The Collins Poetry Residency is established in honor of the Richard Collins family and their contributions to and encouragement of poets and poetry in the Iowa/Illinois Quad Cities and the Upper Mississippi River Valley. The residency supports community-based poetry and a regional poet who resides in the six-county Quad City area (Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, Scott, Clinton, Muscatine).

2010 Poet-in-Residence is Salvatore Marici of Port Byron

Friday, October 22, 2010

Stephan Abbott/John Denton/Greg Miller/Mike Miller/Skyler OHanlon/Steven Mooney/Justin Reed/5thSt Shawty/Ashley Shownolove/Nick Tharp: BlackHawk Squad

I had the privilege of conducting a workshop with some young poets in East Moline, Ill., on Thursday. This poem shows how the seed for a poem can emerge from an image as simple as a bottle of water sitting on a desk. Stephan Abbott, John Denton, Mike Miller, Skyler O'Hanlon, Steven Mooney, Justin Reed, 5th Street Shawty, Ashley Shownolove, and Nick Tharp all collaborated to write this poem. A collaboration poem can be one of the most difficult to write, especially in less than two hours! Only these poets know whether their poem is finished or whether it will continue to evolve... [the working title of this poem was "Aqua Watta," but it quickly became about something else]

Black Hawk Squad
Goin to the club
Rollin on the dubs
Bangin in the subs
Makin lub
Got girls on deck
Got my squad/Show respect
Keepin h8ters in check
If you want it just flex

Gotta lotta
Botta watta
Gotta lotta dollas
Shotta vocka
Makin all the ladies holla


We ain’t gotta go home
But we all gotta go/Mind state movin real slow
Jus goin wit the flow/C u at da doh
Cruisin in the street on that same beat
In the Maserati goin to the party
Mooney ridin shotgun grippin the shawty
Goin round town tryin to find Gotti

Gotta lotta
Botta watta
Gotta lotta dollas
Shotta vocka
Makin all the ladies holla