CAT | National Poetry Slam
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Karyna McGlynn is in the WoWPS Finals!!
0 Comments | Posted by Hellslam in Ann Arbor Poetry Slam, National Poetry Slam
Now, I know that Karyna is world famous, and she slammed for Austin and Seattle, and she has published a gazillion poems and papers elsewhere; but this year she slams for Ann Arbor, so this is a victory for us!
Karyna is ranked 7th overall after two nights of great poetry at the Women of the World Poetry Slam which places her squarely into the finals going on tonight in Detroit! If you have nothing to do tonight, head down to the Filmore and cheer on our hometown poet! If you have something to do, cancel it and go down there anyway!
In other news, our semi-finals are next month. If you slammed during our regular season, and took first or second, you are qualified to compete in our semifinals. So polish up your poems, it’s the first Tuesday in April!
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A message from Deb Marsh about the Women of the World Poetry Slam
0 Comments | Posted by Hellslam in Local Poetry News, National Poetry Slam
Dear Ann Arbor Poetry Slam Friends,
I am writing to invite you to be a part of the Women of the World Poetry Slam. I have had the distinct pleasure of coordinating this first ever event and I hope you can enjoy it too!
I’m looking for both volunteers (you would get in to events for free and get the pleasure of helping out) AND for audience. We have nearly 60 poets coming from as far as Vancouver, CA and Albania and we want to make sure they have an audience to listen to their words.
So, if you can make time in your busy schedules, please check this out. Our website is www.wow.poetryslam.com. If you can help out, please email me back so that I can put you to work!
I’ve included a short press release below so that you have more details, in case you wanted to know 
Deb
Women of the World to perform in Detroit March 12-15
Poets will share stage for international spoken-word competition
DETROIT – Women poets will converge on the Motor City for three days of competition March 12-15, 2008 at the “Women of the World Poetry Slam Championship.”
Various venues in the city’s Theatre District will host acclaimed spoken-word artists from major North American points of origin, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Canada and beyond.
For three days, Detroit will serve as the site of various workshops, open mic readings and collateral events in support of the title competition. The championship will be held at 8 p.m. March 15 at the Fillmore Detroit (the old State Theater) on Woodward. Prelims will begin at 7:30 PM on Thursday night at the Detroit Beer Company, Hockey Town and 1515 Broadway.
Poetry slam competitions, which eventually became the non-profit Poetry Slam, Inc., were invented in 1984 by writer Marc Smith, a full-time construction worker, who wanted to help breathe life back into a dwindling poets’ scene. Since the beginning of slams – typically judged by audience members, based on poetic content, delivery and showmanship – performance poetry has spread like wildfire across the country, crossing over into mainstream media through television shows like HBO’s “Def Poetry Jam.” In 1990, Smith started the National Poetry Slam, which brought together teams of poets from across the country in head-to-head poetic battle. Following numerous successful competitions across the country, in 2006, Poetry Slam, Inc. voted to start “Women of the World Poetry Slam Championship.”
Hope you can make it!
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NPS was Outstanding!
0 Comments | Posted by Hellslam in Ann Arbor Poetry Slam, National Poetry Slam
The National Poetry Slam was last week and I have barely begun to recover from the great poetry. Ann Arbor made the Semi-finals for the first time since 2000! There are not enough exclamation points available for how cool that is.
Our intrepid poets faced off against some of the toughest teams around in their semi-final, including the home team Austin, and the team that would win the whole thing, Slam Charlotte.
Mike, Matt, Karyna, and Logic performed wonderfully the entire week. In a few weeks you will have the opportunity to see them yourself, when they feature at the Heidelberg on the first Tuesday in September. With any luck, I’ll be able to get one or more of them to write up their adventures in Austin for you.
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iWPS was Awsome
0 Comments | Posted by Hellslam in Ann Arbor Poetry Slam, National Poetry Slam
It was unbelieveable how awsome the competition in Charlotte was. I am still wrecked form Finals night, so I’ll post more details later. I can tell you that our poet Versiz was on the finals stage, and Ann Arbor favorite Logic the Tiny Dancer was crowned Haiku Champion of the World! Don’t forget to come out to the Slam on Tuesday, we’ll talk more then!
From Poetry Slam, Inc.:
For Immediate Release
February 6th, 2006Queen City Wild for 2006 Individual World Poetry Slam
February 1st – 4th, 2006
Spirit Square, Charlotte, North CarolinaCHARLOTTE, NC — The 2006 Individual World Poetry Slam stormed Charlotte’s Spirit Square this past weekend with 72 performers from 7 countries and 25 US states, performing before thousands of local spectators. The four day festival culminated with the top 12 poets bringing their best game in fierce competition, electrifying the crowd as Mike McGee of San Jose captured the crown by fractions of a point. Like all slam events, the Champion was chosen by the five judges picked randomly from the audience! Please see (www.poetryslam.com) for more information.
Mike McGee is the 2006 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion, as well as the 2003 Indie National Poetry Slam Champion and the 2003 West Coast Slam Champion. Mike McGee (www.mikemcgee.net) has appeared on Def Poetry Jam’s 2005 Season. Mike calls his performance style “stand up poetry” and believes wholeheartedly that humor heals, or at least eases the wounds of life and all of its growing pains. Mike was born with the birth defect Spina Bifida and hopes to raise awarness of the defect through his work.
This year’s World Poetry Slam also celebrated a dramatically higher number of women participating with 5 slam sisters making it to the finals stage, including 2004 Indie National Poetry Slam Champion, Sonya Renee and 2004 National Poetry Slam finalist Andrea Gibson and Rachel McKibbens, Stephanie Williams and Krissi Reeves.
Several local poets also made it to the finals stage including Charlotte’s own “Q” and Da Minista and Basik Knowledge from South Carolina. The field was filled out with Versiz, Jared Paul and runner up Joaquin Zihuatenajo.
Next year the event will be held in Vancouver. The Individual World Poetry Slam 2006 was sponsored by Poetry Slam Inc., Slam Charlotte, Creative Loafing, and the NC Blumenthal Performing Arts Education Institute.
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For photos and interviews please contact Kimberly Simms at kimberly@witsendpoetry.com or 864.525.6957.
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.
