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.
Showing posts with label Seth Walker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seth Walker. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Seth Walker features at the final Sedona Poetry Slam of the 2022-23 season

The Sedona Poetry Slam has reached the final slam of the season before the summer break Saturday, May 13. Performance poets will bring high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre starting at 7:30 p.m.



Seth Walker

Between rounds, one of the best known performance poets in the country will feature on the stage.

Seth Walker is a poet, playwright, songwriter, and musician born in Baton Rouge, La., raised in Texas and now living in Phoenix. His upbringing in the southern United States is reflected in his work, which often explores themes of love, loss and the human experience. For five years, he toured nonstop across the United States and Canada, performing at poetry venues almost every night.



Walker's poetry is known for its raw emotion and its ability to capture the beauty and complexity of everyday life. His work often incorporates elements of nature, and he has been praised for his ability to use the natural world as a metaphor for human emotion and experience.


Overall, Walker's poetry is a testament to the power of language and its ability to evoke deep emotions and connect people to one another. His work is a reminder that even in the midst of pain and hardship, there is still beauty and meaning to be found in the world.

The Slam

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.

BlackBerry Peach

Also expected to compete is B-Jam, aka Ben Gardea, who was chosen last month by Sedona's judges to represent all of Arizona against more than 40 other top poets at the BlackBerryPeach National Slam Poetry Competition held June 21 to June 26, in Des Moines, Iowa, sponsored by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies and the Iowa Poetry Association. He is the Arizona State Poetry Society's official state representative.



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 15th 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 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.

Sunday, January 1, 2023

"A Tree Story" by Seth Walker

Seth Walker performing "A Tree Story" at The Rebel Lounge in Phoenix, on Sept. 28, 2022.

Ghost Poetry Show is committed to creating a community of writers from the greater Phoenix area (and beyond) to share their work on stage. We take pride in having poets that have never performed their work in front of anyone, all the way up to poets that have competed at the national level. No matter gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or age anyone can take the stage and compete in the three round poetry slam.

Seth Walker

I've known Seth for well over a decade, but we bonded with a host of other poets who survived the Desert Rocks Music Fest 2012. It's a long, dusty story ....

Starting a career as Houston, Texas’ premiere national poet and Grand Slam Champion of 2007, Seth Walker has earned titles in nearly every state in America. 

In November 2007 Seth Walker was Houston’s premiere national poet and had just claimed Grand Slam Champion, he then left Houston to follow his art and travel across the country to find it…

Since then Seth has performed at nearly every major venue in the country including Da Poetry Lounge in Hollywood, Calif., The Green Mill in Chicago and The Nuyorican in New York City. Along the way he won several noteworthy titles such as: Slam Champion of the Utah State Arts Fair Poetry Slam (2009), North Beast Indie Slam Champion (North-Eastern Regional 2010), slamming with the 2010 Austin Poetry Slam Team, as well as as slamming with Denver’s Slam NUBA in 2012.

While traveling with rotating national artists, this notorious “road dog” poet traveled 10 to 11 months out of the year, dedicating his art to whomever he meets. In 2012 he took 1st place for Denver’s famous Cafe NUBA at the iWPS competition, making Seth Walker their Individual World Poetry Slam Champion for 2012. Seth has been teaching and working with the Beyond Academia Free Skool since its beginning in 2012.

“Neobeat slam poet Seth Walker’s words were a perfect counterpoint to the message at hand. With lyrics that celebrated triumph of the spirit over the degradation of life circumstances, Walker engaged the audience and, hopefully, galvanized them to take up the cause even after the show was over,” wrote Melonie Magruder in The Malibu Times in Malibu, Calif.

“Floating above the seas of disposable ideas and so-called “news” presented by supposed “Fair and Balanced” hucksters, Seth Walker brings it real, raw and unrelentingly. His spoken word is emotional but not over-wrought; to the point but not simplistic. Seth Walker is a walkabout version of the evening news. In a world of false messengers, Seth is the real thing” wrote Kenn Rodriguez a National Poetry Slam Champion (2005)

Friday, March 16, 2012

Jackson Morris wins the fourth Sedona Poetry Slam of the 2011-12 National Poetry Slam Season

Jackson Morris, of Flagstaff, won the Sedona Poetry Slam on
Saturday, March 10.
Jackson Morris wins the fourth Sedona Poetry Slam of the 2011-12 National Poetry Slam Season.


Round 1
Random Draw

Calibration: Christopher Fox Graham, of Sedona, “Poetic Babysitting”
Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff, 22.1, 1:55
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 19.3, 3:01
Valence, of Flagstaff, 26.6, 2:52
Tom Heymsfeld, of Sedona, 25.9, 2:09
Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix, 25.2, 2:31
Nodalone, of Flagstaff, 25.6, 3:04
You Phonik, of Flagstaff, 23.7, 3:06
Jackson, of Flagstaff, 28.4, 2:57

Teaser: Seth Walker and Solomon Schneider

Round 2
Reverse Order
Jackson, of Flagstaff, 28.8, 2:55, 57.2
You Phonik, of Flagstaff, 20.1, 18.6 after 1.5 time penalty, 3:31, 42.3

Nodalone, of Flagstaff, 21.8, 2:27, 47.4
Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix, 24.2, 2:27, 49.4

Tom Heymsfeld, of Sedona, 23.6, 1:11, 49.5
Valence, of Flagstaff, 26.8, 2:04, 53.4
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 23.1, 2:34, 42.4
Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff, 24.3, 2:15, 46.4

Courtesy photo
Seth Walker and his cellist tour mate Solomon Schneider featured at
the Sedona Poetry Slam on March 10.
Feature: Seth Walker and Solomon Schneider


Sorbet: Noberto Cisneros, of Cottonwood

Sorbet: Spenser Troth, of Flagstaff

Round 3
High to Low
Jackson, of Flagstaff, 26.5, 26.0 after 0.5 time penalty, 3:16, 83.2
Valence, of Flagstaff, 25.1, 3:09, 78.5
Tom Heymsfeld, of Sedona, 25.4, 1:37, 74.9 
Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix, 25.2, 2:54, 74.6
Nodalone, of Flagstaff, 22.7, 21.7 after 1 point time penalty, 3:29, 69.1
Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff, 25.4, 2:38, 71.8
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 26.8, 23.8 after 3 point time penalty, 4:06, 66.2
You Phonik, of Flagstaff, 22.8, 1:52, 65.1

Sorbet:  Christopher Fox Graham, of Sedona, “The Peach is a Damn Sexy Fruit” with actual fruit

Victory: Jackson, of Flagstaff

Final Scores
Jackson, of Flagstaff, 83.2

Valence, of Flagstaff, 78.5

Tom Heymsfeld, of Sedona, 74.9 

Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix, 74.6

Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff, 71.8
Nodalone, of Flagstaff, 69.1
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 66.2

You Phonik, of Flagstaff, 65.1
Scorekeeper: Alun Wile
Cameramwoman: Azami

Sedona National Poetry Slam Team
Slamoff Point Standings
7 points
Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff
Shaun "nodalone" Sristava, of Flagstaff ✓
6 points
Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix ✓
5 points
 Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff
The Klute, of Phoenix ✓
Tyler "Valence" Sirvinskas, of Flagstaff
4 points
Christopher Fox Graham, of Sedona
Jackson Morris, of Flagstaff ✓
3 points
Christopher Harbster, of Flagstaff
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott
Lauren Perry, of Phoenix
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff
2.5 points

Spencer Troth, of Flagstaff
2 points
Tom Heymsfeld, of Sedona
1.5 points
Noberto "Bert" Cisneros, of Cottonwood
1 pointJahnilli Akbar, of New York City
Ellenelizabeth Cernek, of SedonaEvan Dissinger, of Flagstaff
Gabbi Jue, of Flagstaff
Jack Egan, of Sedona
Gary Every, of Sedona
Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School
Aaron Johnson, of Phoenix
Michelle Peterson, of Sedona
Kendra "Kenj" Shebala, of Flagstaff
Mary Elizabeth Skene, of Sedona
Seth Walker, of Texas
0.5 points
Sasha Anderson, of Flagstaff
Gary Bowers, of Phoenix
Danielle Silver, of Sedona
✓ = won a Sedona Poetry Slam

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Get your tickets now for the Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, March 10

Tickets are $7 in advance and $12 the day of the slam, available at Golden Word Books and Music, 3150 W. SR 89A, and online at studiolivesedona.com. Click here to buy your discount tickets now. (The tickets appear as $12, but a discount appears at the checkout window before you pay).



Seth Walker features at the Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, March 10

Sedona's Studio Live hosts a poetry slam Saturday, March 10, starting at 7:30 p.m. featuring Texas poet Seth Walker and hosted by Sedona poet Christopher Fox Graham.

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 supporter Jeanne Freeland.

The slam will the fourth of the 2011-12 season, which has been more moving, more energetic and more intense because this year as poets compete for a slot in Sedona's first National Poetry Slam Team.

After four years of collaborating with the Flagstaff and Phoenix metro area poetry slam scenes, the Sedona scene has the reputation and strength to send its own team to the 2012 National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C., in August. The eventual four-poet team will share the stage with 300 of the top poets in the United States, Canada and Europe, pouring out their words in a weeklong explosion of expression.

Seth Walker
Sedona's Studio Live hosts a poetry slam Saturday, March 10, starting at 7:30 p.m. featuring Texas poet Seth Walker

Seth Walker is Houston, Texas’ premiere national poet and Grand Slam Champion of 2007. In 2007, Walker took second at the Texas Blue Bonnet State Competition. That November, he left Houston to follow his art and travel across the country to find it … he has not yet stopped.

Since then Walker has performed at nearly every major venue in the country including Da Poetry Lounge in Hollywood, Calif., The Green Mill in Chicago, and The Nuyorican Poets' Cafe in New York City. Along the way he won several noteworthy titles such as Slam Champion of the Utah State Arts Fair Poetry Slam in 2009, North Beast Indie Slam Champion -- the northeastern regional 2010 as well as as slamming most recently with the 2010 Austin Poetry Slam Team.

With Solomon Schneider, a multi-instrumentalist folk musician and other rotating national artists, this notorious “road dog” poet travels 10 to 11 months out of the year, dedicating his art to whomever he meets.

“Neobeat slam poet Seth Walker’s words were a perfect counterpoint to the message at hand. With lyrics that celebrated triumph of the spirit over the degradation of life circumstances, Walker engaged the audience and, hopefully, galvanized them to take up the cause even after the show was over,” wrote Melonie Magruder in The Malibu Times in Malibu, Calif.

Sedona Poetry Slam
Photo by Harley Deuce
The March 10 slam will be hosted by Graham, who
represented Northern Arizona on the Flagstaff team
at five National Poetry Slams between 2001 and 2010.

To compete in the slam, poets need at least three original poems, each three minutes long or shorter. No props, costumes or musical accompaniment are permitted. All types of poetry are welcome.

The March 10 slam will be hosted by Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on the Flagstaff team at five National Poetry Slams between 2001 and 2010.

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

Sedona National Poetry Slam Team
Competing poets earn points with each Sedona Poetry Slam performance between Dec. 3 and Saturday, May 5. Every poet earns 1 point for performing or hosting and 1/2 point for calibrating. First place earns 3 additional points, second place earns 2 and third place earns 1.

Based on points, the top 12 poets in May are eligible to compete for the four slots on the Sedona Poetry Slam Team, which will represent the community and Studio Live at the 2012 National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C.

All poets are eligible in the slamoff except those already confirmed members of or coaching another National Poetry Slam or College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational or Brave New Voices team. Poets can compete for multiple teams during a season and still be eligible to compete in the Sedona team.

Future slams will take place on Saturday, April 7, featuring Mesa poet Bill Campana; and May 5, featuring Brooklyn, N.Y., poet Sean Patrick Mulroy.

For poetry slam standings, videos from past slams, and updates, visit foxthepoet.blogspot.com.

What is Poetry Slam?

Founded in Chicago in 1984, 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.

Tickets are $7 in advance and $12 the day of the event, available at Golden Word Books and Music, 3150 W. SR 89A, and online at studiolivesedona.com.

Studio Live is located at 215 Coffee Pot Drive, West Sedona. For more information, call (928) 282-2688.

Sedona National Poetry Slam Team
Slamoff Point Standings
7 points
Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff
6 points
nodalone, of Flagstaff ✓
5 points
The Klute, of Phoenix ✓
Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix ✓
4 points
Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff
3 points
Christopher Fox Graham, of Sedona
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott
Lauren Perry, of Phoenix
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff
2 points
Christopher Harbster, of Flagstaff
Spencer Troth, of Flagstaff
Valence, of Flagstaff
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman
1 point
Jahnilli Akbar, of New York City
Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood
Ellenelizabeth, of Sedona
Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff
Gabbi Jue, of Flagstaff
Jack Egan, of Sedona
Gary Every, of Sedona
Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School
Michelle Peterson, of Sedona
Kendra Kenj Shebala, of Flagstaff
Mary Elizabeth Skene, of Sedona
0.5 points
Sasha Anderson, of Flagstaff
Gary Bowers, of Phoenix
Danielle Silver, of Sedona
✓ = won a Sedona Poetry Slam

Monday, February 27, 2012

Seth Walker features at the Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, March 10

Seth Walker features at the Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, March 10

Sedona's Studio Live hosts a poetry slam Saturday, March 10, starting at 7:30 p.m. featuring Texas poet Seth Walker and hosted by Sedona poet Christopher Fox Graham.

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 supporter Jeanne Freeland.

The slam will the fourth of the 2011-12 season, which has been more moving, more energetic and more intense because this year as poets compete for a slot in Sedona's first National Poetry Slam Team.

After four years of collaborating with the Flagstaff and Phoenix metro area poetry slam scenes, the Sedona scene has the reputation and strength to send its own team to the 2012 National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C., in August. The eventual four-poet team will share the stage with 300 of the top poets in the United States, Canada and Europe, pouring out their words in a weeklong explosion of expression.

Seth Walker
Sedona's Studio Live hosts a poetry slam Saturday, March 10, starting at 7:30 p.m. featuring Texas poet Seth Walker

Seth Walker is Houston, Texas’ premiere national poet and Grand Slam Champion of 2007. In 2007, Walker took second at the Texas Blue Bonnet State Competition. That November, he left Houston to follow his art and travel across the country to find it … he has not yet stopped.


Since then Walker has performed at nearly every major venue in the country including Da Poetry Lounge in Hollywood, Calif., The Green Mill in Chicago, and The Nuyorican Poets' Cafe in New York City. Along the way he won several noteworthy titles such as Slam Champion of the Utah State Arts Fair Poetry Slam in 2009, North Beast Indie Slam Champion -- the northeastern regional 2010 as well as as slamming most recently with the 2010 Austin Poetry Slam Team.

With Solomon Schneider, a multi-instrumentalist folk musician and other rotating national artists, this notorious “road dog” poet travels 10 to 11 months out of the year, dedicating his art to whomever he meets.


“Neobeat slam poet Seth Walker’s words were a perfect counterpoint to the message at hand. With lyrics that celebrated triumph of the spirit over the degradation of life circumstances, Walker engaged the audience and, hopefully, galvanized them to take up the cause even after the show was over,” wrote Melonie Magruder in The Malibu Times in Malibu, Calif.

Sedona Poetry Slam
Photo by Harley Deuce
The March 10 slam will be hosted by Graham, who
represented Northern Arizona on the Flagstaff team
at five National Poetry Slams between 2001 and 2010.

To compete in the slam, poets need at least three original poems, each three minutes long or shorter. No props, costumes or musical accompaniment are permitted. All types of poetry are welcome.

The March 10 slam will be hosted by Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on the Flagstaff team at five National Poetry Slams between 2001 and 2010.

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

Sedona National Poetry Slam Team
Competing poets earn points with each Sedona Poetry Slam performance between Dec. 3 and Saturday, May 5. Every poet earns 1 point for performing or hosting and 1/2 point for calibrating. First place earns 3 additional points, second place earns 2 and third place earns 1.

Based on points, the top 12 poets in May are eligible to compete for the four slots on the Sedona Poetry Slam Team, which will represent the community and Studio Live at the 2012 National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C.

All poets are eligible in the slamoff except those already confirmed members of or coaching another National Poetry Slam or College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational or Brave New Voices team. Poets can compete for multiple teams during a season and still be eligible to compete in the Sedona team.

Future slams will take place on Saturday, April 7, featuring Mesa poet Bill Campana; and May 5, featuring Brooklyn, N.Y., poet Sean Patrick Mulroy.

For poetry slam standings, videos from past slams, and updates, visit foxthepoet.blogspot.com.

What is Poetry Slam?

Founded in Chicago in 1984, 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.

Tickets are $7 in advance and $12 the day of the event, available at Golden Word Books and Music, 3150 W. SR 89A, and online at studiolivesedona.com.

Studio Live is located at 215 Coffee Pot Drive, West Sedona. For more information, call (928) 282-2688.

Sedona National Poetry Slam Team
Slamoff Point Standings
7 points
Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff
6 points
nodalone, of Flagstaff ✓
5 points
The Klute, of Phoenix ✓
Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix ✓
4 points
Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff
3 points
Christopher Fox Graham, of Sedona
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott
Lauren Perry, of Phoenix
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff
2 points
Christopher Harbster, of Flagstaff
Spencer Troth, of Flagstaff
Valence, of Flagstaff
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman
1 point
Jahnilli Akbar, of New York City
Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood
Ellenelizabeth, of Sedona
Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff
Gabbi Jue, of Flagstaff
Jack Egan, of Sedona
Gary Every, of Sedona
Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School
Michelle Peterson, of Sedona
Kendra Kenj Shebala, of Flagstaff
Mary Elizabeth Skene, of Sedona
0.5 points
Sasha Anderson, of Flagstaff
Gary Bowers, of Phoenix
Danielle Silver, of Sedona
✓ = won a Sedona Poetry Slam

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Sedona Poetry Slam season's final list of features

2012 Sedona Poetry Slam Season
Upcoming features:
Saturday, February 18
Feature: Aaron Johnson, Phoenix, AZ

Saturday, March 10
Feature: Seth Walker, Austin, Texas

Saturday, April 7
Feature: Bill Campana, Phoenix, AZ

Saturday, May 5
Feature: Sean Patrick Mulroy, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Past features:
Saturday, December 3
Feature: Jahnilli Akbar, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Saturday, January 7
Feature: Ryan Brown, Flagstaff, AZ