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.
Being Sedona residents, we get asked about where the vortices / vortexes are all the time.
Here are the four. Some folks who will swindle tourists out of money will claim there are more only they know about but none of them are universally recognized as these four are. That said, they're pretty and offer nice vistas, but there is nothing inherently special about any of them other that what people claim without evidence that they feel.
Sedona Airport Vortex (on the outcroping to the northeast)
Bell Rock Vortex, the exact location is -- unsurprisingly -- unclear.
The Sedona Poetry Slam has reached the final slam of the season before the summer break Saturday, May 14. Performance poets will bring high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre starting at 7:30 p.m.
If you have told your friends you were going to attend a poetry slam this year, but haven't yet, this is your last chance to see what you've been anticipating.
A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Anyone can sign up to compete in the slam for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.
Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. Poets 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. 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 and inspire the audience with their creativity.
Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.
The Sedona Poetry Slam will return for its 14th season the fall.
The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.
Email foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up early to compete or by the Friday before the slam or at the door the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive.
For more information, visit sedonafilmfestival.com or foxthepoet.blogspot.com.
What is Poetry Slam?
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984 by Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. 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. Slam poets have opened at the Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmons' Def Poets" on HBO.
Sedona has sent four-poet teams to represent the city at the National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C., Boston, Cambridge, Mass., Oakland, Calif., Decatur, Ga., Denver and Chicago.
The penultimate installment of a series is often one the best, and that will be the case as the Sedona Poetry Slam returns for its penultimate slam of the season Saturday, April 23.
Performance poets will bring high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre starting at 7:30 p.m.
A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience.
Anyone Can Compete
Anyone can sign up to compete in the slam for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.
Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. Poets 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. 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 and inspire the audience with their creativity.
Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.
The final poetry slam of the season will be held Saturday, May 14.
The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.
Email foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up early to compete or by the Friday before the slam or at the door the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive.
For more information, visit sedonafilmfestival.com or foxthepoet.blogspot.com.
What is Poetry Slam?
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984 by Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. 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. Slam poets have opened at the Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmon's Def Poets" on HBO.
Sedona has sent four-poet teams to represent the city at the National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C., Boston, Cambridge, Mass., Oakland, Calif., Decatur, Ga., Denver and Chicago.
With the fourth poetry slam of the season just around the corner, the Sedona Poetry Slam proudly welcomes Arizona slam poetry icon Bernard "The Klute" Schober to the stage on Saturday, March 5.
Performance poets will bring high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre starting at 7:30 p.m. with The Klute performing between rounds.
The Klute
The Klute is Arizona's globetrotting, shark-diving, dive-mastering nerd-slam emeritus host, slam poet. A 10-time National Poetry Slam team member who has represented the cities of Mesa, Phoenix and Sedona, he's made the s National Poetry Slam Semi-Finals stage three times and Group Piece Finals once.
The author of four published works "Kluteocrypha," "Chumming the Waters," "High-Concept Sci-Fi Horror Mashup!" and "Cap'n Klute's Ocean Almanac," he also manages the YouTube Channel "The Undersea World of the Klute," bringing his poetic take to marine and shark conservation shorts with footage he has filmed from around the world, from the deep Indian Ocean depths of the South African coast, to the shrinking, climate-imperiled islands of the Maldives, to the sunny waters of Philippine Sea.
Even tempered by the oceans, his political scalpel remains as sharp as ever, and with a target-rich environment such as today's, no one is spared.
What does Megalodon thinks about extinction? Want to know the epic quest that all Hammerhead sharks take? What do Great White sharks think about Discovery Channel cameramen?
Find out about all this and more at Sedona, on March 5 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre!
Anyone Can Compete
A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Anyone can sign up to compete in the slam for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize.
To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes.
No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.
Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists.
Poets 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.
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 and inspire the audience with their creativity.
Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.
The upcoming poetry slams of the season will be held Saturdays, April 23 and May 14.
The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.
Email foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up early to compete or by the Friday before the slam or at the door the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive.
For more information, visit sedonafilmfestival.com or foxthepoet.blogspot.com.
What is Poetry Slam?
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984 by Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. 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. Slam poets have opened at the Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmon's Def Poets" on HBO.
Sedona has sent four-poet teams to represent the city at the National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C., Boston, Cambridge, Mass., Oakland, Calif., Decatur, Ga., Denver and Chicago.
With 2021 in the rearview and 2022 on the horizon, the Sedona Poetry Slam enters its 14th year of performance poets bringing high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15.
Damien Flores, of Albuquerque, performs at the Sedona Poetry Slam in November. A published author and teacher, Flores was the guest featured poet between competitive rounds.
A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Anyone can sign up to compete in the slam for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize.
To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.
Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists.
Poets 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.
Kate Martin, of Flagstaff, performs at the Sedona Poetry Slam in November.
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 and inspire the audience with their creativity.
Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.
The Sedona Poetry Slam held two competitions in October and November. The upcoming poetry slams of the season will be held Saturdays, March 5, featuring Bernard "The Klute" Schober, of Phoenix; April 23; and Saturday, May 14.
The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.
Lydia Gates, of Flagstaff, performs at the Sedona Poetry Slam in November. The slammaster of the Flagstaff Poetry Slam, Gates took second place.
Email foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up early to compete or by the Friday before the slam or at the door the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive.
For more information, visit sedonafilmfestival.com or foxthepoet.blogspot.com.
What is Poetry Slam?
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984 by Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. 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. Slam poets have opened at the Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmons' Def Poets" on HBO.
Sedona has sent four-poet teams to represent the city at the National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C., Boston, Cambridge, Mass., Oakland, Calif., Decatur, Ga., Denver and Chicago.
After the successful return of slam
poetry to Sedona in October, the Sedona Poetry Slam proudly welcomes
New Mexico slam poetry icon Damien Flores to the stage on Saturday,
Nov. 13.
Performance poets will bring
high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre
starting at 7:30 p.m. with Flores performing between rounds.
Damien Flores
Flores is an award-winning poet,
comedian, author, actor, educator, & radio broadcaster from
Albuquerque, N.M.
A two-time National Poetry Slam
Champion and two-time College Unions Poetry Slam Champion, he has
published three books: “Junkyard Dogs,” “El Cuento de Juana
Henrieta,” and “A Novena of Mud.”
Flores and his works have been featured
in several anthologies, magazines and newspapers, including
Albuquerque the Magazine, Bomb Magazine and El Palacio. He is a past
presenter at TEDxABQ, was twice named Poet of the Year by the New
Mexico Hispano Entertainers Association and received the Lena Todd
Award for Creative Nonfiction from the University of New Mexico.
He produces the monthly open mic and
slam called Poetry & Beer as well as the regional invitational
Southwest Showdown Poetry Slam and the local ABQ Slams Championship
Tournaments. He is also a Radio Free America DJ & hosts the
Spoken Word Hour on 89.9 KUNM.
Anyone Can Compete
A poetry slam is like a series of
high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience.
Anyone can sign up to compete in the slam for the $75 grand prize and
$25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three
original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props,
costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are
judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at
random at the beginning of the slam.
Slam poetry is an art form that allows
written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical
performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. Poets 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. 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 and
inspire the audience with their creativity.
Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at
2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Tickets are $12. For
tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.
The upcoming poetry slams of the season
will be held Saturdays, Jan 15; Saturday, March 5, featuring Bernard
“The Klute” Schober, of Phoenix; April 23; and May 14.
The prize money is funded in part by a
donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.
Email foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up
early to compete or by the Friday before the slam or at the door the
day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket
in case the roster is filled before they arrive.
For more information, visit
sedonafilmfestival.com or foxthepoet.blogspot.com.
What is Poetry Slam?
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in
Chicago in 1984 by Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic
sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry
reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy
competition. 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. Slam poets have opened
at the Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the
United Nations General Assembly and were featured on “Russell
Simmons' Def Poets” on HBO.
Sedona has sent four-poet teams to
represent the city at the National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C.,
Boston, Cambridge, Mass., Oakland, Calif., Decatur, Ga., Denver and
Chicago.
After an 18-month hiatus, the Sedona
Poetry Slam returns for its 13th season Saturday, Oct. 2. Performance
poets will bring high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D.
Fisher Theatre starting at 7:30 p.m.
A poetry slam is like a series of
high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience.
Anyone can sign up to compete in the slam for the $75 grand prize and
$25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three
original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props,
costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are
judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at
random at the beginning of the slam.
Slam poetry is an art form that allows
written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical
performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. Poets 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. 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 and
inspire the audience with their creativity.
Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at
2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Tickets are $12. For
tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.
The upcoming poetry slams of the season will be
held Saturday, Nov. 13, featuring Damien Flores of Albuquerque,
N.M.; Saturdays, Jan 15; March 5, featuring Bernard “The Klute” Schober, of
Phoenix; April 23; and May 14.
The prize money is funded in part by a
donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.
Email foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up
early to compete or by the Friday before the slam or at the door the
day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket
in case the roster is filled before they arrive.
For more information, visit
sedonafilmfestival.com or foxthepoet.blogspot.com.
What is Poetry Slam?
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in
Chicago in 1984 by Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic
sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry
reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy
competition. 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. Slam poets have opened
at the Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the
United Nations General Assembly and were featured on “Russell
Simmon’s Def Poets” on HBO.
Sedona has sent four-poet teams to
represent the city at the National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C.,
Boston, Cambridge, Mass., Oakland, Calif., Decatur, Ga., Denver and
Chicago.
After a decade of first reporting this, Anthony Mazzella continues to purpetuate falsehoods about being the great guitarist Sedona needs, not the musician Sedona needs.
The lie: "Anthony Mazzella is a professional concert guitarist, recording artist and producer. BILLBOARD Magazine describes him as "the new generation of guitar hero" and GUITAR ONE magazine voted him "one of the top ten guitarists in the country".
This quote is false. While managing editor at Kudos, I contacted Billboard magazine when I first saw it to get the appropriate publication dates and issue number and the editor told me the quote is taken out of context. He asked that this fraudulent quote be corrected, or completely omitted.
I have backchannel notified Tony of the error, he ignored it, so I contacted venues when they sent in the erroneous quotes and most he removed the quote. He still sends it out, so I suppose it needs to be made public knowledge via this post.
We'd all like to make up quotes about how great we think we are, but it's not ethical and artists shouldn't let others do it either; it tarnishes our collective credibility.
The actual quote:
"Mazzella makes a convincing argument for inclusion among rock's new generation of guitar heroes with this striking instrumental interpretation of the U2 hit. He does an astonishing job in creating the energy and pace of a full band with only one guitar. His fingers move like lightening and with a precision that will boggle the mind. This well-known cut is an excellent introduction to "The Birth," a collection of vivid and intricately constructed original compositions."
--Larry Flick, Billboard Magazine
The entry appeared on the bottom of the fourth column of Page 66 of the May 3, 1997, edition. YOU CAN SEE THE PAGE HERE:
The statement, aside from being misquoted, truncates the quote, taking it completely out of context. It does not refer to him but a cover of a U2 song he played on an album.
It's from Billboard, so why tweak it? Because he thought no one would check? Or the fact that it's 10 years old and he hasn't gotten another review in a decade? Either way, Tony is lying to all his audiences and the business owners who book him.
As artists, it behooves us to be honest with our audience. This type of blatant deception on Tony's part disrespects the integrity of all artists. He lies to his audiences and promoters.
If he posts a correction on his website and promises to remove the quote, I will take down this post.
she was born that way
you can see it in the way she hugs
the way she waves to anyone
the way she sprints at full gallop
when she sees her mother or me at the end of a day
the way she says “bye bye”
bringing joy to strangers who may never see her again
they may not
because my daughter has a big heart
she was born that way
we knew we were going to love her
from the moment we knew we were pregnant
she was going to have a big heart
full of love
because we were full of love for her
we wanted nothing more than to have a daughter
half her mother, half me
we could raise in the way we were not
free of judgment
or useless tradition
a wild horse,
untamed and untamable
in the days before she was born
we found she had big heart
too big
we heard an unusual murmur
caught by the ultrasound
a hiccup of the heart
too big for her tiny chest
larger than it should be
anterior ventricular aneurysm
a bulge where the muscles of a valve
had not yet formed
not strong enough to beat her little heart on its own
and maybe would never
my wife could carry her to term but after that
the labor could rupture her heart
could tear it after birth
or it could gallop like a thoroughbred then
… just stop …
for no reason and not beat again
six days in intensive care,
six hours in an MRI
we took her home
a probe attached to her chest we had to change daily
when we put her down to sleep
we were not sure if she would wake up
we checked on her hourly
to make sure she was still alive
still breathing,
her heart beating like the hooves of a Clydesdale
but this creature,
half me,
half her mother
was full of love
though she did not know the word
but she taught it to us
our hearts swelled to carry the burden hers could not
she has a big heart
as big as a horse
she was born that way
and she has survived
because she has a big heart like Secretariat
whose mighty heart
was three times the size of a normal horse
it should have killed him
all that passion and desire to win,
to race
to succeed,
pushing him down the track
around the curves
at the Kentucky Derby
each leg faster than the last
winning in under two minutes
at Preakness
where he started last and leaped ahead so famously
they made a statute of him doing it
at Belmont Stakes
where he won the Triple Crown by 31 lengths
the widest margin in racing history
he had a big heart
he was born that way
he did not stop and she will not
because she has a big heart
she was born that way
so if you meet her
and she waves, wave back
say bye when she leaves
because you may not see her again
and not because she's gone
but because she’s so far down the track
so far ahead of us
you cannot see her
just the dust she's left behind
get to know her now,
because I don't know where she's headed
but she'll arrive
long before the rest of us
because my daughter
she has a big heart
she was born that way
With every day I spend with her
I wonder if they are
She knows where the moon is in the sky when I do not,
and I have been walking on this earth
compass in hand,
for 40 times her life
I rarely get lost
yet, she seems to know
where her old friend is
every time we see him
She says hi to the stars
reaches up like she can touch them
I want to explain to her
the distance
of light years
How the balls of fire we see in the sky
are millions of years older than us
And even in our fastest ship
We will never reach them in our lifetime
I want to explain these things her
but she's not old enough to understand the words
And I wonder
if she's right
Because, truthfully,
I do not know the length of a light year
I have read it in books
been told by wiser men and women than me
And I believe them
because that is what we must do
to survive this world:
believe those who study these things
so we can go about our day
living
So I wonder if she's right
If I reach out my hand and say “hi, star”
with the same enthusiasm that she does
Will I hear them speak back?
When they reach through the night sky
when no one else is looking
shake hands with me,
Touch my fingers to theirs?
Say,
“It has been some time since we've spoken.
How are you?
We are doing fine
up here in the night
watching you down there
learning to learn
learning how things grow
feeling how things feel
what gravity is
what knees are
I wonder
if she their ambassador to us
or just another traveler
right now, it doesn't matter
because she's waving hello to the moon again
and I can't prove it
but I swear I saw him wave back
The Sedona Poetry Slam returns for its 11th year bringing high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 7:30 p.m. The slam kicks off the 2019-2020 season with three featured slam poets who are among the best in Arizona’s history.
The Klute
The Klute, photo courtesy of Jessica Mason-Paull
Bernard “The Klute” Schober is the most recognizable voice from Arizona on poetry slam’s national stage. He grew up along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean on Palm Beach, Fla., where he cultivated a love of sharks to become an activist for shark preservation through the medium of spoken word. He has had the privilege of deep sea diving with those fantastic fish, from the Great White sharks of Isla Guadalupe, Mexico, to the reef sharks of Egypt’s Red Sea coast.
Klute has represented Sedona, Mesa and Phoenix and at the National Poetry Slam 10 times between 2002 and 2014 and has opened for spoken word superstars such as Saul Williams and Amber Tamblyn. He has been the featured performer in such legendary venues as Vancouver’s Cafe Deux Soliels and New York City’s Bowery Poetry Cafe.
His first spoken word CD “Reading the Obituaries Over My Dead Body” and his first book, “Klutopocrypha,” were released by Brick Cave Books. He published a book of shark-themed poems “Chumming the Waters” in 2016. His second book of shark poems “Cap’n Klute’s Ocean Almanac” is illustrated by Arizona artists Gary Bowers and Jan Marc Quisimbing and 100% of book sales go to shark conservation nonprofits.
Bill Campana
Bill Campana is a 1955 model who has outlived his warranty. He has three books of poetry out with Brick Cave Media: “Said Beauty to the Blues,” “The Ragtime of Modern Living” and “flotsam and gomorrah (parlour tricks and other mysteries).”
He currently hosts the open mic portion of the Caffeine Corridor Poetry Series on Grand Avenue in Phoenix.
He has a high school diploma but has no idea where the hell it is.
Campana has competed with the Mesa National Poetry Slam Team multiple times on the national stage and is known as the loudest voice in poetry slam.
Patrick Hare
Patrick Hare, photo courtesy of David Tabor
Patrick Hare was a member of three Mesa National Poetry Slam Teams.
Hare was a pioneer in the field of poetic sarcasm before the age of snark.
Hare has hosted more than his fair share of poetry events and featured at nearly every venue in the Phoenix Valley.
The poetic trio will perform between the competitive rounds of the regular poetry slam.
A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. 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 and inspire the audience with their creativity.
All poets are welcome to compete for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.
Poets in the Sedona Poetry 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.
Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.
The poetry slams of the season will be held Saturday, Sept. 7; Friday, Nov. 1; Saturday, Jan 25; Saturday, March 28; Saturday, April 25; and Saturday, May 23.
The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.
Contact host Christopher Fox Graham at foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up to slam early by Friday, Sept. 6, or arrive at the door by 7 p.m. Sept. 7 to sign up the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive. The Sedona Poetry Slam will be hosted by Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on 12 FlagSlam National Poetry Slams in 2001, 2004-06, 2010 and 2012-18. Graham has hosted the Sedona Poetry Slam since 2009.
For more information, visit sedonafilmfestival.com or foxthepoet.blogspot.com.
What is Poetry Slam?
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984 by Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. 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. Slam poets have opened at the Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on “Russell Simmon’s Def Poets” on HBO.
For seven years, Sedona sent a four-poet team to National Poetry Slam, held in different cities around the United States every August. Sedona sent its first team to the 2012 NPS in Charlotte, N.C., its second to the 2013 NPS in Boston and Cambridge, Mass., and its third and fourth to Oakland, Calif., its fifth to Decatur, Ga., its sixth to Denver and its seventh to Chicago.
The Sedona National Poetry Slam Team, chosen in May, will represent the city at national events around the country in 2020.
The Sedona Poetry Slam brings high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, May 25, at 7:30 p.m.
A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. 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 and inspire the audience with their creativity.
All poets are welcome to compete for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.
Poets in the Sedona Poetry 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.
Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.
The first slam of the spring was held Saturday April 27.
The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.
Contact host Christopher Fox Graham at foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up to slam early by Friday, May 24, or arrive at the door by 7 p.m. May 25 to sign up the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive. The Sedona Poetry Slam will be hosted by Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on 12 FlagSlam National Poetry Slams in 2001, 2004-06, 2010 and 2012-18. Graham has hosted the Sedona Poetry Slam since 2009.
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984 by Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. 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. Slam poets have opened at the Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmon's Def Poets" on HBO.
For the last seven years, Sedona sent a four-poet team to National Poetry Slam, held in different cities around the United States every August. Sedona sent its first team to the 2012 NPS in Charlotte, N.C., its second to the 2013 NPS in Boston and Cambridge, Mass., and its third and fourth to Oakland, Calif., its fifth to Decatur, Ga., its sixth to Denver and its seventh to Chicago.
Unfortunately, there will be no National Poetry Slam this year due fiscal insolvency of the parent nonprofit, Poetry Slam Inc., last fall. The Sedona poetry slam, however, is doing well as it heads into its 10th year of hosting poetry slams in the Verde Valley.
The Sedona Poetry Slam brings high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m.
A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. 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 and inspire the audience with their creativity.
All poets are welcome to compete for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.
Poets in the Sedona Poetry 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.
Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.
The second slam of the spring will be held Saturday May 25.
The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.
Contact host Christopher Fox Graham at foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up to slam early by Friday, April 26, or arrive at the door by 7 p.m. April 27 to sign up the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive. The Sedona Poetry Slam will be hosted by Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on 12 FlagSlam National Poetry Slams in 2001, 2004-06, 2010 and 2012-18. Graham has hosted the Sedona Poetry Slam since 2009.
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984 by Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. 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. Slam poets have opened at the Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmon's Def Poets" on HBO.
For the last seven years, Sedona sent a four-poet team to National Poetry Slam, held in different cities around the United States every August. Sedona sent its first team to the 2012 NPS in Charlotte, N.C., its second to the 2013 NPS in Boston and Cambridge, Mass., and its third and fourth to Oakland, Calif., its fifth to Decatur, Ga., its sixth to Denver and its seventh to Chicago.
Unfortunately, there will be no National Poetry Slam this year due fiscal insolvency of the parent nonprofit, Poetry Slam Inc., last fall. The Sedona poetry slam, however, is doing well as it heads into its 10th year of hosting poetry slams in the Verde Valley.
The Sedona Poetry Slam bring high-energy, competition spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre for the "Last Chance Slam" on Saturday, May 26, at 7:30 p.m.
The Last Chance Slam on May 26 is be the final opportunity for poets who want to qualify for the 2018 Grand Slam.
All poets are welcome to compete for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.
A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. 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 and inspire the audience with their creativity.
Poets in the Sedona Poetry 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.
The first six slams of the season were held Nov. 4, Dec. 16, Dec. 30, Feb. 3, April 7 and May 5, won by Lauren Perry, M.C. Tristan Marshall, Bernard "The Klute" Schober, Josh Wiss and Kim Jarchow and Ryan Smalley, respectively. The final open slam of the season will be at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona, on Saturday May 26.
The Klute won the Dec. 30 Sedona Poetry Slam
Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org
The 2017-18 season will culminate in selection of Sedona's seventh National Poetry Slam Team, the foursome and alternate who will represent Sedona and the Verde Valley at the National Poetry Slam in Chicago in August.
With every regular slam, poets earn points toward a slot in the Grand Slam, on Saturday, June 9. The poets who make the Sedona National Poetry Slam Team at the final contest will represent Sedona and share the stage with 350 of the top poets in the United States, Canada and Europe at the week-long National Poetry Slam in Chicago in August.
Sedona sent its first team to the 2012 NPS in Charlotte, N.C., its second to the 2013 NPS in Boston and Cambridge, Mass., and its third and fourth to Oakland, Calif., its fifth to Decatur, Ga., and its sixth to Denver. For more information, visit foxthepoet.blogspot.com.
The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.
Contact host Christopher Fox Graham at foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up to slam early by Friday, May 25, or arrive at the door by 7 p.m. to sign up the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive. The Sedona Poetry Slam will be hosted by Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on 10 FlagSlam National Poetry Slams in 2001, 2004-06, 2010 and 2012-17. Graham has hosted the Sedona Poetry Slam since 2009.
What is Poetry Slam?
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. 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. Slam poets have opened at the 2010 Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmon's Def Poets" on HBO.
For more information, visit poetryslam.com or the PSi channel on YouTube.
The Sedona Poetry Slam bring high-energy, competition spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m.
All poets are welcome to compete for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.
A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. 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 and inspire the audience with their creativity.
Poets in the Sedona Poetry 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.
Kim Jarchow won the Sedona Poetry Slam on April 7
The first five slams of the season were held Nov. 4, Dec. 16, Dec. 30, Feb. 3 and April 7, won by Lauren Perry, M.C. Tristan Marshall, Bernard "The Klute" Schober, Josh Wiss amd Kim Jarchow, respectively. The final open slam of the season will be at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona, on Saturday May 26.
Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.
The 2017-18 season will culminate in selection of Sedona’s seventh National Poetry Slam Team, the foursome and alternate who will represent Sedona and the Verde Valley at the National Poetry Slam in Chicago in August.
The Last Chance Slam on May 26 will be the final opportunity for poets who want to qualify for the 2018 Grand Slam. With every regular slam, poets earn points toward a slot in the Grand Slam, on Saturday, June 9. The poets who make the Sedona National Poetry Slam Team at the final contest will represent Sedona and share the stage with 350 of the top poets in the United States, Canada and Europe at the week-long National Poetry Slam in Chicago in August.
Sedona sent its first team to the 2012 NPS in Charlotte, N.C., its second to the 2013 NPS in Boston and Cambridge, Mass., and its third and fourth to Oakland, Calif., its fifth to Decatur, Ga., and its sixth to Denver. For more information, visit foxthepoet.blogspot.com.
The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.
Contact host Christopher Fox Graham at foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up to slam early by Friday, May 4, or arrive at the door by 7 p.m. to sign up the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive. The Sedona Poetry Slam will be hosted by Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on 10 FlagSlam National Poetry Slams in 2001, 2004-06, 2010 and 2012-17. Graham has hosted the Sedona Poetry Slam since 2009.
What is Poetry Slam?
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. 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. Slam poets have opened at the 2010 Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmon's Def Poets" on HBO.
For more information, visit poetryslam.com or the PSi channel on YouTube.
The Sedona Poetry Slam bring high-energy, competition spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m.
All poets are welcome to compete for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.
A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists.
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 and inspire the audience with their creativity.
Poets in the Sedona Poetry 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.
The first four slams of the season were held Nov. 4, Dec. 16, Dec. 30 and Feb. 3, won by Lauren Perry, M.C. Tristan Marshall, Bernard "The Klute" Schober and Josh Wiss, respectively. The next two slams will be at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona, on Saturdays May 5 and May 26.
Bernard "The Klute" Schober reads his victory poem after winning the third
Sedona Poetry Slam of the 2017-18 season on Dec. 30 at the Mary D. Fisher
Theatre. The next Sedona Poetry Slam takes place Saturday, April, at
7:30 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org
The 2017-18 season will culminate in selection of Sedona's seventh National Poetry Slam Team, the foursome and alternate who will represent Sedona and the Verde Valley at the National Poetry Slam in Chicago in August.
The Last Chance Slam on May 26 will be the final opportunity for poets who want to qualify for the 2018 Grand Slam. With every regular slam, poets earn points toward a slot in the Grand Slam, on Saturday, June 9.
The poets who make the Sedona National Poetry Slam Team at the final contest will represent Sedona and share the stage with 350 of the top poets in the United States, Canada and Europe at the week-long National Poetry Slam in Chicago in August.
Lauren Perry won the first Sedona Poetry Slam of the 2017-18 season
on Nov. 4 at the Sedona Arts Center. The next Sedona Poetry Slam
takes place Saturday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher
Theatre.
Sedona sent its first team to the 2012 NPS in Charlotte, N.C., its second to the 2013 NPS in Boston and Cambridge, Mass., and its third and fourth to Oakland, Calif., its fifth to Decatur, Ga., and its sixth to Denver. For more information, visit foxthepoet.blogspot.com.
The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.
Contact host Christopher Fox Graham at foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up to slam early by Friday, April 6, or arrive at the door by 7 p.m. to sign up the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive.
The Sedona Poetry Slam will be hosted by Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on 10 FlagSlam National Poetry Slams in 2001, 2004-06, 2010 and 2012-17. Graham has hosted the Sedona Poetry Slam since 2009.
What is Poetry Slam?
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition.
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.
Slam poets have opened at the 2010 Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmon's Def Poets" on HBO.
For more information, visit poetryslam.com or the PSi channel on YouTube.
