Ann Arbor Poetry Slam

Thanks to Tiny Dancer (the poet formerly known as LOGIC), the Ann Arbor Poetry Slam will have a feature for February ! Is the dancer trying to get my job ? Who knows! I do know I appreciate our featured poet coming on such short notice. She comes highly recommended.

Tiya Kunaiyi

was born to a Mexican-American mother and Nigerian father, so from birth, she was in a world made of worlds. She was raised in Rivers State, Nigeria and spent her childhood exposed to the largely diverse culture that existed in the oil-rich state. It is that unique state of cultural complexity that has shaped the multi-ethnic voice of her work. Tiya has released two chap books and recently completed her first book, “Complicated Simplicity”, which will be released soon.

The PSI OFFICIAL Podcast is up and running. Check it out at iTunes Podcast store (it’s free) and do a search for Poetry Slam or PSI Podcast. You’ll be glad you did. Don McIver of Albuquerque Public Radio fame interviews Taylor Mali for 25 minutes. Contains live recordings of real honest-to-god poems.

February 7th be at the Heidelberg or you run a serious risk of missing our show. We will be fresh back from the iWPS, where hopefully our Champion Versiz will emerge the victor. (He came really close last time).

Another Ann Arbor poet went ahead and registered as an indie competitor, LOGIC ! Now I don’t know who to root for !

There will be no feature for Feb., mostly because I am stupid. That just leaves more time for you to read ! So don’t miss it.

iWPS was originally slated to have a total of 60 poets competing. The demand was so high that the EC decided to open it up to 72!

The Executive Director of PSi:

The list of iWPS 2006 competitors as of this date:

1. Zork Indie White Plains NY
2. Tiffani Smith Columbus OH
3. Bobby Gibbs Worcester MA
4. Eric Darby Cantab Boston MA
5. Lawrence Green Jr Indie Statesboro GA
6. TBD Omaha NE
7. Robert Moyer Winston-Salem NC
8. Chris August Washington DC
9. Sonya Renee Taylor Baltimore MD
10. Buddy Wakefield Indie Seattle WA
11. Ashley Mack Mesa AZ
12. Matthew Hernandez Indie Ponte Verde Beach FL
13. Ryler Dustin, Seattle WA
14. Thorkil Jacobsen Indie Copenhagen Denmark
15. Molly Meacham Mental Graffiti Chicago IL
16. Xero Skidmore Baton Rouge LA
17. Mike McGee San Jose CA
18. Iyeoka Okoawo Lizard Lounge Boston MA
19. Evelyn Gildre-Voyles Madison, WI
20. Steve Murray Indie Galway Ireland
21. Andrea Gibson Denver CO
22. Jonida Gypsee-Yo Beqo, Indi Kennesay GA nee Tirana Albania
23. Rives LouderArts NY NY
24. TBD Urbana NY NY
25. Bryan Patillo, American in Tokyo, Japan
26. Adriana Ramirez, Corpus Christi TX
27. Jamaal May, Ann Arbor MI
28. Marcelus Wisler, Indie Tallahassee FL
29. Doug Shields, Ozarks Fayetteville AR
30. Aaron Cuffee, Albuquerque, NM
31. Alishun Langston, Indie Tallahassee FL
32. Darrell Payne, Delray Beach FL
33. Adam Henze, Indie Bowling Green KY
34. Marcell Murphy, Houston TX
35. Jesse Dyllan Grace, Indie, Mesa AZ
36. Stephanie Williams, St. Louis MO
37. TBD, Montevallo AL
38. Jim Levine, Indie, Oronoco MN
39. Joaquin Zihuatanejo, Dallas TX
40. Cynthia French, Minneapolis MN
41. Matthew Rucker, Indie, Minneapolis MN
42. Kahn Davison, Indie, Detroit MI
43. George Miller, Indi, Bollingbrook IL
44. Hakim Bellamy, Indie, Sicklerville NJ
45. Corbet Dean, Indie, Phoenix AZ
46. Christa Bell, Indie, Seattle WA
47. Ansel Appleton, Indie, Montague City MA
48. Katie Wirsing, Indie, Denver CO
49. TBD, San Antonio TX
50. Isaac Miller, Indie, Chico CA
51. Pilote le Hot, Paris France
52. Lee Knight Jr. Palo Alto CA
53. TBD Milwaukee WI
54. Antwaun Davis Indie, Irving TX
55. Patrick Swan, Vancouver, BC, Canada
56. Thomas Reeves, Indie Cleveland OH
57. Rachel McKibbens, Indie, Brooklyn NY
58. TBD, Austin TX
59. Cassie Poe, Indie, Detroit MI
60. Logic, Ann Arbor
61. Antwon McNair, Charlotte NC
62. Jared Paul, Providence RI
63. Gerald Hersh, Northampton MA
64. TBA, Newark (Worddancing) DE
65. Second Poet, Delray Beach FL
66. Michael Guinn, Ft. Worth TX
67. Liam Coughlin, Wilmington DE
68. Tavis Da Minista Brunson, Columbia SC
69. Carlos Robson, Charlotte NC
70. Alex Charalambides, Worcester MA

The list may actually be full again. I had chased a Phoenix poet off the waiting list before it was known we would be opening the contest up to 72 poets. I have attempted to contact that poet to offer right of first refusal to slot #71. If he accepts it, we are full again. No one will be permitted into the contest without a withdrawal off the list first.

We must hold the #72 slot for the last chance slam in Charlotte.

That’s it. We are probably full again. But at 72 instead of 60.

Dear Ann Arbor Poetry Slam Fan,

I don’t know about you, but I look forward to the bad poetry slam allyear.

Here’s the way the night works.

1. Open mic. We are looking for your GOOD poetry in the open mic. Please. There will be enough groaners later on.

2. After a little break, Larry Francis, the traditional host of bad poetry night, will get us started with the traditional offering of the evil muses who bring us the schlock-verse.

3. The contest will progress poet-by-poet. Judges will award scores but on this night only, the lowest score wins.

One poem per contestant. May the worst poet win!

And what do they win, you might ask. I’ll tell you: $50 American (and that’s a whole lot more than we pay the winner of a “good poetry”slam!) a T-shirt proclaiming the wearer to be TWPIAA (The Worst Poet in Ann Arbor) and the heady adrenaline rush that accompanies victory.So write something stinky, or dig through that old journal you kept in high school, or show us that old love letter you wrote but didn’t send. The rules are simple: it must be original work, it must bereasonably short (we reserve the right to gong you and gently remove you from the stage), it may be racy, suggestive, naughty or indiscreet…but please don’t be vicious, disgustingly crude or engage in hate speech. Those are conditions that take the fun out of the night.

Remember, we’ll be video taping, and this might be your shot at immortality! If you want a sampler from last year, the video is for sale at www.thewordsmithpress.com for not too much money.

But, for the live show, come early, this is one of our most popular nights and seating is limited. See you there.

Now, what rhymes with “nasal polyp?”
Steve D. Marsh