Well, we survived the National Poetry Slam in Austin, TX despite the 100+ degree weather, a (thankfully haox) bomb threat, and 1.5 million bats (give or take a bat). Sadly, Ann Arbor’s intrepid team of LOGIC the Tiny Dancer, Karrie Waarala, and Matt Earnst emerged less than victorious, but far from the bottom of the pack. I’ll see if I can get them to write a recap of NPS for your reading pleasure.

This just in…the September feature…

SLAM ALERT: Terror Level Blue !!!

When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.
-Sinclair Lewis

Matt Smith

• Detroit’s original Magic Bag Slam Master
• Veteran of the ’94 Ann Arbor Slam Team
• Host of the fabled Arion Series at rabbles coffeehouse
• A latter day Tiresius, arisen like a specter from the day, Smith will premiere his political diatribe:

Songs from SATURN:
They Tried to Kill Us–Business As Usual–&–Terror Level BLUE!!!

R.T. Tope, emerging guitar stylist on the Detroit Jazz Scene, will accompany Smith’s harangue.

Smith and Tope make a must hear event to launch the 06-07 Slam Season;
be there or . . .

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Dear Ann Arbor Slam Patrons and Related Bipedal, Carbon-Based Life Forms,
I hereby remind you that the Ann Arbor Slam, featuring LaShaun Phoenix Moore from the Detroit Slam scene, convenes this coming Tuesday, August 1st at 7:30 at our long(real long)time venue, The Heidelberg.
Please come. Bring your new poems to read. Slam them if you wish. If you’re looking to qualify for our team next year, you’re going to have to finish 1st or 2nd in one of our monthly slams. So get busy on that.
We’ll have lots of open mike.
The attendance has been swell recently and Significant Moral Uplift has been achieved.
We’re ready for you.
Sincerely,
The Management
Ann Arbor Poetry Slam

LaShaun’s Bio:

For me, singing and writing is not a luxury, nor just a means to acquire material wealth. Singing and writing are the vehicles by which I connect to the soul of the listener, penetrating their heart and mind with rich vocals and words alive with significance. When musicians and writers cannot compel the listener into positive action with their music and words, then they have misused the pure potential of their gift; they have made a mockery of what God has given freely – the power to influence.

I desire for my music and writing to be the poetry that influences the black/urban/hip-hop community to rediscover a love for itself. This love will promote a desire to unify with other cultures and restore this world to a harmonious rhythm. The rhythm of nature. The rhythm of life.

My name is LaShaun phoenix Moore and I have been performing music and poetry for the past ten years. I have been a regular feature for venues in Detroit, New York, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh’s hottest coffeehouses, jazz bars, and venues since 1996. My style of music and poetry is generally centered on African Americans and their cultural, spiritual, and sexual awareness. While some of my poems and songs have been controversial because of the blatant issues that they address, they have been highly favored by many of the Midwest’s elite poets and varied musical audiences since the beginning of my career.

I am in the completion stages of my first book: Absence of Smoke & Mirrors which includes a foreword by former Features Editor of Essence Magazine and noted author, poet and activist, asha bandele. I have self-published two chapbooks: Mind Jewels and Interlude to the Daydream. I have also compiled a compact disc sampler of my work entitled It Was Probably Intentional. Additionally, I have a poem and song recorded on the Beachland Ballroom Anthology and have a poem published in the anthology My Soul to His Spirit: Soulful Expressions From Black Daughters To Their Fathers edited by Melda Beaty.

I have been a featured artist at several venues and have developed quite a following for my work – both musically and poetically. I have had the wonderful opportunity to share stages with Khary Kimani Turner, Aurora Harris, Da Boogie Man, The Black Poetic Society, Nu Urban Soul Essentials, Jessica care Moore, Third Eye Open Collective, Black Ink Collective, The Last Poets, Saul Williams, Slum Village, Dead Prez, Mos Def, and The Roots. I was a coach for the 2004 Detroit National Poetry Slam Team. I am currently assistant coach for the 2005 Detroit National Poetry Slam Team and donate my time weekly to at-risk teens in Detroit at the Vanguard Community Outreach Center.

As you can see clearly, I do not take my music or poetry lightly. Nor do I take lightly the seriousness of how my words affect the general public. As a poet and activist, I uphold the responsibility of nurturing my community with life-breathing words. I want the opportunity to touch lives; you have the platform for me to access those lives. Let’s help each other help others!

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Thank you all for coming and making it a great night.
Aylen and Kyle won the slam and qualified for the annual grand slam which occurs next April and May. Our Grand Slam is our method for selecting our national team, so if you’re aspiring to be part of that next year, remember that first you have to qualify by finishing first or second in one of our monthly slams.

Our next night is Tuesday, August 1st. Doors open at 7. Show from 7:30 to 9:30 or thereabouts. Our feature will be Lashaun Phoenix Moore from the Detroit scene and our Ann Arbor team will preview their group pieces they’ve prepared for this year’s national.

Again, thanks for being there.

The Management
Ann Arbor Poetry Slam

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This special edition of the Ann Arbor Poetry Slam features the A2Slam Team. The 3 intrepid souls we are sending to Austin to compete in the National Poetry Slam. Matt Ernst, Logic, and Karrie Waarala will brave the brutal Texas heat to represent our fair city. Don’t miss the show!

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Dear Friends of Poetry,
There is a show next week, Tuesday, June 6th at 7:30 and we’d love to see you there and we’d especially love for you to read a poem-Slam, if you’d like.
But we’d like you to come.
Attendance has been light at our last two shows and we’d like to think that there is still enough enthusiasm for the art to keep this long-running poetry series flourishing, which, of course, necesssitates keeping the owners of the establishment happy.

Our Feature will be the Kalamazoo Slam Team.

Write some poems. Come to the Slam and read them. What the hell?
Next Tuesday,
The Ann Arbor Poetry Slam

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