“Wedding Poem” by Claire Pearson, one of the four poets who performed at our wedding

“Wedding Poem”
by Claire Pearson

friends! family! honored guests! ne’er do wells and those here to settle any outstanding bets (it's me, i probably owe somebody money about all of this)!

welcome and rejoice!

for we are gathered here beneath the twin-trunked wedding tree because the inevitable march of time has been kind enough to deem it so, and there’s no other place i’d rather be than here with all of you

we are here for one reason and one reason alone, to celebrate the ritual union of the fairy queen and the eternal bachelor,

a mythic marriage foretold only in legend, daydream, fever dream, napkin poem, tarot cards, and coffee grounds etc etc until today!

today, we rejoice for the whiskey binge is purely ceremonial and there will be no witches showing up to curse the firstborn,
because we invited the whole town on the internet!!
and there is no sad crying allowed!
only happy tears, like if i came over there, bottled up your tear and froze them, they’d look super pretty under a microscope.

today we are gathered to witness the Grand Duet’s opening melody of the Magnum Opus between
she who first appeared in The Dream
wreathed in a cloud of coconut scented moonlight,
wearing a crown of piano keys and citrine
lucky lucky, how the arrow from your heartstring bow flies True, dear Archer

and he who could have grown an entire peach orchard with the amount of paper used as the backbone of thousand love poems used to prophecize this meeting,
who urged the water within him to rise to meet her

and thank goodness you rose to the occasion,
cause people like this don’t show up every blue moon
and you would have to be the Dumbest Man Alive not to recognize the pillar of light before you.

fact

so we are here to celebrate the realization of The Dream
where the love of your life loves you back and the up-close kind of ache that comes with the longing- dissipates, like a specter in the sunlight
joy is the only thing living in this heart anymore
there’s no more time to walk romance ghosts, may they move on in peace

newlyweds!
may you always have lunchbox love notes to line your pockets and never, ever forget them at work

may red chrysanthemums and white heather bloom in the peach pits of your dimples as an eternal twinkling blush, like you two are the only people on earth in on the juiciest secret
like “yeah, we’ve seen each other naked long enough to have a baby.
and that baby is gonna go on to save the world someday.
so yeah, you’re welcome, universe”

may the coffee be hot, the whiskey cold, the basil fresh, and there be enough rest for all three of you

and may you never forget that laura is so far out of your league that you aren’t even playing the same game. like, laura is playing professional soccer and you play wii tennis.
so like, remember that you’re too good for him and you are a shining gem of a woman.

so on behalf of all of us,
fox,
don’t mess this up

you both have touched upon something holy
carry it with you
always

Copyright 2018 © Claire Pearson

“Silly Love” by Ryan Smalley, one of the four poets who performed at our wedding

“Silly Love”by Ryan Smalley

I'm tired of a soft focus
Blissful white picket fence
Relationship
Love has been overdramatized
Life is too serious so now,

I'm looking for something silly
Where the only seductive glances
Are followed by chuckling dances
competitions to see who can
Fon  due each other with the
Cheesiest pickup lines
I'll say something like
Have you seen my tshirt?
It's made of boyfriend material
And you'll reply
Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?
All over the collective chorus
Of groans from the friends around us

I want to fall out of love with romance
All the soap operas
And telenovelas
Have left me cliffhanging
On to a different idea
Of happily ever after
Something longer than
Just a couple seasons

I want someone who will let me play
the damsel in distress
you can be my knight in shining armor
Save me from the pillow fort guarded by the firebreathing colonel breakfast
Our calico kitten

And when they ask, we'll both say that neither one wears the pants
It's all boxer briefs
And boyshorts
Sweatpants and old t-shirts
Or fuckin nothing at all

Everyone takes love so seriously
Meanwhile we're
Ruining any attempt at romance
By blowing raspberries
Into our French kisses

For halloween
You dress up as Han
And I'll don a bedsheet as your Leia
And I'll hit you with the line
I'm gonna hop down your
Garbage chute flyboy
End our night with
Candy flavored kisses
Snickers as we make love on all
The candy wrappers
Before we collapse
With sugar rush hangovers

They say all is fair in love and war
So when you fart under the sheets
So I'll wake up and make late morning breakfast we'll call it
you playing by the rules

Where the only fights we have are over who cheated at Mario Kart
[that was a bullshit banana move and you know it!]

I want to put the friend back in girlfriend boyfriend
Break all the rules of can't
In significant other
Why can't we be friends with the benefits
Of being deeply in love

Oh, we'll have a wedding
Only because our family expects us to
But our goal will be
Who can get the priest
More drunk at the end of the night
Conga lines
And chicken dances
Laughter and giggles
Echo throughout
Puppy dog eyes and
Half smile groans
Sunny blue skies
And early morning moans
Till death
Do us
Part

Copyright 2018 © Ryan Smalley

“The Wedding Ghost” by Frank O'Brien, one of the four poets who performed at our wedding

“The Wedding Ghost”
by Frank O'Brien

I love to love you
In the moment the universe was born.

I love loving you
At the end
The very end
When the stars melt
Into endless never nothingness,
In the great roaring, swoops of fires in the last days
And every day that dawns in between.

But this moment
Is my very favorite one.
I have watched it so many times
That I have become the ghost of this place.
I have been standing here
Since before it was “here”
Waiting
Waiting to witness
Again
And again
The linchpin through the axle and
The wheel of our time.
I see you
(You are forever)
Raise a palm made of ticking hands and gears and galaxies
Press it, fingers flat,
To the hand of my forever
(Lace into me)
You say
“Yes.
I do.
I do want all of this—
To thread you into me so completely
That suddenly our faces appear together
Everywhere in history
Hidden in the shadows of
Every single black and white photograph
The world has ever flashed
There
Two spirits
Shaped like children
Holding hands and staring down the vastness
Smiling into the great overwhelm in the night sky
Two spirits in a swirling tangled human dance
Feet falling in rhythms of struggle and joy
And sweet melodies of creation—
A fast forward film flicker of memory
The tale rushing past like blood coursing fiercely
Through bodies so alive…”

I loved you with my blood

I loved you with my bones

With my every defiant breath

I love you with my ghost


I will forever come back to this moment
To the day we were married
And haunt it with an eternity of love for you.
It will be so real,
The wedding guests will turn their heads
And swear they felt something
When I pass by.

Copyright © Frank O'Brien

Aaron Norris (1969-2018)

Aaron Norris (1969-2018) was one of the poets in FlagSlam's inaugural year, and competed at the first FlagSlam Poetry Grand Slam in 2001. He died last week from a heroin overdose.

Poeta vade loquere ad mortuos.

Wedding Invitation

Predict when our daughter will be born

Our pediatricians say our daughter's due date is Saturday, June 9. Laura has had a smooth pregnancy with no complications. This will be our first child.
On what date do you predict our daughter, Athena Zelda Nebula Skye Sylvia Diana Fox Graham, will actually be born?

Click here to vote

Sedona hosts Last Chance Poetry Slam on Saturday, May 26

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.

Sedona Poetry Slam hosts slam Saturday, May 5

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.

Mary D. Fisher Theater hosts Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, April 7

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.

"No Irish need apply," a whiskey poem about America for St. Patrick's Day

No Irish need apply
We say goodbye
make our mothers cry
Break hearts for the dream
and no Irish need apply

Who built the bridge's mate
And scrapped the city sky
And bled with your sons
And so
The blend be gone
when I wed your lovely daughter
maybe you shouldn't ought of
But you gave her away
To be with me

Now
What do you think
you gonna buy me a drink
Aye
with these hands
and this heart
I touch you and we never stand apart

"E pluribus bleedin' unum"
have you got it
do you know what that means
It means blend
Blend is the backbone of this place
Look around ya
every generations got a different face
some very different
some pretty like me
everyone's gorgeous if you open your eyes to see
we were all them once
now were just us
just U.S.
ask your old granny if you need more proof
now take a look in the mirror
and you'll see the truth

The blend
I am Blend
And so are you
And you
And you
And that other fella too

We are all blend
From the beginning
To the end
So glasses up
And I'll say aye
to the beauty of blend?

Christopher Fox Graham proposes to Laura Ann Lynn at the Flagstaff Poetry Slam on Feb. 7, 2018

All thanks to Andrew Ibrado for the footage!
And thanks for the well wishes from Kenneth Kreslake, Ian Keirsey, Taylor Hayes, Teresa Newkirk, Bernard "The Klute" Schober, Tyler "Valence" Sirvinskas, Ryan Smalley, Nicolas Perez, Briana Grace Hammerstrom, Kimberly "Possible" Jarchow, Gabbi Jue, Vincent Vega, Taja Carina, Claire Pearson, Jessica Renee Ballantyne and Jeanne Freeland

Performing "Our Death is in Your Belly"

The kiss after the poem

The proposal from the five judges, read by host Briana Grace Hammerstrom

With the ring on bended knee

The kiss

Laura Ann Lynn says "yes"
(see, I have video proof)

The kiss after the "yes"

The crowd wildly applauding

Putting on the ring

We're engaged!

Well-wishes from our friends:

Kenny Kreslake

Ian Keirsey

Taylor Hayes

Kenny Kreslake

Teresa Newkirk

The Klute

Valence

Ryan Smalley

Nicolas Perez

Briana Grace Hammerstrom

Kim Possible

Gabbi Jue

Vincent Vega

Taja Carina

Claire Pearson

Briana Grace Hammerstrom

Gabbi Jue

Jessica Renee Ballentyne

Jeanne Freeland

Our last kiss in the video