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Adam Gregory Pergament (FlowPoetry)
Born	Adam Gregory Pergament (1965-08-06)6 August 1965 Atlanta, GA, USA
Pen name	FlowPoetry
Occupation	Poet; Performer; Writer; Educator; Singer; Musician
Education	University of Minnesota-Minneapolis; University of Wisconsin-Madison (BA and MA)
Genre	Poetry; Spoken Word; Jazz; Jam Band; Rock Music; Blues; Psychedelic Rock; Heavy Metal; Folk; Psychedelic Folk; Country; Spaghetti Western; Bluegrass; Alternative Hip Hop; Free Jazz; Art Rock; Industrial; Future Bass; Electronic Dance Music; Beat Poetry; Psychedelic Trance; World Music; Transformational Festival; Avant-Garde Jazz; Chant; Free Verse; Epic Poetry; Rhyme
Literary movement	Lyrical Jam,
Years active	2005-Current
Spouse	Ya-Ling Tsai (m. 1991; div. 2007)
Website
www.facebook.com/Flowpoetry/about/

Adam Gregory Pergament (aka FlowPoetry; born August 6, 1965) is an American born poet, songwriter, musician, stage performer, writer, and educator. He is known for being the originator of Lyrical Jam spoken word poetry.

Early Life

Adam Gregory Pergament was born in Atlanta, GA on August 6th 1965 (20 years to the day after the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima) to Paula Pergament (nee Leiter; at the time an Art Student at The Atlanta College of Art) and Michael Pergament (at that time a Medical Student at Emory University). In 1968 as the Vietnam War ramped up, the family moved to Newport News, VA at the request of the US Army who had drafted his father into service. From 1969-70, he and his family were stationed at the Fort Eustis Military Base. In 1970, the family moved to Cincinnati, OH where his father started his medical residency. In 1972, the family moved to St. Paul, Minnesota. His mother crafted ceramics and raised Adam along with his younger sister and brother while his father rose to Chief of Pediatric Urology at the St. Paul Childrens’ Hospital and practiced medicine and taught at The University of Minnesota Hospital. Notable ancestors included his Great Grandfather Henry Hochleiter who worked as a machine-man in the roundhouses on the Ohio and Chicago Railway in the early 1900s. Upon being offered a nickel raise for hard-work, Hochleiter immediately quit exclaiming that he if he was worth that much now, he should have been getting paid that much form the start. Great grandfather Jehiel Dov Liebling was the editor & publisher of a Jewish newspaper in Chicago. Great grandmother Rose Rossman Liebling secured the advertising for his paper. Great grandfather Max Pergament was a Chicago haberdasher. Great grandfather Jacob Diamond managed a gas station in Chicago. A Great Uncle, Wilbert Leibling, won the 1933 Chicago World's Fair singing competition at age 11 over Mel Tormé (later The Velvet Fog) when he hit a C over high C during the contest. Later he was invited to audition for Eddie Cantor but never got the chance to meet the stage star and radio host as his mother who had accompanied him couldn’t figure out how to open the door to the music studio. His Grandfather Al Pergament was a traveling shoe salesman who spent weeks at a time on the road throughout the “Southern Territories” Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee selling Old Main Trotters. His Grandfather Robert Leiter was a lawyer in Atlanta, GA who at one time worked vetting contracts for Georgia Championship Wrestling and had a hand in promoting Gorgeous George. His Grandmother Beulah Liebling Leiter was the he first Supreme Dean for Iota Tau Tau Women’s International Legal sorority, one of the first female lawyers certified by the Georgia Bar Association, and one of the first women in the Southern Part of the US to be offered a judgeship. His Uncle Daryl Leiter was an academic expert on Black Hole Horizons and Singularities. His Aunt Sharon Leiter was a published poet and educator at The University of Virginia.

Education

Pergament was educated through the 1st grade at schools on Fort Eustis Military Base in Newport News, VA. He then attended Mattocks School in St. Paul, MN for a year before earning at scholarship as a 3rd grader to The St. Paul Academy and Summit School (famous alumni include F. Scott Fitzgerald and John C. Lilly). He graduated from there with honors in 1983 and subsequently attended The University of Minnesota-Minneapolis for 2 years majoring in Political Science. He earned a 4.0 in his first semester and made the Dean’s List as a freshman. In 1985 he transferred to The University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduating in 1988 with a BA double majoring in English Literature and Political Science. During his senior year he was President and Re-Founding Father of the UW-Madison Chapter of the Acacia Fraternity. He also served on the University of Wisconsin Union Directorate Theater Arts Committee. In 1995, after 6 ½ years backpacking and teaching English in Asia, he returned to the US and started his graduate work at The University of Wisconsin-Madison, pursuing a PhD in the Buddhist Studies Program housed within the Department of South Asian Studies (the United States’ first such program started in 1961 by Richard Robinson). His graduate advisor was Dr. Minoru Kiyota, a survivor of the California Tule Lake Concentration Camp during WWII and formerly the world’s foremost expert on Japanese Esoteric Buddhism (Shingon). Pergament also studied under the tutelage of Dr. David Knipe , a former student of Mircea Eliade and, at the time, the nation’s foremost expert on Hindu rituals related to fire. Geshe Lhundub Sopa, a former tutor and examiner of the 14th Dalai Lama also taught in the program during Pergament’s time in the program. Pergament’s overall GPA over the seven years of graduate study was 3.9. In April, 1997 he assisted Dr. Kiyota in a talk on “Zen: The Construction of a New Human Configuration” given at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the May of 2000, Pergament presented a paper on “The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra: Doctrinal Development in Chinese Buddhism and the Liang Dynasty” at The Upper Midwest Regional Conference of The American Academy of Religion. In October of 2001, he was a respondent to a panel on “Recent Research in Buddhist Studies” at The Annual International South Asian Conference held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2001, his PhD dissertation proposal, revolving around a translation and phenomenological exegesis of a Chinese recension of The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra and its Doctrinal Development regarding Buddha Nature in Chinese Buddhist Thought during the Liang Dynasty, was accepted by a committee of scholars including Kiyota, Dr. Gudrun Bühnemann (one of the world’s foremost scholars of Sanskrit), Knipe, and Dr. Charles Hallisey (an expert on Sinahlese Literature currently teaching at The Harvard Divinity School). In the Spring of 2002, he acted as an Organizing Committee Member for the UW-Madison’s Department of East Asian Languages and Literature’s Graduate Student Colloquium on Chinese Buddhism and the Nirvana Sutra. In that same Spring of 2002 Pergament was nominated for a University of Wisconsin-Madison Dissertator Fellowship. As he worked on his dissertation, both Kiyota and Knipe retired (Sopa having retired in 1997) leaving Pergament without an advisor and no way to complete his studies. He was therefore granted, by The University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master’s Degree in Languages And Cultures of Asia with an emphasis on Chinese Buddhism and a leave of absence until such time that new professors within his field were hired. Two years later, the University, having failed to hire replacement professors expert in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, dissolved the Buddhist Studies Program. Pergament eternally remains the last student of the first ever Buddhist Studies Program in North America. Prior to beginning his graduate work, in 1993, he studied traditional Thai Massage at Wat Pho in Bangkok, Thailand [09Misc_WatPo_ThaiMassageCertificate.jpg] and Bansuri at a music ashram in Varanasi, India.

Poetry

Beginnings Rock and Fire FlowPoetry: His first poem, spoken at the age of 2 ½ years old, was to accompany a pen and ink drawing he did in the style of a Chinese Brush Painting. When asked by his mother what the drawing represented, the young poet replied “Birds flying over wheat.” [08Misc_Poem_2.5 years old.jpg] Early inspiration was found in the Beat Poets, notably Gary Snyder and Jack Kerouac and later the music of the Grateful Dead. During his travels in Thailand, on the island of Ko Pha-ngan in 1989, the poem “Stonebridged and Sizzleplexed”, what Pergament has called his Ur Text, was written down and has since informed much of his poetry. Pergament’s first public poetry performance took place on Aug 6, 2002 in Madison, WI at The Café Montmartre. Since that first appearance he has performed over 1400 times. Complete FlowPoetry setlists can be found here from 8/6/2002-11/09/2017 and here from12/31/2017-Present. During 2002 and 2003, Pergament concentrated primarily on the open-mic scene in Madison, WI and became host and facilitator of open-mics at The Liquid Lyrics Lounge, The Portal Music Café, and Steep and Brew Coffeehouse on State Street. On November 1, 2003, he appeared on the bill in Chicago at the Wrigley Building along with The Steve Kimock Band and Frank Catalano.

StoneFloat: At the end of 2003, Pergament was invited by musicians to form a band which later became StoneFloat. Billed as “Improvidelic”, StoneFloat mixed hard rock and grunge with free jazz spoken word poetry. Their first show was on Feb. 11, 2004. The band went on to perform over 100 times around the Midwest and released two live albums. The band held a weekly residencies at The Mercury Lounge and The King Club. The band’s final show was July 13, 2006. In the Fall of 2004, as a solo performer, he was a finalist for Best Artist-Other in the first annual Madison Area Music Awards. By 2005 he was performing around the Midwest over 150 times a year as a solo poet and with the band. During this period, Pergament continued to host and perform in Madison’s vibrant open-mic scene as a way of contributing to his local arts community. He founded and facilitated an acoustic music series called “Madison Un-Plugged” at Steep and Brew Coffeehouse on State Street. He was named “Poet in Residence” at The King Club, voted Madison, WI's #1 nightclub in 2007, in an effort by the club to stem city-wide unrest and violence in that entertainment district)[add: 20061018_RicksCafe.JPG]. He appeared on stage with Clyde Stubblefield (James Brown’s “Original Funky Drummer). StoneFloat appeared on festival billings with Melvin Seals and JGB and Trampled By Turtles. StoneFloat performed in direct support of Cornmeal and Buck 65.

Chime Collective: In December 2004, Pergament began what would become a 2 ½ year residency The Madison Center For Creative and Cultural Arts (MCCCA). Founded by Hanah Jon Taylor, a Jazz saxophonist and member of the Chicago based avant-garde Association For The Advancement of Creative Musicians, MCCCA served as a performing arts hub in Madison until its closure in late 2007. While there, Pergament held FlowPoetry workshops, weekly big band improvised jam sessions he called “Chime Collective”, and performances on a regular basis. He appeared on Jazz festival billings with Roscoe Mitchell, Sonny Fortune, and Richard Davis. As part of his involvement in the Midwest Jazz scene, Pergament performed his FlowPoetry in 2008 at The Velvet Lounge, the home of Chicago Avant-Garde Jazz scene, as part of the Artists For The Advancement of Creative Music Monday Masters series.

Venice Gas House Trolley: Originally conceived in 2006 by Pergament as a “Beat Freak” poetry trio consisting of voice, up-right bass, and bongos in honor of the Venice Beach Poetry scene, VGHT grew to a six piece jam-band by 2010. An early highlight included 5 well-received shows at 2007 The Minnesota Fringe Festival. In 2008, Pergament and VGHT were finalists for both Best Artist-Unique and Best Song-Unique in the 5th Annual Madison Area Music Awards. Also in 2008, the band was featured on the London, UK international poetry performance website “Twin Poetry Collective”. The band performed 400 times between 10/06/2006-12/04/2014, released 6 albums (including 2 double live CDS), and embarked on 7 US poetry and music tours ("Brother Can You Spare A Dime?" Spring '09 Tour; "Synapse Lapse And ReBlast!" Summer Tour '09; "Sowing Seeds Spring Tour 2010"; "Sun Slant Peach Tree" Summer Tour 2010; "Dance The Voodoo Out" Summer Tour 2011; "Intimately Aware" Spring Tour 2012; "Sculptured To Stone" Spring 2013 Tour). In 2010, the band was signed to the Home Grown Music Network. In 2011, VGHT received a Best Of Madison Experimental Music Award by The Isthmus Newspaper. The band appeared at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Arts in "MMoCA Nights: Experience Surrealism" in conjunction with the "Real/Surreal" exhibit organized by The Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC. VGHT held a twice monthly residency at The Cardinal Bar (“Mad Jam Mondays” from 10/11/2010 -5/14/2012) and a weekly residency at The Alchemy (“First Fridays: Poetry You Can Dance To!” from 9/6/2013-6/6/2014). In addition the band presented a seasonal “VGHT Carnival {of Sorts}” at The Frequency in Madison, WI, incorporating world music of all genres from Classical North Indian to Brazilian Drum Corps. During this period, Pergament also continued to perform his solo FlowPoetry and in 2007 released a triple CD entitled “Rock and Fire FlowPoetry” which was recorded at the St. Paul Art Crawl. In 2008 his poetry as featured on the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets Annual Calendar. In 2009, Pergament was a finalist for the Minnesota Spoken Word Association’s “Urban Griot” Awards International/National Spoken Word Performer of the Year. In 2010, VGHT opened a show for Greg Ginn, formerly of the seminal punk group Black Flag, supported bands such as The Werks, The Big Wu, Amandla featuring Claude Coleman, Jr. of Ween, and appeared on a festival billing with Leftover Salmon.

FlowPoetry: At the end of 2014, Pergament once again put priority on performing his solo FlowPoetry. In 2016, he was asked by Sound and Silence Media Group (Detroit, MI) to establish a “Mysteries of Sound” community based column on their webpage and submit a bi-weekly series of 10 poetry videos. In 2014, he was selected in a nation-wide search for creatives to ride and perform on The Furthur Bus 50th Anniversary National Tour following in the footsteps of Ken Kesey and The Merry Pranksters. On that tour, at Phases of The Moon Festival where Pergament performed from the top of the Furthur Bus, he met Sam Cutler, former tour manager for The Rolling Stones and The Grateful Dead. One highlight of the tour was a multiple day stint on Max Yasgur’s farm for the 45th Anniversary Celebration of Woodstock.[10Misc_OnTheBus.jpg] While there he met Bill Hanley, the "father of festival sound" who is most widely known as the sound engineer behind the original Woodstock festival in Bethel, New York in August 1969. In addition to his performances, FlowPoetry is featured prominently alongside, Ken and Zane Kesey, Alex Grey, and Wavy Gravy in the yet to be released documentary "Going Furthur" which chronicles the cross country tour. In Madison, he partnered with and expanded the presence of the WIJAM Media Group, a social media and news company. Between 2014 and 2016, he published a 50 part weekly poetry series on-line for Sensible Reason, a Millennial Culture website (Brooklyn, NY). That series of poems was later complied and became the first FlowPoetry book length publication. In Spring 2016 he embarked on a national solo FlowPoetry tour (“Torch The Sky-Ebb Tide”). In August 2016, he trademarked “FlowPoetry”.[12Misc_Trademark.jpg] His poetry was selected in a Madison city-wide competition to place poems on the outside of Madison Metro busses.[13Misc_MadisonMetro_FlowPoetry.jpg] In 2013, Pergament began “hosting” and emceeing large events in the Midwest and facilitating poetry workshops at Transformational Festivals as a way to open space for poetry. In 2014, 2015, and 2016, FlowPoetry was voted by the city as one of Madison (Wisconsin) Magazine's Best Spoken Word/Poetry Performers. Performing a poem before introducing a musical act became a major part of his oeuvre over the next 7 years. Examples of this include: an on-going 7 year stint as host of The Majestic Theater Summer Jam Series in Madison, WI; multiple appearances at Ekoostik Hookah’s Hookahville Jam Rock Festival (including being asked to deliver a special toast on stage in front of 3000 “Hookaheads” to mark the 50th Hookahville); multiple appearances at Glostik Willy’s heavy metal festival “Willy Town” where he appeared on the billing with Living Colour and multiple appearances at WIJAM’s Moondance Bluegrass Music Festival where he appeared on the billing with Keller Williams. Pergament showed the unique ability to tailor his sets and poetry to each genre represented at these, and more. festivals. He also moved into the Transformational Festival scene and appeared at Wookiefoot’s Shangri-La Festival as an invited guest of The Illumination Station Arts Group. In 2014, he appeared on stage in direct support of Particle. He held a 3 year monthly “Hippy Hideout” residency at The Frequency Night Club in Madison, WI from 2015-2018. In 2016, he was tabbed by Summer Set Music Fest [11Misc Photo_FlowPoetry Summer Set 2016.jpg] to host and perform on their Saloon Stage. Festival headliners that year included Bassnectar, Skrillex, and Chance The Rapper. Also in 2016, he performed on stage with Bernie Worrel, former keyboardist for George Clinton’s Parliament Funkadelic. In 2017, he performed on stage with Chuck Garvey and Vinnie Amico of moe. He has performed at 4 Summer Camp Music Festival “On The Road” national tour stops and at the 2018 event at The High Noon Saloon in Madison, WI, became the first solo poet to perform at a Summer Camp Music festival affiliated event. In 2019, Pergament was tabbed by The High Noon Saloon, Majestic Live and Frank Productions in affiliation with Live Nation to host the first ever “Madison’s Got Talent” showcase. That year he published his 2nd full length poetry book titled "Compression". Also in 2019, his spoken word pIn 2020, at Pergament’s suggestion, the event shifted into a monthly community arts focused “Open-Mic Night” at The High Noon Saloon co-presented with LÜM FM. In 2020, his spoken word piece "Swirl Elixir" was featured on Relix Magazines's October/November Digital Sampler. His planned spring “Goofy Footed Boots” solo poetry tour was canceled due to the Corona Virus Pandemic. In 2020, he recorded a 20 part poetry radio spot series for WWMV-LP 95.5 FM, was the recipient of a Dane Arts Need Grant (DANG!) through the Dane County Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission, published his first bi-lingual poem in Chinese and English through Poetry Hall, and had two poems published in "Poetry and Covid": A Project funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, University of Plymouth, and Nottingham Trent University. At the end of 2020, his song "Fire (We All Radiate Heat)" off of his "Elements" ep was named the number 12 song of the year in Max Ink Radio's Top 41 Countdown of Wisconsin music for 2020.

Languages

Pergament studied Hebrew as a child at Mount Zion Temple in St. Paul, MN. He studied Latin for 2 years and Spanish for 3 years at St. Paul Academy. He studied one semester of Dutch and 2 years of Italian at UW-Madison as an undergraduate. As a graduate student, he took 3 years of Modern Japanese, 1 year of Classical Chinese, Chinese Calligraphy, and French for reading knowledge. During his time living Taiwan, ROC, he became fluent in Mandarin Chinese. He also speaks a smattering of Bhasa Indonesian.

Religions

As an infant Pergament underwent a Brit Milah by a Mohel and was bound into the tradition of Judiaism. As a grade-schooler at St. Paul Academy he recited the Lord’s Prayer (Pater Noster) every day before classes. At the age of 9, he was accosted by Jehovah’s Witnesses outside his home and forced to publicly read passage from The Watchtower. At the age of 13 he was confirmed by his Sunday School class at Mt. Zion Temple in St. Paul, MN and then in his Bar-Mitzvah became accountable for his actions as a Jew. Between the years 1986-1995, he followed the Grateful Dead and attended well over 100 shows where he would practice Sufi Whirling while chanting Mantra. Starting in 1988 (in Taiwan, ROC) until the present, he has practiced the Chinese Tea Ceremony Cha Dao (C. Gong Fu Cha; J. Chado). In 1989, he pilgrimaged and prayed at Buddhist Hinayana temples in Thailand. Later that year, he converted to Islam at the request of a fallen woman by speaking out loud the Shahada three times on a street corner in Bukittinggi City, Sumatra. In 1991 he made pilgrimage to the holy Buddhist site of Borobudur on Java. In 1992, he made Buddhist pilgrimage to India and visited Bodh Gaya, where he meditated under the Bodhi Tree of the Mahabodhi Temple, and then traveled to Saranath, Kushinagar, Sanchi, and the Ellora and Ajanta Caves. Later that year, he was initiated in a Shaivism sect by a Sadhu outside of Vashisht in the Manali Valley foothills of the Himalayas. He participated in a Kalachackra Initiation given by the 14th Dalai Lama during his visit to Madison, WI in 2001. He currently practices Shikantaza and Poetry.

Teaching

Upon graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988, Pergament traveled to Taiwan, ROC and taught English as a Foreign Language in Taipei until the summer of 1989, teaching students ranging in age from 3-75 years old. He then moved to Surabaya on Java, Indonesia and taught EFL there for 10 months until he was kicked out of the country because the manager of the school he was working for had embezzled the money that was supposed to go for the bribes to keep the school teachers’ visas valid. He returned to Taiwan and taught EFL again from 1990-1994. During this time he lived primarily in Hualien, Taiwan on the coast of the Pacific Ocean and near to Taroko Gorge. Entering graduate school at UW-Madison in 1995, he resumed teaching and held positions as a Teaching Assistant in the Department of South Asian Studies where he taught “Introduction To Buddhism” and “Ethnic And Minority Religions in America.” He also taught in the Department of Kinesiology for 4 years as a Teaching Assistant in a course titled “Kendo; The Integration of Martial and Liberal Arts.” In the Fall of 1999 he was hired by the UW-Madison ESL Program as a Teaching Assistant. Between 2000-2002, he was the UW-Madison English as a Second Language Program liaison and assistant for a Japanese Ministry of Education funded program at UW-Madison and designed and taught a ten day intensive EFL course for visiting Japanese high-school English teachers Department of Public Instruction at the request of the State of Wisconsin, Department of Public Instruction. In 2008, he became one of eight educators on the UW campus for whom a special position of Senior Faculty Assistant was created. In addition to his departmental duties, since 2010, he has been tasked by UW-Madison with teacher training and regularly works with International Teaching Assistants on campus and in service to undergraduate education at the University He currently holds the title of Senior Lecturer and has taught and helped design curriculum for every course (both undergraduate level and graduate level) in that program. Concurrent with his work at UW-Madison, between 2004-2009 Pergament developed and taught a variety of courses for the Madison English As A Second Language School (MESLS) and was the school’s International Student Advisor. From Spring 2011 to Fall 2013, he was the Co-Editor of The Minne/Witesol Academic Journal, a publication of the Midwest TESOL Journal. Since 2016, he has acted as the lead Academic Advisor to UW ESL Intensive Language Program Students. In the Fall of Pergament received the UW-Madison University Housing Honored Instructor Award. In 2018, Pergament was honored as a “Transfer Student Champion” by UW Transfer Transition Program for National Transfer Student Week. In the summer of 2018, he was invited by The Qinzhou University of Guangxi, China to design and implement a teacher training course focused on interactive teaching methods and Blended Learning strategies in the classroom. In 2019, he completed the “Blend@UW” 20 hour training course supporting the UW Educational Innovation Initiative. In 2020, Pergament was chosen by Carnegie-Mellon to participate in their cross-disciplinary Discussion Project at UW-Madison. In the Spring of 2020 he was accepted as a Fellow of The UW-Madison Teaching Academy.

Other Employment

Prior to beginning his career as a Poet and Educator, Pergament worked a number of odd jobs including: Fast Food Service at Burger King, Janitorial Duties at a Bagel Factory, Truck Loading at UPS, Sandwich Making at a Bakery, Custodial Work at a UW Housing Facility, Hourly Employee at a Paul's Used Bookstore, Usher/Door Person at The Wisconsin Union Theater, and Christmas Wreath Delivery Truck Driver.

Athletics

Pergament appeared in the 1981 Babe Ruth League World Series held in Mobile, AL as the catcher and captain of the St. Paul Hightower Babe Ruth Midwest Regional Champions. [02Misc_BabeRuthWorldSeries.jpg and 03Misc_BabeRuthWorldSeries.jpg] From there he went on to become a 3 time Varsity Letter Winner and 2 time All Conference Catcher for the St. Paul Academy Spartans in the Tri-Valley Athletic Conference. In his senior year he was named co-captain of that team. He was heavily recruited as a baseball player by Division II and III colleges around the Midwest but ultimately decided to try-out for the Division I Minnesota Gophers Baseball Team as a walk-on. Of the 60+ players who tried out, Pergament was one of just two who made the cut. He was hailed in the 1985 Gopher Baseball Program as a "solid and knowledgeable catcher with an accurate arm and quick release who can handle pitchers well".[04Misc_85MNGopherBaseballProgram and 05Misc_850318bGopherChatterNewsletter and 06Misc_850318aGopherChatterNewsletter] In his freshman year he appeared at bat in one game for the Minnesota Gophers and lined out sharply to the right fielder. He red-shirted his sophomore season and then was recruited as an athletic transfer to UW-Madison. Shortly after arrival on that campus, he left the team in order to focus on his studies. As a graduate student at UW-Madison, Pergament practiced Kendo and earned his Black Belt in 1995. [07Misc_BlackBelt_Pergament.jpg] He also traveled extensively as the UW Madison Kendo Club President and gave lectures, demonstrations and workshops on the philosophical infrastructure of Kendo between 1997-2001. These appearances included an annual demonstration in the Great Hall at UW-Madison, Madison, WI and exhibitions at St. John’s College, Collegeville, MN (Spring 1998); Ripon College, Ripon, WI (Fall 1998); University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, LaCrosse, WI (Spring 1999); Lawrence College, Appleton, WI (Spring 1999); University of the Ozarks, Clarksville, AR (Spring 2001).

Travels

Pergament has traveled extensively beginning with numerous tours across the US following the Grateful Dead. He has driven from coast-to-coast on at least 8 occasions. Taking inspiration from Kerouac’s Dharma Bums and the travels and poetry of Gary Snyder, Pergament spent 6 years backpacking and hitchhiking around Asia. He has lived in and/or visited the following countries: Taiwan, ROC, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam, Spain, and has performed FlowPoetry in almost every state in the Union from New York, to Florida, to California to Texas and so on. Between the years 2010-2020 he drove 125,993 miles performing his poetry.

Discography

2020 Glostik Willy. “Hippy Metal” FlowPoetry guest vocals on Track titled "427”. [Forthcoming]

2020 Jeff Clarke x FlowPoetry "Elements ep" https://flowpoetry.bandcamp.com/album/elements-ep

2020 John Welton And The Awakening. "11:11 Double Album" FlowPoetry guest vocals on Track 4 (studio side) "Asking For A Friend" https://www.facebook.com/johnweltonandtheawakening/videos/2618575501759561

2020 FlowPoetry. "FlowPoetry at Majestic Summer Jam 2019" https://flowpoetry.bandcamp.com/album/flowpoetry-at-majestic-summer-jam-2019

2018 Lakewaves. "Vol. 3: Remnants of a Friend (An Audio Mural)"; Cameo on an ambient recording by Lakewaves. https://soundcloud.com/lakewaves/vol-3-remnants-of-a-friend-an-audio-mural-wav-version

2017 The Earthlings. "Akashic Record" FlowPoetry guest vocals on Track 4 "Footprince of Mars" and Track 5 "Truth" https://theearthlings.bandcamp.com/album/akashic-record

2014 FlowPoetry. "Recent Collaborations" https://flowpoetry.bandcamp.com/album/flowpoetry-recent-collaborations

2014 Venice Gas House Trolley. "Local Love Fest 2014" Compilation VGHT track on CD by Madison bands covering Madison bands https://www.facebook.com/LocalLoveFest; https://locallovefest.bandcamp.com/track/turn-out-the-lights-control-venice-gas-house-trolly

2013 Venice Gas House Trolley. "Midnight's Break; Live at The Majestic" Double live CD http://vght.bandcamp.com/

2013 Chaos Revolution Theory. "Against The Grain" FlowPoetry guest vocals on "Take Back The Land"

2012 Terry 'N The Front. (eponymous) FlowPoetry guest verse on "The Lawnmowa" http://terrynthefront.bandcamp.com

2012 Chaos Revolution Theory. "Wisconsin Stomp Rock" FlowPoetry guest vocals on "Take Back The Land"

2011 Home Grown Music Network. "Home Grown 10" VGHT track on compilation http://hgmn.bandcamp.com/album/home-grown-10

2011 Venice Gas House Trolley. "When In Rome" Full-length live CD. Released 10-08-2011. http://vght.bandcamp.com/album/when-in-rome-wi-live-x-viii-mmxi-by-venice-gas-house-trolley

2011 Venice Gas House Trolley. "Burst Open" Full-length studio album. Released 5-06-2011. http://vght.bandcamp.com/album/burst-open-by-venice-gas-house-trolley

2010 Daydream Generation 9 VGHT track on Quixodelic Records compilation (UK)

2010 Umbrella VGHT track on Mine All Mine Records compilation http://mineallminerecords.bandcamp.com/album/umbrella

2010 Venice Gas House Trolley. "Synapse Lapse And Reblast!" Full-length studio album. Released 3-18-2010. http://vght.bandcamp.com/album/synapse-lapse-and-reblast-by-venice-gas-house-trolley

2009 Daydream Generation 7 VGHT track on Quixodelic Records compilation (UK)

2009 Venice Gas House Trolley. "You Don't Sound Like We Do" 6 song EP; Released 3-03-2009.

2007 Venice Gas House Trolley. (eponymous) Full-length studio album; Released 9-21-2007.

2007 Flowpoetry. "Rock And Fire FlowPoetry" Double live CD

2004 StoneFloat. “Archive 1” Live CD https://www.amazon.com/Archive-1-Stonefloat/dp/B000FTW01I

2004 StoneFloat. "Live at The Portal" Live CD