April has always been "National Poetry Month", despite Channel Zero's manful attempts to turn it into "National Bad Poetry Month" thru the good offices of our annual reading of the world's worst verse "The Bad Poets Society".
For years now, Wesley Willis' lyrics have fairly anchored the Bad Poets Society.
Audiences from Central Square to Somerville have rocked with laughter when read the lyrics to such songs as "I Whupped the Mighty Thor's Ass".
For a franchise that heavily trafficked in oddball 19th century substandard poets, Wesley was a rare contemporary lyricist with a strong transgressive quality (exp "Casper the Friendly Homosexual Ghost" possibly THE MOST cringe worthy song lyrics ever recited at the Bad Poets Society).
So when We found out he had a career as a singer/songwriter going on in Chicago and had not one but TWO feature length documentaries dedicated to his amazing story, We knew Channel Zero had to do a screening.
My thinking is, at long last we are allowing one of the Bad Poets Society's stalwarts a chance to "talk back" and give us his side of the story.
When someone produces a GOOD documentary on the life of Francis E. Dec (He of the Cannibal Frankenstein CIA Monster God fame) or Julia Moore "The Sweet Singer of Michigan" (Otherwise know as America's answer to William McGonigall), trust me, Channel Zero will conspire to screen it.
Meanwhile on Friday April 8th at 8pm (At the Somerville Theatre) the spotlight shines down on the late Wesley Willis, singer songwriter and inadvertent star of the Bad Poets Society.
Be there, admission is $6.50 (cheap!)
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