GI 5: Greg Bem & Gregory Laynor

General Idea 5 presents former Philadelphia poets Greg Bem and Gregory Laynor on Tuesday, December 27th at 5:00 at Moonstone Arts Center/ Robin's Books in Center City: 110A S. 13th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19107.

Greg Bem used to live a hearty life in Philadelphia and was a member of the New Philadelphia Poets, but then he moved to Seattle in August, 2010. In the year and four months since the migration, he has regularly volunteered for the poetry non-profit SPLAB and the Columbia City Public Library. He co-curates a dynamic multimedia performance series (called the Breadline) with poets Alex Bleecker and Jeremy Springsteed, works in the schizoid Search Engine Marketing/Optimization industry, and attends the Information School at the University of Washington. In September he organized and hosted Silence and Communication, a 20-feature event dervied from Cagean aesthetic, which helped get Greg shortlisted for the Stranger's Genius Award. The most important thing a poet can do, Greg believes, is help promote the advancements and document the actions of friends, villains, self, and the masses.

Gregory Laynor is living in Seattle, where he is studying & teaching at the University of Washington and curating readings & talks at the Hedreen Gallery. Recent work appears in EOAGH and Fence. He is co-editing the collected writings of Gil Ott for Chax Press. He is on the Internet at academicpoetry.com.