On Entering the DragonIn eastern cultures, dragons are considered to be benevolent creatures symbolizing great power and strength. As power hungry as we are at Litrave, we decided to Enter The Dragon on Friday, May 18, 2001. And, we came out alive, without even a single hair on our heads burned by the dragon's fire. Enter The Dragon is an alternative spoken word happening in the old Chinatown Plaza, housed by the ARTScorpsLA, a nonprofit organization promoting fine arts in the inner city area. Every Friday night from 9 PM, a group of poets, musicians, and artists gathers around the Dragon to create a unique blend of poetry, spoken word, live music, drum circle, chanting, and whatever-your-hearts-desire type of performance art. There are no sign-up sheets, no MCs, no rules. The only rule is "respect others and don't hog the mic."
Some of us at LitRave were brave enough to "tickle the sleeping Dragon," as Harry Potter would say, and we had a pretty good time at it. Wayman mastered his skill of playing a chair instead of a drum. Kwame graced the mic with some absolutely awesome alternative freestyle spoken word. Jelena explained to everybody how poetry can change the world, and Frankie coached from the sidelines and made sure that none of the litravers become the Dragon's dinner. On the contrary, Toe Knee - our host "in the belly of the Dragon," offered us some food instead. And who says dragons are not hospitable creatures?!?!
So, if you are up to tickling the Dragon yourself, tiptoe over to our Links (careful! the Dragon is sleeping...), and click over to the Dragon's site for more information and directions. Believe me, the Dragon won't mind being awakened from the sleep any given Friday night.
With all due respect to the fellow Dragon, raving for the LitRave,
Jelena aka Helen the Bashful Dragon
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