Seattle, WA: Richard Hugo House (Bushwick Book Club celebrates National Poetry Month)

The last time I performed on this stage was indeed a memorable experience, and tonight's Bushwick Book Club event with/at Richard Hugo House looks to continue the tradition.  For this show, each songwriter has been paired with a local poet in celebration of National Poetry Month, and the duos charged with forging a collaboration however it might work best.  I've drawn the impressively articulate Ed Skoog, and we've focused on his poem "Like Night Catching Jackrabbits in Its Barbed Wire."

The poem is an account of Ed's 35th birthday in Joshua Tree, CA, sprinkled with the presence of various musical greats (most notably--and not surprisingly--Gram Parson).  But what's grabbed me is not the chance to write a Gram Parsons-style song (that's been done and done), but to visit a new-to-me part of the country through Ed's words and stories, which proves a delightful way to travel.  With Ed's wife having gone into labor this afternoon, however, I'm on my own for the performance: