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"Poetry for the Urban Survivalist" Poet/Activist www.33third.com/monte Page 1 | 2 | 3 Lee: Tell us about 'High Protein Tongue Arrangements' Poetry for the Urban Survivalist Vol. 1 and your next book 'Don't Shoot the Hostages' Poetry for the Urban Survivalist Vol. 2. Monte Smith: My first literary release was a chapbook entitled 'High Protein Tongue Arrangements: Poetry for the Urban Survivalist Vol. 1'. I put it out in April of 2002 independently. Since then it's gone to print three times. It did really well in terms of reviews and getting me featuring gigs at word houses such as the Nuyorican in New York City, the Cantab in Boston and Mangos in DC. You can go to Monte/33Third.com and read the reviews and quotes it received. 'Don't Shoot the Hostages: Poetry for the Urban Survivalist Vol. 2' will be an actual book, not a chapbook. Bruce George (CO founder of HBO's Def Poetry Jam) is writing the forward. I hope to have it out by February 2005. L: What challenges have you faced in making sure this book reaches the people that it needs to reach? M: As I just mentioned 'Don't Shoot the Hostages' won't be out until Feb. of next year, and it's a constant struggle when you're dealing with material such as mine! As I mentioned earlier, a lot of people won't book me due to my material, so really the biggest challenge is to continue to find people and companies such as Matt Stibbe at 33third.com and Red Bull Energy Drink to support poets such as myself, which in return makes it easier to get product out and set up tours. L: In your travels and through your interaction with the youth, how do you view their take on 'reading'? M: For example, when a poor child of jobless parents, (which is the fashion in these days of Bush and war) gets a hold of the truth to their surroundings, their personal need to read vastly increases. I've seen it manifest time after time, city after city. That's what's beautiful about the truth; it promotes self-education no matter how down and out the situation. L: What do you get from your own writing? M: Writing keeps me going.
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