See, this is the problem the EC has always had to wrestle with: where do we "draw the line"? What can be done? Can anything be done for one that isn't done for all? What about charitable merchandise? Do some people get more play than others? On the basis of what? We've done some things in the past right and some things we tried and they didn't work out as well as hoped. We've got a couple of things we do now, but I mostly look forward to hearing what you, the community, have to say about it.
It is a struggle, Scott, and I am particularly nervous about this one. I do not know how many of us in the scene knew Gil Scott-Heron personally, and since I don't know Gia, I don't want NPS/PSi to be perceived as "appropriating" him in death, since we only obliquely honored him in life... Gil meant a great deal to many of us as artists, but he belonged to Gia as a father.
I think this beings to define where I suggest we draw the line. I am utterly supportive of honoring artists we have lost, but I used the words "Slam Family" to indicate people who have touched the poetry slam scene not just artistically, but personally. That's one of the reasons I think it's appropriate to honor Gabby and Maria (above); the rest of the world may choose to honor them as artists, but most of us miss them most as friends --the kind of friends we could not have made without our connection to the art and community.
Some of what I've written here is colored by the events of this weekend, obviously. But I don't think any of us want this to just be a list of names we have tangential associations with; this is one brief moment to be united with the family in mourning and celebration, and I personally want to know I am sitting next to someone who knows what these people meant to the community at large.
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