Spring Loaded: A Message from the Editor top of page | cover page

Welcome to the first annual Pez Poetry Slam issue of Pezhead Monthly. This issue was extremely fun to put together, because my interest in writing poetry was essential to the direction I wanted to take this newsletter from the start. I wanted to show that it was possible to celebrate the ideas and feelings that the hobby of collecting Pez inspires, without focusing on practical matters such as dollar value, historical information, and news of upcoming Pez dispensers and events. Poetry, to me, is a great way to celebrate Pez. Don't get me wrong, I find those practical aspects of the hobby very interesting, and they are in fact invaluable when doing research for this newsletter. I just think that we need to address not just what Pez is, but also how and why it's such a fun and addictive hobby.

A note of thanks is due to Lori Smith and Ron Scott, who together submitted four poems to the Pez Poetry Slam and have the distinction of being the first contributors to Pezhead Monthly. I encourage you to check out Lori's lively Web page at http://www.users.qwest.net/~ribbit5/pezpezbaby.html.

Also featured in this issue is the illustrious Pez Almost-Quote of the Month. So grab that cappuccino, find yourself a seat, put on that beret, and breathe in the funky vibe that is the first annual Pezhead Monthly Pez Poetry Slam.

Joe Durrant
Editor, Pezhead Monthly
joe@pezheadmonthly.com

Pez Poetry Slam top of page | cover page

This Poetry Slam proves that the Pez pen is mightier than the sword.

Wordsworth, Whitman, Eliot, Shakespeare, Byron. Great poets? Indisputably. But did any of these esteemed literary figures compose verses about Pez? No? I didn't think so. Now, one can make the argument that when these men walked the earth Pez hadn't been created yet. But really, the feelings and ideals that the hobby of Pez collecting inspires have been around for ages: youth, innocence, imagination, and serenity. And so it is in this spirit that I present the first annual Pez Poetry Slam. The variety of Pez Poetry represented below is indicative of the variety of ways Pez makes our days worthwhile.

Pez Haiku #8
by Joe Durrant

Sleep soundly, little
One. Tomorrow we head for
The Pez convention.

A Pez Pause
by Lori Smith

P laying
E clectic
Z ealous and more
Isn't that's what being grown-up is for?
Candy coated pursuits and friendships that care
All for a dispenser that knows how to share.
Pez Poetry Slam

Surf and Learn
by Joe Durrant

I surfed to the site called eBay
To see how much people would pay.
For a vintage dispenser,
Spare no expense, or
Watch that great find slip away.

A Smile for Dan
by Lori Smith

I have a little candy but it isn't in a jar
It snuggles in my pocket, never very far
I know you won't believe me when I say it has some eyes
And always smiles back at me no matter where it lies
From comic book to movie screen the faces are all here
And each one has a story which makes them very dear
By now you must imagine that the treat I have is rare
But you'd be very wrong 'cuz I have lots to share
See these are special friends with sugary delight
And picking them is easy for they're always right in sight
So have an orange, or pink or just a purple tab
And soon you too will understand, that PEZ was made to grab.

Snowflake
by Joe Durrant

Pez.
Fruity
goodness
in a variety
of dispensers.
Collect them all
or collect as many
as you can. Just remember
that each Pez is like a snowflake,
each with its own mark upon this world.
So the next time you see a variety of
Pez dispensers on display, say
softly to yourself: there may
be many things in this big
world, but right now
there is only
one thing:
Pez.

The Raise or the Glaze?
by Lori Smith

On my kitchen counter sits a box of Krispy Kremes
Those with a sweet tooth know exactly what that means.
For grown-up gals like me it's just acceptable and right
To munch down those rings until my jeans are much too tight
But what is much more fun is that other pack of twelve
That is where my weakness always seems to delve
A dozen little tabs of sugar coated bliss-
Why should little kids be the only ones for this!
So instead of digging through a box of dough and glaze
It's a PEZ dispenser's cartoon head I open up and raise
There I have a moment, and enjoy it - Yup I do
Cuz with all my adult stress, treats like this are just too few

Pez Haiku #9
by Joe Durrant

What if we were the
Dispensers, and the Pez were
Collectors? Trippy.