Been texting a couple friends about this long-awaited project. Last year I tried to get a text setting of Eric Darby’s “Scratch and Dent Dreams” airborne, but it kinda exploded in the hangar. CAG’s application deadline gave me a kick in the pants to deliver a fresh version.

Setting a slam poem means making a stage piece, so the instrumentation (vox,fl,pc,af) was a bit of a breakthrough — should provide a bit more visual interest as I get through the text. It also enables distinct changes in character and presentation. Switching instruments means I can go back and forth between heightening the text to depicting it.