Rowie Shebala wins the January Sedona Poetry Slam

Rowie Shebala won the second Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, Jan. 7.

Rowie Shebala wins the second Sedona Poetry Slam of the 2011-12 National Poetry Slam Season.

Benediction: Christopher Fox Graham, of Sedona

Round 1
Random Draw
Calibration: Danielle Silver, of Sedona

Ellenelizabeth, of Sedona, 18.6
nodalone, of Flagstaff, 27.0
Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff, 27.0
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 29.0
Gabbie Jue, of Winslow, 27.6
Kendra Shebala, of Flagstaff, 25.5
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff, 29.7
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott, 29.3, after 0.5 time penalty
Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff, 29.2
Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School, 28.9
Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood, 29.0
Christopher Harbster, , of Flagstaff, 29.0
Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix, 30.0

Sorbet: Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff

Round 2
Reverse Order

Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix, 29.4, 59.4
Christopher Harbster, of Flagstaff, 27.8, 56.8
Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood, 28.8, 57.8
Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School, 27.6, 56.5
Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff, 28.2, after 1.5 time penalty, 57.2
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott, 29.7, 59.0
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff, 28.7, after 1.0 time penalty, 58.4
Kendra Shebala, of Flagstaff, 27.4, 52.9
Gabbie Jue, of Winslow, 28.4, 56.0
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 28.7, after 1.0 time penalty, 57.7
Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff, 30.0, 57.0
nodalone, of Flagstaff, 29.1, 56.1
Ellenelizabeth, of Sedona, 25.3, 43.9

Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff, featured at the
Sedona Poetry Slam on Jan. 7.

Feature: Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff

Sorbet: Gary Bowers, of Phoenix

Round 3
High to Low (Top 7)

Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix, 29.4, 88.8
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott, 29.5, 88.5
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff, 28.9, 87.3
Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood, 29.1, 86.9
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 26.5, after 3.5 time penalty, 84.2
Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff, 29.6, 86.8
Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff, 29.8, 86.8

Final Scores

Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix, 88.8
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott, 88.5
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff, 87.3
Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood, 86.9
TIE: Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff, 86.8
TIE: Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff, 86.8
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 84.2


Christopher Harbster, of Flagstaff, 56.8
Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School, 56.5Kendra Shebala, of Flagstaff, 52.9
Gabbie Jue, of Winslow, 56.0
nodalone, of Flagstaff, 56.1Ellenelizabeth, of Sedona, 43.9

Sedona National Poetry Slam Team

Slamoff Point Standings

4 points
Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff
The Klute, of Phoenix
Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix
 3 points
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott

2 points
Christopher Fox Graham, of Sedona
Christopher Harbster, of Flagstaff
Lauren Perry, of Phoenix
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman
nodalone, of Flagstaff
Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff
1 point
Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood
Ellenelizabeth, of Sedona
Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff
Gabbi Jue, of Flagstaff
Jack Egan, of Sedona
Jahnilli Akbar, of New York City
Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School
Kendra Kenj Shebala, of Flagstaff
Spencer Troth, of Flagstaff
Valence, of Flagstaff
 0.5 points

Danielle Silver, of Sedona
Gary Bowers, of Phoenix
Gary Every, of Sedona

Russ Kazmierczak wins the Sedona Poetry Slam

Results from the Sedona Poetry Slam

Russ Kazmierczak won the Sedona Poetry Slam, held Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010, Studio Live, Sedona, Arizona, 7:30 p.m.

The night was heavily political with a few splashes of humor and a plethora of poetry about current events.

Russ Kazmierczak and The Klute took the lead early and battled to the end, with Russ edging out the Klute by 0.1 in a nail-biter.

Round 1
Random Draw

Sorbet Christopher Fox Graham of Sedona, "Today, I Will Wash My Bedsheets"
Calibration: Gary Every of Sedona

Maple Dewleaf, of Flagstaff, 24.5, (2:51)
N. Miouo Nance, of Phoenix, 24.7, (3:02)
Russ Kazmierczak, of Tempe, 28.1, (2:04)
Lauren Perry, of Mesa, 26.5, 26.0 after 0.5 time penalty, (3:12)
David Tabor, of Mesa, 27.0, 24.5 after 2.5 time penalty, (3:55)
Joe Griffin, of Flagstaff, 22.6, (1:17)
Danielle Silver, of Sedona, 26.3, (2:12)
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 27.1, (3:02)
Ron Lemco, of Sedona, 26.9, (1:31)
Bert Cisneros, the elder poet, of Cottonwood, 26.8, (2:22)
The Klute, of Mesa, 28.7, (3:05)
Tristan Marshell, of Mesa, 28.7, (2:58)

Teaser poem by feature poet Brit Shostak
Host: Christopher Fox Graham of Sedona, "Orion"

Round 2
Reverse Order

Tristan Marshell, 27.7, (3:00), 55.5
The Klute, 29.6, (3:04), 58.3
Bert Cisneros, the elder poet, 26.5, (2:14), 53.3
Ron Lemco, 26.7, (1:10), 53.6
Mikel Weisser, 27.0, (2:28), 54.1
Danielle Silver, 27.8, (2:50), 54.1
Joe Griffin, 26.9, (1:24), 49.5
David Tabor, 28.9, (2:35), 53.4
Lauren Perry, 28.6, (2:55), 54.6
Russ Kazmierczak, 29.6, (2:06), 57.7
N. Miouo Nance, 27.0, (1:54), 51.7
Maple Dewleaf, 28.3, (2:12), 52.8

Feature Poet

Brit Shostak is in a constant battle for balance. She spends most days trying to read as much as she writes, be as creative as the things that inspire her, and love as much as she is loved.

She is a life-long four-eyes, who sings in the shower and tries to listen as much as she speaks.

She still prefers typing most things on her 1957 Underwood typewriter.

When she was just a tot she had to get stitches in her eyebrow after running into a bookcase at the library. Legend says that something from that event stuck.

After writing for what seems like as long as she could hold a pencil she has published two chapbooks, “Kissing Lightning Bolts” (2009) and “Lessons in Calamity” (210).

She has just released her first CD, “Thieving the Midnight Oil.”

Although Shostak enjoys the competitive thrill of slams she is actively pursuing a degree in creative writing with an emphasis in poetry and finds the page just as if not more important than performance.

Shostak was the 2009 Mesa representative at the Individual World Poetry Slam and a member of the 2009 and 2010 Mesa National Slam Poetry teams.

She has also had the extreme pleasure of reading in front of poetry legends Sonia Sanchez, poetry slam creator Marc Kelly Smith and S.A. Griffin.

After spending the last decade in the desert she is headed to the Pacific Northwest in search of adventure, good coffee, and the perfect tree to read a book beneath.

Shostak is a dandelion seed looking for a place to plant herself. She does most of her deeds in watermelon sugar.

Sorbet: Gary Every of Sedona

Round 3
High to Low

The Klute, 29.5, 29.0 after 0.5 time penalty, (3:11), 87.3
Russ Kazmierczak, 29.7, (1:54), 87.4
Tristan Marshell, 29.1, (2:50), 84.6
Lauren Perry, 28.9, 28.4 after 0.5 time penalty (3:13), 83.0
Danielle Silver, 27.7, (2:22), 81.8
Mikel Weisser, 28.3, (2:19), 82.4
Ron Lemco, 28.6, (2:32), 82.2
David Tabor, 30.0*, (2:40), 83.4. *Four 10s
Bert Cisneros, the elder poet, 28.8, (1:58), 82.1
Maple Dewleaf, 27.9, (1:52), 80.7
N. Miouo, Nance, 28.1, (2:16), 79.8
Joe Griffin, 28.3, (1:07), 77.8

Final scores
1st: Russ Kazmierczak, 87.4, $100

2nd: The Klute, 87.3

3rd: Tristan Marshell, 84.6

David Tabor, 83.4
Lauren Perry, 83.0
Mikel Weisser, 82.4
Ron Lemco, 82.2
Bert Cisneros, the elder poet, 82.1
Danielle Silver, 81.8
Maple Dewleaf, 80.7
N. Miouo Nance, 79.8
Joe Griffin, 77.8

Slam staff

Scorekeeper and Timekeeper: Sarah Lepich
Host: Christopher Fox Graham
Organizers:
Studio Live
Christopher Fox Graham, Sedona 510 Poetry

Next Sedona Poetry Slam: Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010, Studio Live, Sedona, Arizona, 7:30 p.m., featuring Mesa's Brit Shostak.

Bert Cisneros video, Sedona Poetry Slam round 3

Norberto "Bert" Cisneros is a Cottonwood poet and jazz trumpet player. He has slammed in Sedona and FlagSlam and regularly reads at the Sedona Poetry Open Mic.

Sedona Poetry Slam, Round #3, Poet #9.

Photo by Jon Pelletier/Kudos

Bert Cisneros video, Sedona Poetry Slam round 2

Norberto "Bert" Cisneros is a Cottonwood poet and jazz trumpet player. He has slammed in Sedona and FlagSlam and regularly reads at the Sedona Poetry Open Mic.

Sedona Poetry Slam, Round #2, Poet #5.

Photo by Jon Pelletier/Kudos

Bert Cisneros video, Sedona Poetry Slam round 1

Norberto "Bert" Cisneros is a Cottonwood poet and jazz trumpet player. He has slammed in Sedona and FlagSlam and regularly reads at the Sedona Poetry Open Mic.

Sedona Poetry Slam, Round #1, Poet #7.

Photo by Jon Pelletier/Kudos

Haiku Death Match Finals

Haiku Death Match Finals Haiku:
Hi-Ya! Zach Brutsche
won this year's Haiku Death Match
at GumptionFest 4

What Was CFG Wearing as Haiku Death Match Host? Haiku
I wore the silk shirt
of a thirteen-year-old girl.
Why do I own that?

Haiku Death Match Math Haiku
One host, three judges,
six flags plus eight haikusters
equals Death Match fun

Zach Brutsche, right, beat Dennis Mead, left, in the final round of the Haiku Death Match by a single haiku, 3-2. Thanks to Gary Every, Bert Cisneros, David Reed, Carl Weis and Mikel Weisser for competing and Jen Valencia for supplying the "Poetic License" grand prize to the winning Haikuster.