By Sunny Montgomery
Her husband won’t let her have a blowtorch. Her anxiety can be crème-filled and self-indulgent and if she were a superhero she might be called Cheesecake Chippy. These are the kinds of things one might learn of local poetess Renee Rigdon during one of her lively readings. Rigdon, like many other local writers, has found her voice through the Holler Poet Series’ open-mike.
Certainly by now most Lexingtonians are familiar with the series, founded by Eric Sutherland and hosted by Al’s Bar. Each month features a different Kentucky writer, from the nationally known Silas House to local celebrities like Donna Ison. Since its beginning in 2008, Holler Poets Series has become a sort of haven for local poets, songsters and misfit writers alike to rally together, unstress with a few whiskey shots and then share their words during the no holds barred open-mic. This is where I first met Rigdon last April when she “popped her Holler cherry,” as Sutherland so elegantly phrases it.
“I hadn’t spoken in front of a large group of people since I was in sixth grade,” says Rigdon of her premiere performance. “It was really a leap of faith that no one would chuck a beer bottle at my head like something out of Blues Brothers,” she said, laughing, making me wonder what kind of barbarous grade school she attended. Rigdon debuted that April evening with “Self Indulgent Crème-Filled Anxiety,” a smart and honest poem about a girl panicking before reading at an open-mic, distracting herself with thoughts of Twinkies and the promise of getting drunk afterward. Anyone who’s been courageous enough to stand in front of strangers and share their poetry, and there are always plenty of us at Holler, can wholly relate to this poem. Instantly, Rigdon found herself a Holler favorite.
In fact, she has accrued such a fan base since that debut that the term “Renee-iacs” has been coined among her devotees. Her appeal is palpable; she is a strong performer and an accessible writer.
“The thing I like best about her work is her diversity of subject,” says Sutherland. “You never know what’s going to come out of her mouth but you can guarantee it will be intense and lit like a house fire.” Her topics have ranged from being a fat girl in the summertime, to misguided feminism, to the tribulations of being a writer as seen in—my personal favorite—“Federico,” where she battles writer’s block after her ideas are seduced to San Juan for a “whirlwind romance” with Federico and “his tight cotton pants.”
She can be snarky or sentimental, but each month Rigdon brings it with authenticity. “I’m always going for truth,” she says. “No matter what I am writing, no matter how topical, esoteric or insane. Through the other writers I have met at Holler, I’ve learned how to better tell the truth with my words. Similarly,” she continues, “spending time at Al’s Bar has taught me exactly how much gin I can have and still read words on a page.” Rigdon even goes as far to credit Holler for a more balanced relationship with her husband. “He no longer bears the sole brunt of my rhyme attacks,” she explains.
Currently, Rigdon is collaborating on a project called “Sisters Provocateur,” which will feature poetry, dance and immersion theatre. (Full disclosure: your author is a member of Sisters Provocateur.) Sisters Provocateur will debut June 25 at the Loudon House Fourth Friday event. Make sure to catch Rigdon then, alongside a group of local women writers whose mission is to prove that “poetry doesn’t have to be pretentious, brainy doesn’t have to be boring and sexy doesn’t have to be skinny,” a group of women writers that, not surprisingly, she met through Holler Poet Series.
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