Ryan Brown wins the June 12 Sedona Poetry Slam

Results from the Sedona Poetry Slam

Saturday, June 12, 2010, Studio Live, Sedona, Arizona, 7:30 p.m.

Calibration poet and host Christopher Fox Graham of Sedona, "She Begs For Poetry"

Round 1
Random Draw

Liana O'Boyle, of Sedona, 23.1, after 2.5 time penalty, 20.6 (3:50)
Brit Shostak, of Mesa, 26.3 (2:50)
Tristan Marshall, of Mesa, 27.2, after 0.5 time penalty, 26.7 (3:13)
Champion Max Boehm-Reifenkugel, of Sedona, 24.8 (2:47)
Rowie Shebala, of Gallup, N.M., 23.9 (2:01)
Bill Campana, of Mesa, 26.8 (3:04)
Shi'ike, of Cottonwood, 27.9 (3:08)
Tufik Shayeb, of Mesa, 25.7 (2:45)
Mickey Randleman, of Tucson, 26.5 (2:41)
Lauren Perry, of Mesa, 26.4 (3:00)
Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff, 26.9 (2:55)
Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff, 26.7 (2:23)
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 23.4 (1:03)
Doc Luben, of Tucson, 26.3 (3:09)
Randy Warren, of Sedona, 27.5 (2:51)

---intermission---

Between rounds, the audience will be entertained with a feature performance by the Klute, one of the country’s best slam poets and an Arizona artistic treasure.

The Klute, aka Bernard Schober, competed at the National Poetry Slam six times, for the Mesa Slam Team in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006, and the Phoenix Slam Slam Team in 2008 and 2009. He has led two of those teams to the NPS semi-final stage, ranking him among the best of the best nationwide. He was also the Mesa Grand Slam champion in 2005 and 2010.

In an era when most artists and poets shy away from confronting politics, the Klute stands apart.

He has earned a reputation for in-your-face political commentary and over-the-top humor targeting Neo-Conservative politicians, crass laissez-faire commercialism and Goth subculture.

Originally from south Florida, The Klute writes almost exclusively in free verse, making his poetry conversational and relevant to even those who see poetry as something to avoid.

Standing more than 6 feet tall and always bedecked in a black trench coat, the Klute is hard to miss. When poetry escapes his lips at full blast, he’s hard not to hear.

The Klute has released three poetry chapbooks, "Escape Velocity," "Look at What America Has Done to Me" and "My American Journey," which prompted a cease and desist order from the attorneys of former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

“Despite the heat, [The Klute] wears a black trench coat almost everywhere he goes and if the setting permits, he’ll blast through enough slanderous commentary to make Andrew Dice Clay blush,” according to Phoenix 944 Magazine. “Today, his addiction for getting in front of the microphone and spitting out everything from a Dick Cheney haiku to a long-winded prose on race car driving to the late Hunter S. Thompson is as strong as his love for vodka and absinthe. If anyone’s seen ‘The Klute’ in action, they’d know it. If they haven’t, they must.”

Round 2
Reverse Order

Randy Warren, 24.5, after 1.5 time penalty, 23.0 (3:39), 50.5
Doc Luben, 24.7 (2:57), 51.0
Mikel Weisser, 23.0 (2:24), 46.4
Evan Dissinger, 25.2 (3:09), 51.9
Ryan Brown, 28.2 (3:05), 55.1
Lauren Perry, 26.7 (3:09), 53.1
Mickey Randleman, 26.4 (2:52), 52.9
Tufik Shayeb, 25.2 (2:49), 50.9
Shi'ike, 24.2, after 4.0 time penalty, 20.2, (4:29), 48.1
Bill Campana, 24.2 (2:49), 51.0
Rowie Shebala, 25.8 (2:55), 49.7
Champion Max Boehm-Reifenkugel, 26.9 (1:54), 51.7
Tristan Marshall, 27.2, (2:48), 51.5
Brit Shostak, 25.4 (2:22), 51.7
Liana O'Boyle, of Sedona, 25.0, after 1.0 time penalty, 24.0 (3:25), 44.6

Round 3
High to Low

Sorbet poet: Kayt Perlman

Ryan Brown, 27.9 (2:26), 83.0
Lauren Perry, 25.6 (2:56), 78.7
Mickey Randleman, 26.2 (2:47), 79.1
Evan Dissinger left the slam early
Champion Max Boehm-Reifenkugel, 26.7 (1:38), 78.4
Brit Shostak, 26.0 (2:23), 77.7
Tristan Marshall, 23.9 (3:01), 75.4
Doc Luben, 25.2 (2:55), 76.2
Bill Campana, 23.4 (3:09), 74.4
Tufik Shayeb, 23.1 (2:21), 74.0
Randy Warren, 26.5, (4:07), 77.0
Rowie Shebala, 23.3, after 0.5 time penalty, 22.8 (3:14), 72.5
Shi'ike, 26.6 (2:40), 74.7
Mikel Weisser, 22.7 (1:16), 69.1
Liana O'Boyle, 23.4, after 1.0 time penalty, 22.4 (3:25), 67.0

Final scores
1st: Ryan Brown, 83.0, $100

2nd: Mickey Randleman, 79.1

3rd: Lauren Perry, 78.7

Champion Max Boehm-Reifenkugel, 78.4
Brit Shostak, 77.7
Randy Warren, 77.0
Doc Luben, 76.2
Tristan Marshall, 75.4
Shi'ike, 74.7
Bill Campana, 74.4
Tufik Shayeb, 74.0
Rowie Shebala, 72.5
Mikel Weisser, 69.1
Liana O'Boyle, 67.0
Evan Dissinger, 51.9* (only competed in 2 rounds)

Slam staff

Scorekeeper and Timekeeper: Jessica Laurel Reese
Host: Christopher Fox Graham
Organizers:
April Holman Payne, Jenn Reddington, Studio Live
Christopher Fox Graham, Sedona 510 Poetry

Poetry Slam tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Get your tickets now
for the Sedona Poetry Slam tonight,
featuring FlagSlam alum Josh Fleming

Sedona's Studio Live hosts a poetry slam Saturday, Jan. 2, starting at 7:30 p.m. and all poets are welcome to compete for the $100 grand prize.

Studio Live is located at 215 Coffee Pot Drive, Sedona.

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.

Josh Fleming, a nationally touring, award-winning slam poet and college instructor, will perform in a featured reading between rounds.

Fleming started his poetry career in Northern Arizona where he competed with the first-ever Flagstaff National Slam Team, was its first-ever Grand Slam Champion in 2001, and traveled to Seattle for the 11th annual National Poetry Slam.

Fleming was part of the "Save the Male" national poetry tour in 2002, has authored one chapbook, "What Happened to Me," and co-produced a spoken word album, "Sonnets to listen to by an open fire..." with fellow poet Christopher Fox Graham, of Sedona.

Fleming then fell off the radar, worked at a gas station, was a zoo tour guide, went back to school, got his masters, fell in love, got married, bought a house, settled down and now teaches and coaches speech and debate at Pasadena City College, in Pasadena, Calif.

He loves poetry, he's missed poetry and he's glad to be back, Fleming stated in a press release. In conclusion: He's pretty sure he rocks.

Other poets who will be competing include:

The Klute:



















Tufik Shayeb:













Danielle Miller:
















The slam will be hosted by Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on the Flagstaff team at four National Poetry Slams between 2001 and 2006.

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 $10, available at Studio Live or Golden Word Books, 3150 W. Hwy. 89A.

Results from the Old Town Poetry Slam

Results from the Old Town Poetry Slam, held Saturday 11 April 2008 at the Old Town Center for the Arts in Cottonwood, Arizona.
Photos byJon Pelletier/Verde Valley News

Invocation: Christopher Fox Graham "Welcome to the Church of the Word"

Sacrifice poet: Shama

- - - - - Round 1 - - - -

Manifest Destiny, 3:42, 23.8 after 2-point time penalty
The Klute, 2:39, 25.5
Mikel Weisser, 1:16, 20.3
Carl Weis, 3:11, 23.6 after 0.5-point time penalty
Fun Yung Moon, 3:03, 27.1
Sevan Aydinian, 2:33, 28.1
Tufik Shayeb, 2:49, 26.0
Bill Campana, 2:15, 23.9
Than Ponvert, 0:48, 17.5

Clearing poem: Christopher Fox Graham, "Staring at the Milky Way with One Eye Closed"

- - - - - Round 2 - - - -

Than Ponvert, 0:22, 18.5, 36.0
Bill Campana, 2:15, 23.9, 47.8
Tufik Shayeb, 2:45, 26.4, 52.4
Sevan Aydinian, 3:26, 29.0 after 1-point time penalty, 56.1
Fun Yung Moon, 1:48, 25.6, 52.7
Carl Weis, 3:57, 20.8 after 2.5-point time penalty, 41.4
Mikel Weisser, 2:08, 19.0, 39.3
The Klute, 2:39, 27.7, 53.2
Manifest Destiny, 3:05, 27.0, 50.8

- - - - - Intermission - - - - -

Clearing poem: Christopher Fox Graham, "She Wants a Poem About Clouds"

- - - - - Round 3 - - - -

Sevan Aydinian, 2:57, 29.7, 85.8, first place
The Klute, 3:22, 27.6 after a 1-point time penalty, 79.8, fourth place
Fun Yung Moon, 2:57, 27.8, 80.5, third place
Tufik Shayeb, 3:10, 28.4, 80.8, second place
Manifest Destiny, 2:20, 28.6, 79.4, fifth place
Bill Campana, 4:00, 22.5 after 3-point time penalty, 70.3, sixth place
Carl Weis, 3:23, 21.4 after 1-point time penalty, 62.8, eighth place
Mikel Weisser, 3:12, 25.5 after 0.5-time penalty, 64.3, seventh place
Than Ponvert, 0:45, 26.1, 62.1, ninth place

Benediction: Christopher Fox Graham, "Imagine a Religion"

Victory poem by Sevan Aydinian

Slam staff
Scorekeeper: Alun Wile
Host: Christopher Fox Graham
Organizers: William Eaton, owner of the Old Town Center for the Arts
Christopher Fox Graham, Sedona 510 Poetry

Tufik Shayeb

Tufik Shayeb representing Team Mesa in Round 1 at the Old Town Shootout, Saturday, Dec. 13, at the Old Town Center for the Arts, in Cottonwood, Arizona.


Video courtesy of Apollo Poetry, of TravelingPoet.com