Business vs. Poetry

In my poetry show about business, I outline some ways we can use business to support the field of poetry. Who am I? Well, I am an employee of one of the top business schools in the country, and I am a poet. And as someone who occupies two of the most diametrically opposed sectors in our culture, I have come to one conclusion: Poetry needs a rebrand. Business is here to help. The performance includes a slide deck and a pitch deck.

I developed a one hour version of this performance at Art Farm in Nebraska in June of 2024, in collaboration with Ruby Lanet. I performed this early version for my fellow residents in 90 degree heat. Some photos from that show are below and some clips are on my Instagram page here. This is more of a one woman show and is about trying to be an artist and also make money. And also things like how can making art improve your life in ways that don’t have to do with making money.

I then performed a twenty minute version at the Head and the Hand in Philadelphia on September 19, 2024, as part of the Beyond the Page series. This show is more about applying elements from the business world to poetry and vice versa. I incorporated Tree Vibes, a segment from my Instagram. Some clips from that show are on my Instagram page.

I then performed a 10 min sample version of the 20 min show at the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library in March of 2025 as part of Words From a Field, a public reading of works by recent writers-in-residence from the Art Farm residency in Nebraska. This took place during AWP 2025. Some clips/images from that event are on my Instagram page here.

I most recently performed the 20 min version at New Orleans Poetry Fest, in April 2025, as part of a panel on Powerpoint Poetry Performance with Kai Ihns and Alyssa Perry. Some clips from that show are available on my Instagram page too.

If you think your city might benefit from one version of this show or another, feel free to contact me and perhaps we can link, build, and otherwise enlist synergy for our mutual gains…

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