Bosso Poetry Turns Three

The little-known local writing collective celebrates their third anniversary tonight at Dusty’s bar.

Jeffrey Skemp, left, Scott Vesch, middle left, Kevin Brixius, middle right, and Lynn Gray, right, talk about their experiences with live poetry readings Sunday afternoon at Dunn Bros. “There’s something about the bar room setting… it’s a riot” Brixius said. The four men will be reading with many others at the Bosso poetry event Thursday evening at Dusty’s Bar.

Published November 10, 2011

ThereâÄôs an old clichÃ© about poetry: ItâÄôs dead. But out there, in the far corners of our bustling, consumer-driven society, this ancient literary art is still very much alive.

Just donâÄôt expect to see anyone making any money off of it or anything.

Today, local artist group Bosso Poetry Company will be celebrating their third anniversary at DustyâÄôs Bar with a stacked roster of local writers and musicians that include poet Jeffrey Skemp, comic Mary Mack and Venus DeMars (All The Pretty Horses).

Considered a branch of Bosso Enterprises âÄî a fictional company based out of Montana created by local musician Kevin Brixius âÄî Bosso Poetry Company isnâÄôt so much a collective as it is a concept built around the idea of creating more supportive community for artists.
âÄúBy kind of having this fictional idea âÄî us against the man âÄî that is both funny to us and very real,âÄù said local poet Skemp. âÄúAs a writer, youâÄôre not going to make a lot of money, a real good poetry book is going to sell like 1,500 copies âÄî and thatâÄôs for famous poets.âÄù

For three years, members and friends of Bosso have performed every second Thursday of the month at DustyâÄôs bar and they have no intention of stopping anytime soon. Skemp said the events are all relatively casual, and the group has always been welcoming toward newcomers over the years.

âÄúThere is this common thread of wanting to do something creative as a performer and friendship and the community and regularity of it,âÄù Skemp said. âÄúWeâÄôve been lucky enough to get some people interested on some level, and that was sort of on accident as well.âÄù

A&E administrated a literary questionnaire for some of BossoâÄôs regulars. HereâÄôs what they came up with:

Jeffery Skemp (poet):

Three Favorite Pieces of Literature?

âÄúLabyrinthsâÄù by Jorge Luis Borges

âÄúRhinocerosâÄù by Eugene Ionesco

âÄúThe Brothers KaramazovâÄù by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Favorite word?

âÄúArasmatatâÄù which means âÄúheadacheâÄù in Amharic, a language spoken in Ethiopia

If you could go back in time and publish any book before the original author, what would it be?

âÄúThe Origin of the SpeciesâÄù by Charles Darwin

Favorite time of the day to write?

In the morning with a strong cup of coffee