National Poetry Month: "Unrequited Love Poem" by Sierra DeMulder

Sierra DeMulder // Unrequited Love Poem // A Poem Observed // Button Poetry

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Sierra DeMulder performs Unrequited Love Poem in St. Paul, Minnesota.
http://www.poetryobserved.com

Poetry Observed is committed to producing high quality videos of performance poetry, off the stage. Our first series features Twin Cities based poets and was produced in collaboration with Button Poetry.

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Donate to "Holy Spoken Word," Necessary Poetry's 1st Anthology:

A multimedia anthology, showcasing the amazing writing, artwork, and spoken-word performance of the Necessary Poetry collective, a group of poets from Sedona, Flagstaff and Prescott.



Click here to help support our efforts on Kickstarter. A donation of even $10 or $20 gets us closer to our goal of our first publication and establishment of a nonprofit spoken word collective open to all.

National Poetry Month: "When I Move" by Khary Jackson

Khary Jackson // When I Move // A Poem Observed // Button Poetry

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Khary Jackson performs "When I Move" at a park in St. Paul, Minnesota.
http://www.poetryobserved.com

Poetry Observed is committed to producing high quality videos of performance poetry, filmed off the stage. Our first series features Minnesota spoken word poets and was produced in collaboration with Button Poetry.

Like slam poetry? 

Support "Holy Spoken Word," Necessary Poetry's 1st Anthology:

A multimedia anthology, showcasing the amazing writing, artwork, and spoken-word performance of the Necessary Poetry collective, a group of poets from Sedona, Flagstaff and Prescott.

Click here to help support our efforts on Kickstarter. A donation of even $10 or $20 gets us closer to our goal of our first publication and establishment of a nonprofit spoken word collective open to all.

National Poetry Month: "Punk Rock John" by Neil Hilborn

Neil Hilborn // Punk Rock John // A Poem Observed // Button Poetry

Button Poetry on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ButtonPoetry?ref=hl

Neil Hilborn performs "Punk Rock John" in St. Paul, Minnesota.
http://www.poetryobserved.com

Poetry Observed is committed to producing high quality videos of performance poetry, filmed off the stage. Our first series features Minnesota spoken word poets and was produced in collaboration with Button Poetry.

"Unrequited Love Poem" by Sierra DeMulder

Sierra DeMulder performs "Unrequited Love Poem" in St. Paul, Minnesota.

In addition to winning the 2009 and 2010 National Poetry Slams with Saint Paul, Sierra DeMulder ranked 9th at the Individual World Poetry Slam, 11th at the Women of the World Poetry Slam and coached MacAlester College to Final Stage at College Union Poetry Slam Invitational2010. She was awarded Best Female Poet at CUPSI 2009 and in January 2010, her first full-length manuscript, "The Bones Below: Poems by Sierra DeMulder," was published in 2010 by Write Bloody Publishing. She released her second book, New Shoes on a Dead Horse, in 2012, coincidentally on my birthday, March 12.

Sierra DeMulder on tumblr

Video by A Poem Observed // Button Poetry

Poetry Observed is committed to producing high quality videos of performance poetry, off the stage. The first series features Twin Cities-based poets and was produced in collaboration with Button Poetry.

"Unsolicited Advice to Adolescent Girls with Crooked Teeth and Pink Hair" by Jeanann Verlee

Unsolicited Advice to Adolescent Girls with Crooked Teeth and Pink Hair
By Jeanann Verlee

When your mother hits you, do not strike back.
When the boys call asking your cup size, say A, hang up.
When he says you gave him blue balls, say you’re welcome.
When a girl with thick black curls who smells like bubble gum stops you in a stairwell to ask if you’re a boy, explain that you keep your hair short so she won’t have anything to grab when you head-butt her.
Then head-butt her.
When a guidance counselor teases you for handed-down jeans, do not turn red.
When you have sex for the second time and there is no condom, do not convince yourself that screwing between layers of underwear will soak up the semen.
When your geometry teacher posts a banner reading: “Learn math or go home and learn how to be a Momma,” do not take your first feminist stand by leaving the classroom.
When the boy you have a crush on is sent to detention, go home.
When your mother hits you, do not strike back.
When the boy with the blue mohawk swallows your heart and opens his wrists, hide the knives, bleach the bathtub, pour out the vodka. Every time.
When the skinhead girls jump you in a bathroom stall, swing, curse, kick, do not turn red.
When a boy you think you love delivers the first black eye, use a screw driver, a beer bottle, your two good hands.
When your father locks the door, break the window.
When a college professor writes you poetry and whispers about your tight little ass, do not take it as a compliment, do not wait, call the Dean, call his wife.
When a boy with good manners and a thirst for Budweiser proposes, say no.
When your mother hits you, do not strike back.
When the boys tell you how good you smell, do not doubt them, do not turn red.
When your brother tells you he is gay, pretend you already know.
When the girl on the subway curses you because your T-shirt reads: “I fucked your boyfriend,” assure her that it is not true.
When your dog pees the rug, kiss her, apologize for being late.
When he refuses to stay the night because you live in Jersey City, do not move.
When he refuses to stay the night because you live in Harlem, do not move.
When he refuses to stay the night because your air conditioner is broken, leave him.
When he refuses to keep a toothbrush at your apartment, leave him.
When you find the toothbrush you keep at his apartment hidden in the closet, leave him.
Do not regret this.
Do not turn red.
When your mother hits you, do not strike back.

Copyright © Jeanann Verlee

I met Jeanann Verlee for the first time this year at the 2010 National Poetry Slam in St. Paul, Minn. I didn't speak with her much, but I saw her before this poem with the NYC-louderARTS Team in a black box theatre during the second bout on the first night. Most awesome poem.

Jeanann Verlee is an author, performance poet, editor, activist, and former punk rocker who collects tattoos and winks at boys. Her work has been published and is forthcoming in a variety of journals, including The New York Quarterly, FRiGG, PANK, decomP, Danse Macabre, and The Legendary, among others. Her poems have also been included in various anthologies such as “Not A Muse: The Inner Lives of Women” and “His Rib: Poems Stories and Essays by Her.” Verlee’s first full-length book of poems, Racing Hummingbirds (Write Bloody Publishing, 2010), earned the Independent Publisher Book Award Silver Medal in Poetry.

She has represented New York City three times at the National Poetry Slam under two of the most highly-regarded poetry performance series in the nation: Urbana Poetry Slam and The louderARTS Project. Verlee was the highest-scoring individual poet at the 2008 National Poetry Slam Finals, was the 2009 NYC-Urbana iWPS Champion, and represented NYC-louderARTS at the 2010 Women of the World Poetry Slam. She co-curates the Urbana Poetry Slam reading series at the Bowery Poetry Club and serves as writing and performance coach for this three-time NPS Championship venue. She has performed and facilitated workshops at schools, theatres, bookstores, dive bars and poetry venues across North America.

Educated in theatre performance and creative writing, Verlee was co-author and performing member of national touring company, The Vortex: Conflict, Power, and Choice!, has been commissioned by universities for a number of guerrilla theatre events spotlighting domestic violence under MSCD’s Theatre for Social Change, and was a charter member of New York City’s annual Spoken Word Almanac Project. A fan of letter-writing campaigns and constructing protest signs, Verlee is also an ardent animal rights and humanitarian activist who has organized and participated in numerous social actions.

Her first poem was drafted in pencil on the inside cover of a collection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales at the age of 7. She won her first writing contest for a short story at the age of 11 and in the same year became the youngest recipient of Parade Magazine’s Young American Ambassadors prize for an essay contest. Hoping to echo S.E. Hinton’s young author milestone, Verlee was determined to write a novel by the age of 16. With three drafts completed by the autumn of her 15th year, she almost reached her goal. Instead, however, found herself blindsided by the insurmountable distraction of tattooed boys, the perpetual chore of dying her mohawk pink, and a life-altering diagnosis of bipolar disorder. A hardcopy of the unfinished manuscript remains in a fireproof safe in her studio apartment.

She lives in New York City with her best pal (a rescue pup named Callisto) and a pair of origami lovebirds. She believes in you.

I won slam bingo at the 2010 National Poetry Slam finals

I won slam bingo with the Wile E. Coyote poem by St. Paul's Shane Holley, the second poet in the fourth round.

St. Paul wins 2010 National Poetry Slam, second year in a row

Host: Nazelah J. Jeffries is a talented and energetic performance poet, actress and vocalist based in Oakland, Calif. Born in Bamberg, S.C., nazelah had a love of performance from a very early age, taking her first dance lessons at the age of 4; at 5, she practiced for days in the mirror hoping to audition for the musical motion picture “Annie!”, only to be disappointed when the auditions never even came near her tiny town.

Nazelah discovered Poetry Slam in 1999 and began to compete, subsequently going to the National Poetry Slam Competition five times on various Bay Area teams. More recently, she and her husband, poet Dahled, produce the Oakland Poetry Slam & have coached Team Oakland to Nationals the last three years. Since 2000, she has been hosting many Bay Area spoken word events as well. She is a gifted emcee, and producers and performers alike are put at ease by her demeanor; she is currently working on two chapbooks, as well as a musical collaboration and a video project. Her love of hip-hop translates onto the stage.

- - - Round 1 - - -

Nuyorican: Jamal St. John, 27.4
Austin Neo Soul: Scott Frank, 25.9
Durham, N.C., four-poet group poem, 27.0
St. Paul: Six is Nine, 28.0

St. Paul leads 28.0 at the end of the first round
(2) Nuyorican, 27.4, -0.6
(3) Durham, 27.0, -1.0
(4) Austin Neo Soul, 25.9, -2.1

- - - Round 2 - - -

Durham, N.C., Dahsan, 26.2, 53.2
Nuyorican: Kenneth Arkind, 27.0, 54.4
St. Paul: Guante, 27.4, 55.4
Austin Neo Soul: duo, 25.9, 51.8

St. Paul leads 55.4 at the end of the second round
(2) Nuyorican, 54.4, -1.0
(3) Durham, 53.2, -2.2
(4) Austin Neo Soul, 51.8, -3.6

- - - Round 3 - - -

St. Paul: Sierra DeMulder, 27.0, 82.4
Durham, N.C., duo poem, 26.9, 80.1
Austin Neo Soul: Scott Frank, 26.3, 78.1
Nuyorican: Jarrod Singer, 27.1, 81.5

St. Paul leads 82.4 at the end of the third round
(2) Nuyorican, 81.5, -0.9
(3) Durham, 80.1, -2.3
(4) Austin Neo Soul, 78.1, -4.3

- - - Round 4 - - -

Austin Neo Soul: trio, 26.8, 104.9
St. Paul: Shane Hollen, 27.6, 110.0
Nuyorican: 27.1, 108.6
Durham, N.C., 27.7, 107.8

St. Paul wins with a 110.0
(2) Nuyorican, 108.6, -1.4
(3) Durham, 107.8, -2.2
(4) Austin Neo Soul, 104.9, -5.1

The championship team of Soap Boxing, St. Paul's Poetry Slam:
Khary J. (aka "6 is 9") is a playwright, teaching artist and poet who is glad to represent St Paul for the fourth time. He's proud of the poetry the Twin Cities is consistently producing, and hopes to remain a part of the scene in various ways in the future.

Kyle “Guante” Myhre has been Grand Slam champ of Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Madison, and was part of the 2009 National Poetry Slam champion Saint Paul team. As a rapper, he's a member of the Tru Ruts crew and has shared the stage with Talib Kweli, Sage Francis, Brother Ali, Zion I and many others. Guante is currently serving as arts coordinator of the Canvas, a Saint Paul teen arts center, and continues to lead workshops through the MN Spoken-Word Association. For more, see www.myspace.com/elguante or El Guante's blog.

Sierra DeMulder In addition to winning the 2009 National Poetry Slam with Saint Paul, Sierra DeMulder ranked 9th at the IWPS, 11th at WoWPS and coached Macalester College to Final Stage at CUPSI 2010. She was awarded Best Female Poet at CUPSI 2009 and in January 2010, her first full-length manuscript was published by Write Bloody Publishing.

Shane Hawley is a spoken word artist who dabbles in hip-hop and stand-up comedy. He is a four time member of the Minneapolis National Poetry Slam team, and a former Minneapolis Grand Slam champion. He has opened for national acts such as P.O.S, Dessa Darling, and Jeremy Messersmith. As a St. Paul native, he is eager to represent his city in his city at the 2010 National Poetry Slam.

Photos from MinnesotaMicrophone.com
Bios from www.Soap-Boxing.com

St. Paul wins 2009 National Poetry Slam

Host: The Mighty Mike McGee, one of the funniest poets in slam and one of the best people on the planet (he spent a week with me when he was touring around Northern Arizona about four years ago.)

Tavis Brunson sacrifice poet, 28.2

- - - Round 1 - - -

San Franciso: Matt, 27.4
St. Paul: Six is Nine, 28.4
Nuyorican: Faloo, 27.9
ABQ: Damien Flores, 28.0

St. Paul leads 28.4 at the end of the first round
(2) ABQ, 28.0
(3) Nuyorican, 27.9
(4) San Fran, 27.4

- - - Round 2 - - -

Nuyorican: group, 27.4
San Francisco: Denise, 28.3
ABQ: group, 27.9
St. Paul: Guante, 29.2

St. Paul leads 57.6 at the end of the second round
(2) ABQ, 55.9
(3) San Fran, 55.7
(4) Nuyorican, 55.3

- - - Round 3 - - -

ABQ: Christian Drake, 28.2 (after 0.5 penalty)
Nuyorican: group, 27.7
St. Paul: Sierra DeMulder, 29.7
San Francisco: D'Dra, 28.2

(1) St. Paul, 87.3
(2) ABQ, 84.1
(3) San Fran, 83.9
(4) Nuyorican, 83.0

- - - Round 4 - - -

St. Paul: Michael Mlekoday, 28.2
ABQ: group, 29.6
San Francisco: Chaz, 29.6
Nuyorican: Ion, 29.4

(1) St. Paul, 115.5
(2) ABQ, 113.7
(3) San Fran, 113.5
(4) Nuyorican 112.4

St. Paul wins with 115.5 | (2) ABQ 113.7 | (3) San Fran 113.5 | (4) Nuyorican 112.4

The championship team of Soap Boxing, St. Paul's Poetry Slam:
Khary J. (aka "6 is 9") likes bubbles, strawberry covered pancakes, and his future puppy. Oh yeah, he does poems too. You knew that.

Kyle “Guante” Myhre is an emcee, poet, activist and writer based in Minneapolis. He's shared the stage with Talib Kweli, Brother Ali, Sage Francis, Zion I and many others, and signed to Tru Ruts/Speakeasy Records in 2008. A three-time National Poetry Slam competitor, Guante has won Grand Slams in Madison, Minneapolis and St. Paul. He's currently working with the Minnesota Spoken-Word Association facilitating spoken-word and hip hop workshops for youth. For more information, see www.myspace.com/elguante or El Guante's blog.

Sierra DeMulder is a member of the Intangibles Spoken Word Collective out of upstate New York and competed with Oneonta at the 2007 National Poetry Slam in Austin, Texas, where her team proudly won the Spirit of the Slam award (what’s up, knoxeonta). She moved to Minneapolis on a whim because she thought it would be cool to freeze to death. Sierra has been trying not to trip since 1986.

Michael Mlekoday is the reincarnation of the first record DJ Jazzy Jeff ever used as scratch fodder. He is a pair of broken headphones and a pair of lungs being attacked by a freshly mowed lawn. In a simpler world, his hobbies might include fencing, playing harmonica, and using an abacus. For now, he makes poem-shaped objects. He will see you at the crossroads (so you won't be lonely). www.myspace.com/mlekoday

Photos from MinnesotaMicrophone.com
Bios from www.Soap-Boxing.com