wayang kata.

So I went onstage last night in some sick version of an American Idol poetry face-off, and... I'm going to Singapore!!

I know it's for the Charlie Dark workshop and the Singapore Writers Festival but the biggest personal treat for me is that I get to see my Natigruh again and Singapore's gorgeous National Library for freeeeeeee.

Whoaa I won. I wasn't sure how many winners there would be, I thought one at first, and then there were three. Which is great, three's not a crowd in this case. I appreciate the votes and the judges' decision, even though I was so insanely nervous (and secretly glad that the journalists broadcasted my stage fright across the nation in print) that when I took a piece of paper out of my pocket for the second poem it shook like a leaf with my left hand. And that was why I wanted to memorize my pieces beforehand.

I also appreciate those who didn't vote because they admitted to being biased & wanted a sincere tally for me.

Last night was madness, the poets were great and the guest performances were infinitely entertaining. I think if the six of us were pitted up against them there was no way any one of us could've won. Shinji (FigureOfSpeech) from The Works gave a performance that hit everyone with words like rapid fire. I loved how the scope of his material got broader and broader, echoing perfectly what he was saying about religion abused as a stepping stool by politicians and extremists. Everyone roared with applause at his politically-charged big-picture portrayal and he even had to apologize for not doing an encore. ("And who was the hip-hop poet? I want him for my readings later on!" - Sharon Bakar)

I accidentally blurted out to Zalila Lee that she failed. Her guest poet slot turned out to be two songs with an acoustic guitar but her voice and guitar skills were so mind-blowing that I tried to find her after the event. Turns out she found me first and before I could say anything she said "I remember you at this one open mic, I love your stuff."

I said, "Crap, I've been trying to find you all night and now you're telling me exactly what I wanted to say to you. Do you have an album? A website?"

"No, I don't--" "What!? You fail!"

At that point I realized I failed more, but she was laughing. And we compromised by exchanging email addresses so I can see her live again.

I won't even mention Fahmi Fadzil and Ciplak's collaboration. It was so ridiculous and so preprosterously amazing... you, you just had to be there. I hope a video surfaces online. I love Ciplak.

I think I had a face-palm moment when Ami uncovered the article photo online, but I have to say that actually that article was continued on another page, and you should definitely read that too: (link) and not just because there's more of me in it. Even I've had enough. For now.

Thank you everyone for coming!