Poets Curse; Things Go From Bad to Verse

With promises of $50,000 in prizes, three days of workshops and a star-studded gala--celebrating the 85th birthday of comedian Milton Berle--the poetry convention in Beverly Hills drew would-be poets from around the country.

But the Poetry Academy gathering over the July 4th weekend also has drawn a federal inquiry amid complaints that the promoters failed to deliver the prizes, judge the poetry or even provide all the scheduled meals.

The organizers, in turn, claim the convention--which cost several hundred participants up to $495 each--was undermined by infiltrators from a rival poetry group that is staging its own convention next month in Washington.

Tempers flared. Voices were raised. One poet said she was hit by another, an elderly woman, as she tried to serve box lunches brought in from a deli after a planned barbecue fell through.

“I got punched at the Beverly Hilton Hotel by one of the poets who was so hungry,” complained Charlotte Fantry of North Bergen, N.J.

Now the U.S. Secret Service, working with police in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, is investigating whether the organizers of the convention defrauded the poets.

“There was never going to be $50,000 in prize money,” said Secret Service Agent Steve Stanford, whose agency got involved because of possible credit card fraud.

Berle, meanwhile, said he had nothing to do with the Poetry Academy, which gave him a lifetime achievement award at the glittering gala that was attended by 150 celebrities and the hundreds of poets.

“I was just being given an achievement award for my lyrics and poetry,” Berle said. “I know nothing about this.”

At the center of the controversy is Michael Bass, a well-known party promoter and friend of many celebrities.

Bass has denied any wrongdoing and vowed Friday that the poetry contest entries would be judged by a panel of “Ph.Ds.” and the prizes eventually given out--with the total raised to $64,000. But others aren’t so sure.

“These poets were expecting lots of things that Bass promised,” said Jeffrey Franz, vice president of the rival International Society of Poets in Maryland. “They put out this solicitation package and said they were going to give away 71 prizes worth $50,000, that they would have all these lectures and all the meals would be provided.”

Franz said when the poets arrived at the convention--many of them older people from the South and Midwest who write verse as a hobby--they found no workshops, got only two meals during the three days and were told the prizes would not be given out that weekend.

Bass, however, contends that Franz’s group sowed the seeds of discontent by sending infiltrators into the convention and having poets call the Hilton and complain.

“There were definitely eight ‘plants’ in the ballroom,” Bass said. “And probably 50 (poets) were antagonized by the eight.”

Franz denied sending infiltrators into the ballroom. “There are people so up in arms, they didn’t need us,” he said.

Franz’s International Society of Poets is suing Bass, contending that he illegally obtained a copy of a mailing list it had purchased at a bankruptcy sale from yet another poetry group, now defunct. Bass maintains that he legally obtained his mailing list when he worked for the failed poetry organization, which was based in Sacramento.

Franz admits that his organization tried to dissuade poets around the country from attending Bass’ convention in Beverly Hills and urged them to instead go to its August convention, featuring John Denver.

He complained that Bass had opened a bank account under a name similar to that of his group and cashed the checks of unsuspecting poets who sent their registration money to the rival organization by mistake.

“When we were marketing our convention, he was marketing his. People were very confused,” Franz said. “Some people made out checks to the International Society of Poets and mailed it to him.”

But Bass’ lawyer, George Burke, attributed the allegations to the rival poetry group.

“I think a big problem is there are only so many poets in the country and they are probably not going to attend both conventions,” Burke said.

He noted that the names of the two groups are not identical: Franz’s is called the International Society of Poets while Bass incorporated his in Nevada as the International Society of Poetry.

The attorney said Bass had since changed the name to the Poetry Academy to avoid any confusion. “He’s not a good detail person,” Burke said.

Some of the attending poets defended Bass’ convention, saying the Berle dinner exceeded their expectations. “I couldn’t ask for anything more than what I got,” said Marion Perry of Orlando, Fla.

Others in attendance, however, said the event was so disorganized that it led to ugly scenes inside the prestigious hotel. Bass himself said there was a “lynch mob” atmosphere at times, particularly when the attendees discovered that a Sunday lunch had been canceled.

At one point, 20 to 30 poets--angry that they had not been given a chance to read their verses in front of Milton Berle--gathered outside to discuss the matter. Ad Fried, managing editor of the Observer Newspapers in San Leandro, who was covering the convention, told what happened:

“A great big burly guy who looked like a thug goes up to a lady and said, ‘You people don’t know what the hell you’re doing! Get out of here!’

“I shouted at him, ‘Shut up, you! This isn’t for you; it’s for them!’ ” Fried recalled, adding that the unidentified man then turned around and “looked like he was going to cold-cock me. He could have killed me. I’m 82.”

Others said organizers promised each poet a gift bag worth $500, but the bags, in reality, were filled with shampoo, hair conditioner, a Poetry Academy mug and complimentary airline-size bottles of liquor.

Bass is no stranger to controversy. Last year, he claimed that Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin would show up at his Oscar night party, causing Jack Lemmon, Elizabeth Taylor and others to initially say they would attend. They dropped out when doubts were raised, however, and Yeltsin did not attend.

In the mid-1980s, Bass was convicted of mail fraud and served three months of an 18-month sentence in Lompoc Federal Penitentiary in a case stemming from a business venture.

Bass said this week that he was distressed by the complaints about the Poetry Academy convention. He said the event was marred by glitches beyond his control, such as when he was unable to show a videotaped tribute to Berle by former President Ronald Reagan and when an indoor laser show didn’t work.

As for the canceled lunch, Bass said he personally saw to it that box lunches were brought in to feed the hungry poets. But hotel officials said no arrangements had ever been made for a formal lunch.

The attendees were given a banquet on Sunday night featuring musician Billy Preston and comedian Henny Youngman, but it was the Berle extravaganza, covered by the paparazzi and TV news, that Bass was most proud of.

“Probably I go for too much,” Bass said. “Instead of giving the poets a little show, I gave them a brilliant show. The show itself was worth the entire convention. When did you ever leave Arkansas and see 150 stars unless you are Bill Clinton?

“I think they would have preferred sitting in their rooms reading their poems to each other.”

After the convention, Bass flew to the island of Ibiza, near Spain, where he said he was going to help run a racetrack this summer.