can be found on the group's website at http://www.wix.com/physicalpoet/tangenttour. For further information, please contact Zachary Kluckman at zgkluckman@Msn.com or by phone at (505) 712-1475

Speak Easy Tangents is an arts collaborative founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico to foster the growth of the literary scene, promote literacy, advocate for the arts and individual artists while promoting the growth of poetry in the state by sponsoring touring poets and organizing panel discussions, readings, workshops and educational oppurtunities.