Poezthepoet

December 6, 1969

Paul Mills performs as the Fourth Knight/Tempter in T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral at Boston University. Boston After Dark reviews him as “brilliant in both his roles … with a fine sense of poetry.”

August-October 1973

Travel to India, contact with Dagar Brothers, classical Indian vocalists.

November 1973

While working at various jobs — taxi driver; philosophy book salesman; security guard; truck driver; rental car driver — Paul begins memorizing classic poetry by such as Poe, Coleridge, Frost, Keats, Lewis Carroll, Yeats, Dickinson, Whitman, Eliot, Blake, and developing dramatic performances for each of the poems.

Autumn 1975

Poez appears in real life for the first time on the campus of Boston College for one day, performs one poem from the Poetry Menu, for one person. Goes home elated.

May 1976

Poez begins appearing in Harvard Square and the Boston Public Garden, at street fairs and local cafes, and in radio broadcasts on WBUR and WNCN-FM

September 24, 1976

Poez performs Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner at the Stone Soup Gallery, Cambridge Street, Boston

October 8, 1976

Poez performs an original science fiction drama, a one-man show with improvised poetry, The Qandava at the Café Gallery, Dartmouth Street, Boston.

Summer, 1977

Poez moves to Greenwich Village, begins performing classic, original, and improvised poetry from the Poetry Menu on W. 4th Street near Christopher Square, at NYC street fairs, in Washington Square Park near the Holley Monument, and in a radio broadcast for WBAI-FM.

Summer 1977

Poez begins appearing in Washington Square Park and W. 4^th Street, NYC, at street fairs, local cafés, open poetry readings, including St. Mark’s Poetry Project, and in a radio broadcast for WBAI-FM.

June 21, 1977

Poez appears at Greenwich Books, Greenwich Avenue, NYC, performing original poetry.

August, 1977

Poez begins appearing regularly at Kenny’s Castaways, on New York’s Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village.

August, 1977

Poez performs as entre’acte to Hair at the Biltmore Theater on Broadway.

September 2, 1977

Poez is featured on St. Mark’s Poetry Project cable television broadcast, performing original and improvised poetry.

October 26, 1977

Poez performs an improvisational one-man science fiction drama, The Qandava, at Kenny’s Castaways.

February 17, 1978

Poez performs at Soho Books, NYC.

Halloween, October 31, 1978

Poez performs Poe’s The Raven at Lady Jane’s, North Bergen, NJ.

June 4, 1979

Poez performs Confessions of a Performing Street Poet, a one-man show, weekly at Kenny’s Castaways and on the “Love and Logic Show”, Cable-TV channel C.

Autumn 1979

Poez appears regularly at Charles Ludlam’s Ridiculous Theater, One Sheridan Square, NYC, to perform improvised spoken word poetry as “The Man Who Can’t Stop Talking” in Ludlam’s The Elephant Woman.

1980

Poez continues appearing weekly at Kenny’s Castaways on Bleecker Street in New York’s Greenwich Village, as well as at Folk City.

Winter, 1981

Poez appears regularly at venues in Boston and on the West Coast, at Freight and Salvage, and Ashkenaz, in San Francisco’s Haight District.

1981

Poez continues performing at various New York venues, on the street and in clubs, including CBGB, The Bottom Line, The Other End, The Ginger Man, Folk City, and Kenny’s Castaways.

December 10, 1981

Poez performs Spontaneous Combustion in concert with Patrice Regnier’s RUSH DANCE COMPANY at the company’s theater on Broadway.

January 26, 1982

Poez at The Other End, Bleecker Street, NYC

March 21, 1982

Poez at Folk City, W. 3rd Street, NYC

April 18, 1982

Poez at The Other End, Bleecker Street, NYC, opening for Richard Hell.

July 2-9, 1982

Poez performs Spontaneous Combustion with Patrice Regnier’s RUSH DANCE COMPANY at the Theatre du Rond-Point on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. Le Figaro reviews him as “etonnant et imprevu”.

October, 1982

Poez performing Think and Do is recorded and released by the Coop Fast Folk Music Magazine.

Autumn 1982

Live FM radio broadcast with Suzanne Vega, upstate New York.

May 1, 1983

Poez performs Spontaneous Combustion with Patrice Regnier’s RUSH DANCE COMPANY at the Marymount Manhattan Theater in New York. The New York Times describes him as having “overwhelmed” the dancers, characterizes Spontaneous Combustion as “a sonic fantasia.”

1983

Spontaneous Combustion b/w The New Wave Pizzeria is recorded and released by Jasmine Records.

September, 1983

Fred Astaire Meets Dr. Seuss is recorded and released by Survivor Records, a guest track on Vincent T. Vok’s album, Survivor.

November 16, 1983

Poez appears at The Other End, Bleecker Street NYC.

December 14, 1983

September 21, 1984
Poez appears at The Bitter End, Bleecker Street NYC.

April 5-6, 1987

Poez appears in  “POET BAZOOKAED ON W. 4TH ST.”,
a one-man show off-off Broadway at the Times Square West Bank Cafe, directed by Jeffrey Martin.

October 2, 2005

Paul Mills discovers a web page, Whatever Happened To Poez?, authored by two New York City poets, Jackie Sheeler and Bob Holman who regret his disappearance almost 20 years earlier. “Come back, Poez!”

October 5, 2005

Paul Mills gets back in touch with his ex-girlfriend, singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega (through her fan page website), who encourages him to return to New York and begin performing as Poez again.

December 15, 2005

Poez performs at the Cornelia Street Cafe, hosted by Jackie Sheeler.

December 16, 2005

Poez performs at the Bowery Poetry Club, hosted by Bob Holman

December 25, 2005

Paul Mills engaged to Suzanne Vega.

2007

Begins performing at various New York venues, Bowery Poetry Project, the Bitter End, St. Anne’s Warehouse, Theater for the New City, La MaMa ETC, the Cornelia Street Cafe, Le Poisson Rouge, Symphony Space, The Cutting Room, City Winery; in Prague and London; becomes video poetry performance artist; writing and performing as keyboard spoken word singer-songwriter, solo and with jazz accompanists, and with digital delay enhancement.

September 27-29, 2007

Poez appears in  “POET BAZOOKAED ON W. 4TH ST.“,
a one-man show off-off Broadway at the Bowery Poetry Club, releases The Poetry Dollars, published by Bowery Poetry Books. The New York Times describes him as “a spoken-word pioneer.”

Returns to the remodeled Washington Square Park, performing regularly from The Poetry Menu for NYU students, teachers, and tourists there, goes home elated.