Now this is innovative. This is how it should be done. The ol if you can’t bring people to poetry bring poetry to the people. Yes Guy!

Thank you to everyone who voted or dropped by my SXSW Panel Pitch.

Many will enter few will win. Winners are notified mid-September so…now I/we wait.

There were some amazing pitches this year. Some of the ideas people are developing are just incredible.

Regardless of who gets in at SXSW when it comes to the future there is much hope, progress and myriad possibilities.

Yes Guy!

So as per my agreement with Lana Gay and her wonderful CBC 3 show Lanarama I had to select 3 winners from Vancouver, who would receive concert tickets and then 3 winners from outside BC to get copies of my book Red Letter Nights.

Here’s what I picked along with some bonus commentary.

Woot! I get to be on the oh so wonderful Lana Gay’s show Lanarama on CBC 3 today AND…get to judge a Haiku contest.

Many will enter, few will win!

I’m almost getting cooler. Yes?

The Return of Spike Lee! Woot.

Went to the Sweet Thing show at the Mod Club. My goodness, wish they handed out seatbelts, what a ride!

I envy kids.

What do Ned Flanders, David Byrne, Angelina Jolie and myself all have in common?

Poetry is in everyday life. Just like beauty it’s in the eye of the beholder. Every now and then in this space I’ll celebrate pop poetry in all its wonderful, ridiculous bright colours and profound power. If you have any suggestions please email away.

Ever sat at the uncool kids table in your high school cafeteria? Well no more! Here’s my chance to run with the fun and cool and hip kids.

I’ve got a SXSW pitch up and it’s available for public voting and…you’re public. Please vote, if one of us can escape the uncool kids table there’s hope and inspiration the rest of us can get there. Plus good karma, vote for me and usher in goodness into your life. (Offer Void in Quebec, Hawaii and Alaska).

So some details for those with questions:

The pitch is here.

Not sure what SXSW is? To the Internet! Oh…wait, we’re already here. Wow, things are moving more rapidly.

So SXSW means South by Southwest. It’s in Austin, Texas. Really cool hip town (the whole town is a cool kids table).

SXSW is a film, interactive and music festivals extravaganza all rolled into 1 over 4 days in March. Over 2000 bands, I dunno how many movies, loads of parties and as for the interactive part all kinds of web creators, entrepreneurs, designers and other funky fresh individuals show up and tell us about all the cool stuff they are working on. It’s nuts, I’m just working on today, some of these people are like working on the future.

In 2007 Twitter was launched at SXSW. Coolness.

You will need to create an account to vote, this is what the nice SXSW people say:
Voting is simple and FREE! Go to PanelPicker.sxsw.com any time between August 9 and August 27, 2010, click “Sign In” at the top left of the page. Next click “create a new account” and fill out the simple form. Once you are signed up you will be able to review, rate and comment on all submissions for the 2011 event. Voting officially closes on August 27, but the interface will remain open for comments through the event.

Feel free to add comments, questions, Eva Mendes’ phone number and jokes to the pitch.

So, go, vote, help me get to the cool kids table, I’ll bring you all with me. Promise.