This is the official blog of Northern Arizona slam poet Christopher Fox Graham. Begun in 2002, and transferred to blogspot in 2006, FoxTheBlog has recorded more than 670,000 hits since 2009. This blog cover's Graham's poetry, the Arizona poetry slam community and offers tips for slam poets from sources around the Internet. Read CFG's full biography here. Looking for just that one poem? You know the one ... click here to find it.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Interview questions about Sedona slam poet Claire Pearson

I was recently interviewed about Sedona poet Claire Pearson by a student at Northern Arizona University. These are my answers.

1) How long have you know Claire Pearson?

Photo courtesy of Zack Garcia
A few hours short of 14 months. I met Claire Pearson at 8:35 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013, at 34°51'56.5"N 111°47'42.2"W, beneath the light in a parking lot whereupon we spoke for the better part of two hours about our views of poetry, poetic theory, the ghosts of dead men and the lack of good coffee shops catering to the 18 to 21 crowd in Sedona.

2) How have you seen her grow?

In the time I have known her, she has grown approximately 1/6th of an inch, if measured from heel to crown, ignoring variations in stance, pose and bouffant. Based on these observations, I expect that if her rate of growth is logarithmic, she will grow at most an inch by the time she is of legal drinking age, although I suspect she will still be carded until at least age 30 due to her height and unusually large neotenic eyes, although if her rate of growth is linear, by the time she is 100 years old, she will be 11.57 inches taller.

When I first met Claire Pearson, she was a veteran and the de facto captain of the Sedona youth poetry slam team, Young Voices Be Heard, and had competed at several Brave New Voices regionals.
As a Brave New Voices veteran, she knew as coaches many of the national and regional slam poets that I knew as peers.

Although loosely affiliated, Brave New Voices and Poetry Slam Inc. are two separate nonprofit poetry slam organizations. Many “adult” slam poets who have an affinity to mentoring young people crossover from the PSI scene to coach local youth teams in their home cities, while many others leave the PSI scene altogether to coach BNV teams exclusively. As structured in relation to PSI, BNV sees itself as the minor league of PSI, grooming young talent who “graduate” into the big leagues of PSI.
As a high school graduate but not yet 19 years old when I met her, Pearson was effectively at the peak of her growth in BNV and was about to age out of eligibility. She was looking to continue slamming as an adult and I provided the means to introduce her into Northern Arizona’s PSI scene.
Coming into the adult scene already with years of writing and slamming experience behind her, Pearson was able to skip passed the angst-ridden and derivative poetry that many first-year adult slam poets create before they find their voice.

Pearson had already found her voice as a heavily metaphoric, narrative poet with confessional and quasi-romantic tendencies by the time I was introduced to her work. Through slamming against college students and adults twice and three times her age, she has made her work edgier and more accessible to general audiences while still maintaining her metaphoric imagery.

Pearson has learned how to write from a feminine perspective in a competitive linguistic sport that is all too often dominated by the male gaze. She has also been able to exorcise many of those ghosts of dead men, whom she still holds dear but which no longer dictate what and how she writes exclusively. Most importantly, she has moved from being a confident though sometimes timid poet to being to hold her own in slams against national poets, some of whom have toured professionally or competed on the finals stage at the Individual World Poetry Slam.

3) How can you tell she loves slamming and poetry?

Pearson is open to criticism of her work as well as offering criticism of others, not just in the surface of performance flubs or cliché lines, but in the root and structure of the poems and performances. After a slam, we can discuss the atmosphere of the room or why a poem did or didn’t work given the particulars of the audience and the poems, showing that she is not just waiting to read but is critically listening to the work on the stage and how it is presented.

Pearson makes the trip from Sedona to slam in Flagstaff weekly or at least attend the slams as a spectator. She earned a slot on the FlagSlam National Poetry Slam Team in her first year, an accomplishment very few poets have been able to achieve as it usually takes several years to work up the skill and talent to win a slot.

Pearson attends slams outside her home city, which is also something many young poets, especially those in a relatively isolated city like Flagstaff, do not do. In part, she has a network of friends in the poetry scene which makes traveling less intimidating and more of an adventure, but she also has learned how to adapt her work to audiences of differing demographics rather than repeating poems by rote in hopes that they stick with audiences regardless of location. She doesn’t slam just to win, like many poets do without understanding the “why”, nor does she slam just to vent, but rather uses to the experience in whole and in part to develop herself as an artist. That dedication to grow artistically is why audience members who see her week after week are willing to reward her effort, even if as a Sedona émigré she is outside the clique engendered by the somewhat insular Flagstaff poetry scene.

4) What makes her stand out from other slammers and poets?

 Pearson offers a voice unique to Flagstaff as a veteran poet. Due to the transitory nature of college students at Northern Arizona University, the Flagstaff poetry scene does not grow like a typical non-college art scene does. Poetry scenes in large cities have poets who spend years or decades in their scene, serving as mentors and growing into icons to either cherish, challenge or learn from, but few NAU graduates remain in Flagstaff, thus taking what they’ve learned and developed to other scenes away after only a few years. In essence, it’s hard to develop a slam family legacy in Flagstaff. While some poets bloom early and develop their voice quickly, most poets take several years to become who they are meant to, and by then, just as they’re reaching their first artistic peak, they’re ready to move on to communities that can support their careers.

Many first year rookies write what they think they should, which is why many poems sound familiar or similar, regardless of the poets’ backgrounds or personal histories.

With those growth years already behind her, Pearson is able to hone her craft and show many of the poets her age or older what they can become once they have half a decade of writing under their belt. As such, Pearson is a sort of a poetic oracle, showing the path other poets can walk should they pursue our art form with the same sort of tenacity she does.

Claire Pearson will be one of the poets competing at the Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, Nov. 1


Poets and audience members are invited to the first Sedona Poetry Slam of the 2014-15, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, 2030 W. State Route 89A, Suite A-3.


Click here to buy tickets, which are $12.

Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. While many people may think of poetry as dull and laborious, a poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays.

All poets are welcome to compete for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. The prize is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.

The slam is the first the 2014-15 season, which will culminate in selection of Sedona's fourth National Poetry Slam Team, the foursome and alternate who will represent the city at the National Poetry Slam in Oakland, Calif., in August. Poets in the slam come from as far away as Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff, competing against adult poets from Sedona and Cottonwood, college poets from Northern Arizona University, and youth poets from Sedona Red Rock High School's Young Voices Be Heard slam group.

There will be seven slams in the regular season, six in Sedona and one in Clarkdale. The final Grand Poetry Slam takes place next spring, to determine the team.

Slam poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted.

All types of poetry are welcome on the stage, from street-wise hip-hop and narrative performance poems, to political rants and introspective confessionals. Any poem is a "slam" poem if performed in a competition. All poets get three minutes per round to entertain their audience with their creativity.

The poets will be judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.

Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive.

The local poets will share the stage with 350 of the top poets in the United States, Canada and Europe, pouring out their words in a weeklong explosion of expression. Sedona sent its five-poet first team to the 2012 National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C., its second to the 2013 NPS in Boston and Cambridge, Mass., and its third to Oakland, Calif., in August.

The slam will be hosted by Sedona poet Christopher Fox Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on seven FlagSlam National Poetry Slams in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Graham has hosted the Sedona Poetry Slam since 2009.

Contact Graham at foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up to slam.

What is Poetry Slam?
Founded in Chicago in 1984 by construction worker Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport. Poetry slams are judged by five randomly chosen members of the audience who assign numerical value to individual poets' contents and performances. Poetry slam has become an international artistic sport, with more than 100 major poetry slams in the United States, Canada, Australia and Western Europe.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

"Juno Se Mama (Open Letter to the People of Darfur)" by Ed Mabrey



Ed Mabrey is
  • Three-time Individual World Poetry Slam Champion (2007, 2012, tied in 2013)
  • National Poetry Slam Team Finalist
  • Individual National Poetry Slam Finalist
  • 3 Time Lake Eden Arts Festival Champion
  • Featured performer on Season 3 of Verses and Flow (brought to you by Lexus on TV One)
  • Two-time Feature on HBO All Def Digital
  • Emmy Nominee (MOW-Fox/ABC)
  • Three-time National Haiku Slam Champion
  • Ohio Arts Council Poet of the Year
  • National Best Selling Author (Contributor)
  • Eight poetry albums recorded
  • Performances seen on several continents
  • Tour professionally
  • One of the most sought-after performers and workshop teachers in the country

Visit www.EdMabrey.com


The Save Darfur Coalition


In September 2004, President George W. Bush declared the crisis in Darfur “genocide” — the first time a sitting American president had made such a declaration regarding a crisis that was still ongoing.

Despite the world’s growing outcry, however, the violence persists in Darfur and the number of dead and displaced continues to increase.

Currently, as many as 3 million people have been displaced within Darfur, with an estimated 263,000 refugees living across the border in Chad.

Overall, the UN estimates that more than 3.2 million people in Darfur (out of a total population of roughly 7.5 million) are still affected by the conflict.

On September 9, 2004, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell declared the conflict in Darfur genocide. This was the first time the U.S. had ever declared genocide while the genocide was still occurring.
  • The genocide in Darfur has claimed 300,000 lives and displaced over 3 million people.
  • 3.2 million people, more than a third of Darfur’s population, remain in need of humanitarian assistance
  • More than 300,000 people have been displaced by violence in 2013

Friday, October 24, 2014

"Poem for Evan" by Christopher Fox Graham


"Poem for Evan"
by Christopher Fox Graham

this microphone was crafted for one purpose:
to take sound and amplify it across A ROOM

its brothers exist in a thousand places:
in the bedroom of a high school guitarist
at a candidate’s podium
in an Elks Lodge Bingo Hall

but this microphone
this microphone 
stands at a poetry slam
give    it    purpose

fill this room with your art

this stage
is devoid of props or sets
it needs nothing else but you
this stage merely holds your weight
make it creek and bend 
under the heaviness of words

make these wood beams
wish they were
          a sinner’s coffin,
or a church’s rafters 
or a hangman’s gallows        
something easier to bear
than the soapbox 
of poets
this audience
sits on the edge of its seat
voices silent
waiting for your three minutes to fill their ears
word by word

they did not come to hear pickup lines
and internet jokes
they want to feel something
do    not
waste
their    time

in the shadows of this stage,
there is a man with a gun
aimed at your temple

and when your three minutes end
he will turn your brain 
into art on this wall

you cannot escape his bullet 
so do not try
instead
speak
make your words count
give them weight and substance

make us feel something
turn these eyes into faucets
overflow the kitchen sink of our chests
’til this room fills
and spills out into the street
sink this city like Atlantis

or make us laugh so hard
our bellies and faces ache tomorrow
as we recount each punchline verbatim
but    do    not
waste
our    time

if there’s a boy or girl in the back of the room
you want to kiss
or fuck 
or marry
get off the stage
and say it face-to-face
because when you’re here

YOU
belong to
US

and if your words don’t seduce
every boy and girl in this room
you’re wasting your time

this stage is 
8:12 a.m. Hiroshima
12:27 p.m. Dealey Plaza
8:43 a.m. 99th floor North Tower

you have three minutes
until the world changes forever

this microphone
will not hate you
it will not love you
and it will not judge you

this stage does not careif you are a good person
if you are rich or poor
young or old,
gay, straight, or in between

we only care about your life story
edited to the best three minutes you can speak
how did you live?
what did you learn?
what will you teach?

that man is not moving
the clock is ticking
the laser sight is beginning to burn

what will you say?
why should we care?
why do you matter? 

remind us everyone here
has a gun
pointed at our skulls
and one day that round
will fire
make us believe these moments we spend here with you
are the best three minutes of our lives

your heart is a grenade
pull the pin and explode
leave word shrapnel buried in our skin
so in weeks and years hence
when your name is whispered

we few, 
we happy few 
who witnessed your detonation

will point to the scar

reread the line, 
and say 
“NOW
THAT

IS
POETRY”

when you slam a poem
any poem

leave your blood in this microphone
leave your heart on this stage
don’t care about the scores
don’t care about the time
don’t hold back
never apologize
believe every word 
is an atom bomb
these are your last words

this is your epitaph
this is what will be scrawled 
on your tombstone

long after we 
are all dead and buried
prove you had
at least one
good     reason     to
BANG!



my time is up
                this microphone is yours
                                                now,
                                turn this stage
                                to splinters




Christopher Fox Graham © October 2014

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

First Sedona Poetry Slam of the 2014-2015 season is Saturday, Nov. 1

Poets are invited to compete at the first Sedona Poetry Slam of the 2014-15, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, 2030 W. State Route 89A, Suite A-3.

Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. While many people may think of poetry as dull and laborious, a poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays.

All poets are welcome to compete for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. The prize is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.

The slam is the first the 2014-15 season, which will culminate in selection of Sedona's fourth National Poetry Slam Team, the foursome and alternate who will represent the city at the National Poetry Slam in Oakland, Calif., in August. Poets in the slam come from as far away as Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff, competing against adult poets from Sedona and Cottonwood, college poets from Northern Arizona University, and youth poets from Sedona Red Rock High School's Young Voices Be Heard slam group.

There will be seven slams in the regular season, six in Sedona and one in Clarkdale. The final Grand Poetry Slam takes place next spring, to determine the team.

Slam poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted.

All types of poetry are welcome on the stage, from street-wise hip-hop and narrative performance poems, to political rants and introspective confessionals. Any poem is a "slam" poem if performed in a competition. All poets get three minutes per round to entertain their audience with their creativity.

The poets will be judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.

Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive.

The local poets will share the stage with 350 of the top poets in the United States, Canada and Europe, pouring out their words in a weeklong explosion of expression. Sedona sent its five-poet first team to the 2012 National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C., its second to the 2013 NPS in Boston and Cambridge, Mass., and its third to Oakland, Calif., in August.

The slam will be hosted by Sedona poet Christopher Fox Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on seven FlagSlam National Poetry Slams in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Graham has hosted the Sedona Poetry Slam since 2009.

Tickets are $12.

Contact Graham at foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up to slam.

What is Poetry Slam?


Founded in Chicago in 1984 by construction worker Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport. Poetry slams are judged by five randomly chosen members of the audience who assign numerical value to individual poets' contents and performances. Poetry slam has become an international artistic sport, with more than 100 major poetry slams in the United States, Canada, Australia and Western Europe.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

"Use the Press" Workshop at the Individual World Poetry Slam

Whether you're a seasoned poet or a rookie, you want audiences to attend your shows, especially when you're on tour. Beyond relying on your host or social media network, use the press -- newspapers, radio stations, television stations and other media outlets -- to generate buzz about you before you arrive and cover your shows for their local audiences.

Rock bands have big followings because of their talents but also because they know how to generate news coverage. Slam poets should be no different.

Through the Use the Press Workshop, free and open to the public, poet Christopher Fox Graham will offer slam poets and poetry organizers tips on how to craft press release, deal with the media, and entice reporters, bloggers and others to write about your impending show, cover your slam or feature, and promote your as an artistic celebrity.

Graham is a 10-year journalism veteran and the managing editor of Larson Newspapers, a family-owned newspaper chain based in Sedona, Arizona. Graham has hosted the Sedona Poetry Slam since 2009 and been a member of the National Poetry Slam family since 2001.

He has hosted more than 30 national touring poets at his venue and home in Sedona, generating front page coverage for their featured performances at newspapers and magazines throughout Northern Arizona, both drawing in larger audience and helping touring poets increase sales of their chapbooks, CDs, DVDs and our merchandise, keeping them fed and fueled on the road.
Even if you have no plans to tour, the workshop will show how to work with the media outlets in your home city to attract reporters to regularly promote your poetry slams, interview feature poets who perform at your slam, attend and cover your Grand Slams and help promote your fundraising efforts to send your teams and individual poets to national competitions.

The workshop will include information for reaching audiences for other general events and activities you promote outside of slam as well.

This workshop is free and open to the public.


The workshop takes place at Jobot Coffee and Diner, 918 N. 5th St., Phoenix Arizona at 11 a.m.