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Friday, February 17, 2012
Mikel Weisser performs in the third round of the Sedona Poetry Slam, 12-3-2011
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Order your tickets now for Sedona Poetry Slam tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 18
Aaron Johnson features at the Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, Feb. 18
Order your tickets now to reserve the discount price of $7.
Sedona's Studio Live hosts a poetry slam Saturday, Feb. 18, starting at 7:30 p.m. featuring longtime Phoenix poet Aaron Johnson and hosted by Sedona poet Christopher Fox Graham.
All poets are welcome to compete for the $100 grand prize. The prize is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporter Jeanne Freeland.
The slam will the third 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.
Johnson was the 2001 International Poetry Interpretation champion. From 2002 to 2005, he studied communication theory and English at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, participated and coached award-winning speech and debate team.
In 2004, he founded Boardwalk Open Mic and published "Irony Stinks," then "Watering the Poetry" chapbook in 2005. He also participated in his first the National Poetry Slam, held in Albuquerque, N.M., alongside Graham, Logan Phillips and Meghan Jones.
He was the 2006 Southwest Shootout Regional Slam director and represented Flagstaff at the Individual World Poetry Slam.
After moving to Phoenix in 2008, he formed the musical act "Spoken Circus" alongside Megyn Neff and Marykate Glenn, won the Phoenix Grand Slam and represented Phoenix at IWPS.
He published "Chainsawsmoking" in 2009 and was the KABAM! Book Festival featured author in Kingman. Alongside Ed Mabrey, Myrlin Hepworth and The Klute on the Phoenix National Poetry Slam Team, Johnson's team semi-finals at the 2009 National Poetry Slam in Minneapolis.
In 2010, he returned to the KABAM! Book Festival as a featured author and joined the First Friday Night Live writing staff and promotion crew as well as founding the Pink Slip Poetry Slam in downtown Phoenix.
KABAM! Book Festival brought him back as a featured author a third time in 2011 and he created Encyclopedia Show: Arizona.
In 2011, his chapbook "Roach Killer for Her" was translated into Spanish and he became director of First Friday Night Live at The Firehouse in Phoenix. He also founded Lawn Gnome Publishing.
This year, he has been asked to return as a featured author to KABAM!, been a featured performer at The Encyclopedia Show: Arizona, serves as producer and writer of First Friday Night Live Writer and opened Lawn Gnome Bookstore. He was also featured painter for February's Solo Art Exhibition at Jones Gallery, and city of Phoenix Public Art Grant Recipient for "Dumpsterdiving Haiku" to be installed on Phoenix's busy 7th Avenue and McDowell intersection.
Aaron has performed in theatres, bars, poetry slams, high schools, universities, art galleries, comic book stores, street corners, book stores, living rooms, and in 45 states, in just the past four years.
Sedona Poetry Slam
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 Feb. 18 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.
Women of the World Poetry Slam Qualifier
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, March 10, featuring Seth Walker from Austin, Texas; 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
4 points Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff The Klute, of Phoenix Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix
3 points Frank O'Brien, of Prescott
2 points Christopher Fox Graham, of Sedona Christopher Harbster, of Flagstaff Lauren Perry, of Phoenix Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff Mikel Weisser, of Kingman nodalone, of Flagstaff Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff 1 point Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood Ellenelizabeth, of Sedona Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff Gabbi Jue, of Flagstaff Jack Egan, of Sedona Jahnilli Akbar, of New York City Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School Kendra Kenj Shebala, of Flagstaff Spencer Troth, of Flagstaff Valence, of Flagstaff
0.5 points
Danielle Silver, of Sedona Gary Bowers, of Phoenix Gary Every, of Sedona
Order your tickets now to reserve the discount price of $7.
Sedona's Studio Live hosts a poetry slam Saturday, Feb. 18, starting at 7:30 p.m. featuring longtime Phoenix poet Aaron Johnson and hosted by Sedona poet Christopher Fox Graham.
All poets are welcome to compete for the $100 grand prize. The prize is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporter Jeanne Freeland.
The slam will the third 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.
Aaron Johnson
Aaron Johnson likes pinball machines, shortbread cookies, graphic novels, and skateboard competitions. However, Johnson is most likely to found at a poetry slam or rock show, smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. As a young teen, he worked at Arby's. It was where he saw a lefthander chop off his thumb in a roast beef slicer. Being a lefty too, Aaron was permanently scarred for life and began writing and performing poetry. |
| Courtesy photo Aaron Johnson likes pinball machines, shortbread cookies, graphic novels, and skateboard competitions. However, Johnson is most likely to found at a poetry slam or rock show, smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. |
In 2004, he founded Boardwalk Open Mic and published "Irony Stinks," then "Watering the Poetry" chapbook in 2005. He also participated in his first the National Poetry Slam, held in Albuquerque, N.M., alongside Graham, Logan Phillips and Meghan Jones.
He was the 2006 Southwest Shootout Regional Slam director and represented Flagstaff at the Individual World Poetry Slam.
 |
slams, high schools, universities,art galleries, comic book stores, street corners, book stores, living rooms, and in 45 states, in just the past four years. |
He published "Chainsawsmoking" in 2009 and was the KABAM! Book Festival featured author in Kingman. Alongside Ed Mabrey, Myrlin Hepworth and The Klute on the Phoenix National Poetry Slam Team, Johnson's team semi-finals at the 2009 National Poetry Slam in Minneapolis.
In 2010, he returned to the KABAM! Book Festival as a featured author and joined the First Friday Night Live writing staff and promotion crew as well as founding the Pink Slip Poetry Slam in downtown Phoenix.
KABAM! Book Festival brought him back as a featured author a third time in 2011 and he created Encyclopedia Show: Arizona.
In 2011, his chapbook "Roach Killer for Her" was translated into Spanish and he became director of First Friday Night Live at The Firehouse in Phoenix. He also founded Lawn Gnome Publishing.
This year, he has been asked to return as a featured author to KABAM!, been a featured performer at The Encyclopedia Show: Arizona, serves as producer and writer of First Friday Night Live Writer and opened Lawn Gnome Bookstore. He was also featured painter for February's Solo Art Exhibition at Jones Gallery, and city of Phoenix Public Art Grant Recipient for "Dumpsterdiving Haiku" to be installed on Phoenix's busy 7th Avenue and McDowell intersection.
Aaron has performed in theatres, bars, poetry slams, high schools, universities, art galleries, comic book stores, street corners, book stores, living rooms, and in 45 states, in just the past four years.
 | |
The Feb. 18 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.
This slam is also the qualifier for Sedona's representative to the International Women of the World Poetry Slam, to be held in Denver March 7-10. Highest ranked female or female-identified poets from Sedona earns the slot.
Eligibility: Poets who live their lives as women are eligible to participate in the Women of the World Poetry Slam. Competitors are eligible from certified venues or as individuals from areas without certified venues (a.k.a. “Storm” poets). Certified venues have a window of time to enter before individuals not associated with certified slams are able to enter. All certified venues must have a competition to determine their contestants.
All competitors must be PSI members in good standing and must agree to participate in the event following the rules of Slam as well as the Code of Honor, and must allow for PSI to videotape their performances for PSI owned product.
Eligibility: Poets who live their lives as women are eligible to participate in the Women of the World Poetry Slam. Competitors are eligible from certified venues or as individuals from areas without certified venues (a.k.a. “Storm” poets). Certified venues have a window of time to enter before individuals not associated with certified slams are able to enter. All certified venues must have a competition to determine their contestants.
All competitors must be PSI members in good standing and must agree to participate in the event following the rules of Slam as well as the Code of Honor, and must allow for PSI to videotape their performances for PSI owned product.
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, March 10, featuring Seth Walker from Austin, Texas; 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.
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.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Aaron Johnson features at the Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, Feb. 18
Aaron Johnson features at the Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, Feb. 18
Sedona's Studio Live hosts a poetry slam Saturday, Feb. 18, starting at 7:30 p.m. featuring longtime Phoenix poet Aaron Johnson and hosted by Sedona poet Christopher Fox Graham.
All poets are welcome to compete for the $100 grand prize. The prize is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporter Jeanne Freeland.
The slam will the third 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.
Johnson was the 2001 International Poetry Interpretation champion. From 2002 to 2005, he studied communication theory and English at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, participated and coached award-winning speech and debate team.
In 2004, he founded Boardwalk Open Mic and published "Irony Stinks," then "Watering the Poetry" chapbook in 2005. He also participated in his first the National Poetry Slam, held in Albuquerque, N.M., alongside Graham, Logan Phillips and Meghan Jones.
He was the 2006 Southwest Shootout Regional Slam director and represented Flagstaff at the Individual World Poetry Slam.
After moving to Phoenix in 2008, he formed the musical act "Spoken Circus" alongside Megyn Neff and Marykate Glenn, won the Phoenix Grand Slam and represented Phoenix at IWPS.
He published "Chainsawsmoking" in 2009 and was the KABAM! Book Festival featured author in Kingman. Alongside Ed Mabrey, Myrlin Hepworth and The Klute on the Phoenix National Poetry Slam Team, Johnson's team semi-finals at the 2009 National Poetry Slam in Minneapolis.
In 2010, he returned to the KABAM! Book Festival as a featured author and joined the First Friday Night Live writing staff and promotion crew as well as founding the Pink Slip Poetry Slam in downtown Phoenix.
KABAM! Book Festival brought him back as a featured author a third time in 2011 and he created Encyclopedia Show: Arizona.
In 2011, his chapbook "Roach Killer for Her" was translated into Spanish and he became director of First Friday Night Live at The Firehouse in Phoenix. He also founded Lawn Gnome Publishing.
This year, he has been asked to return as a featured author to KABAM!, been a featured performer at The Encyclopedia Show: Arizona, serves as producer and writer of First Friday Night Live Writer and opened Lawn Gnome Bookstore. He was also featured painter for February's Solo Art Exhibition at Jones Gallery, and city of Phoenix Public Art Grant Recipient for "Dumpsterdiving Haiku" to be installed on Phoenix's busy 7th Avenue and McDowell intersection.
Aaron has performed in theatres, bars, poetry slams, high schools, universities, art galleries, comic book stores, street corners, book stores, living rooms, and in 45 states, in just the past four years.
Sedona Poetry Slam
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 Feb. 18 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.
Women of the World Poetry Slam Qualifier
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, March 10, featuring Seth Walker from Austin, Texas; 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
4 points Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff The Klute, of Phoenix Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix
3 points Frank O'Brien, of Prescott
2 points Christopher Fox Graham, of Sedona Christopher Harbster, of Flagstaff Lauren Perry, of Phoenix Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff Mikel Weisser, of Kingman nodalone, of Flagstaff Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff 1 point Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood Ellenelizabeth, of Sedona Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff Gabbi Jue, of Flagstaff Jack Egan, of Sedona Jahnilli Akbar, of New York City Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School Kendra Kenj Shebala, of Flagstaff Spencer Troth, of Flagstaff Valence, of Flagstaff
0.5 points
Danielle Silver, of Sedona Gary Bowers, of Phoenix Gary Every, of Sedona
Sedona's Studio Live hosts a poetry slam Saturday, Feb. 18, starting at 7:30 p.m. featuring longtime Phoenix poet Aaron Johnson and hosted by Sedona poet Christopher Fox Graham.
All poets are welcome to compete for the $100 grand prize. The prize is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporter Jeanne Freeland.
The slam will the third 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.
Aaron Johnson
Aaron Johnson likes pinball machines, shortbread cookies, graphic novels, and skateboard competitions. However, Johnson is most likely to found at a poetry slam or rock show, smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. As a young teen, he worked at Arby's. It was where he saw a lefthander chop off his thumb in a roast beef slicer. Being a lefty too, Aaron was permanently scarred for life and began writing and performing poetry. |
| Courtesy photo Aaron Johnson likes pinball machines, shortbread cookies, graphic novels, and skateboard competitions. However, Johnson is most likely to found at a poetry slam or rock show, smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. |
In 2004, he founded Boardwalk Open Mic and published "Irony Stinks," then "Watering the Poetry" chapbook in 2005. He also participated in his first the National Poetry Slam, held in Albuquerque, N.M., alongside Graham, Logan Phillips and Meghan Jones.
He was the 2006 Southwest Shootout Regional Slam director and represented Flagstaff at the Individual World Poetry Slam.
|
slams, high schools, universities,art galleries, comic book stores, street corners, book stores, living rooms, and in 45 states, in just the past four years. |
He published "Chainsawsmoking" in 2009 and was the KABAM! Book Festival featured author in Kingman. Alongside Ed Mabrey, Myrlin Hepworth and The Klute on the Phoenix National Poetry Slam Team, Johnson's team semi-finals at the 2009 National Poetry Slam in Minneapolis.
In 2010, he returned to the KABAM! Book Festival as a featured author and joined the First Friday Night Live writing staff and promotion crew as well as founding the Pink Slip Poetry Slam in downtown Phoenix.
KABAM! Book Festival brought him back as a featured author a third time in 2011 and he created Encyclopedia Show: Arizona.
In 2011, his chapbook "Roach Killer for Her" was translated into Spanish and he became director of First Friday Night Live at The Firehouse in Phoenix. He also founded Lawn Gnome Publishing.
This year, he has been asked to return as a featured author to KABAM!, been a featured performer at The Encyclopedia Show: Arizona, serves as producer and writer of First Friday Night Live Writer and opened Lawn Gnome Bookstore. He was also featured painter for February's Solo Art Exhibition at Jones Gallery, and city of Phoenix Public Art Grant Recipient for "Dumpsterdiving Haiku" to be installed on Phoenix's busy 7th Avenue and McDowell intersection.
Aaron has performed in theatres, bars, poetry slams, high schools, universities, art galleries, comic book stores, street corners, book stores, living rooms, and in 45 states, in just the past four years.
| |
The Feb. 18 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.
This slam is also the qualifier for Sedona's representative to the International Women of the World Poetry Slam, to be held in Denver March 7-10. Highest ranked female or female-identified poets from Sedona earns the slot.
Eligibility: Poets who live their lives as women are eligible to participate in the Women of the World Poetry Slam. Competitors are eligible from certified venues or as individuals from areas without certified venues (a.k.a. “Storm” poets). Certified venues have a window of time to enter before individuals not associated with certified slams are able to enter. All certified venues must have a competition to determine their contestants.
All competitors must be PSI members in good standing and must agree to participate in the event following the rules of Slam as well as the Code of Honor, and must allow for PSI to videotape their performances for PSI owned product.
Eligibility: Poets who live their lives as women are eligible to participate in the Women of the World Poetry Slam. Competitors are eligible from certified venues or as individuals from areas without certified venues (a.k.a. “Storm” poets). Certified venues have a window of time to enter before individuals not associated with certified slams are able to enter. All certified venues must have a competition to determine their contestants.
All competitors must be PSI members in good standing and must agree to participate in the event following the rules of Slam as well as the Code of Honor, and must allow for PSI to videotape their performances for PSI owned product.
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, March 10, featuring Seth Walker from Austin, Texas; 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.
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.
Monday, February 6, 2012
"Poetic Babysitting," by Christopher Fox Graham
"Poetic Babysitting:
How to turn a child into a poet"
By Christopher Fox Graham
for Christopher "You Phonik" Harbster
for Christopher "You Phonik" Harbster
Before he was You Phonik,
turning straw words Rumpelstiltskin-style into golden poetry
 |
Photo by Saar Ingelbert Christopher Fox Graham, left, used to babysit Christopher "You Phonik" Harbster in Chandler, Ariz., where they both grew up. |
Before earning 10, 10, 10
from poetry slam judges
I knew him as a boy of 10
standing no taller than my waist,
In the world before we knew poetry
he was young Christopher Harbster,
and I, Christopher Fox Graham, was his babysitter
my mission at 17 was to
make sure he could play freely
while his parents were out on the town
As long as ate his vegetables
and was in bed by 8,
I’d earn 40 dollars when they got home at 11
Now the truth is
if you know the man he has become
who stays awake for days
because there is so much poetry
spinning in his head
that he can’t sleep without writing it down
putting him to bed by 8 was impossible
he’d always have another reason
to play hide-and-go-seek
or shoot laser guns
or make forts from the furniture
his parents wanted obedience
but I’m terrible at discipline
and 8 o’clock became 8:30 then 9 o’clock, then 9:30
finally, the rule was: as long as you run to bed
when we hear the garage door open
and can pretend to be asleep
when they go into to check on you
little man, you have the right to stay up
as long as your imagination
can keep your eyelids open
if your dreams can transform this living room
into a battlefield
those sofa cushions into the Alamo
of humanity’s last stand
and the plastic water gun into a laser pistol
blasting away at alien invaders
then the clocks on the wall
are just a few more enemies
we have yet to vanquish tonight
before the Armageddon of your parents
at the gates of doom
brings it all to an inevitable conclusion
now his sister was well-behaved
and would have obeyed her parents’ rules
whether I was there or not
but Christopher was my favorite
because he knew that rules
were made to be broken
which is why he writes free verse
and goes way over time during slams
because, fuck it, the audience needs to hear these words
it wasn’t until years later,
when a boy with a familiar appearance
and an identical name
appeared on a Flagstaff poetry slam stage
and whooped my ass in this game of verbs
that all those years came rushing back
and I realized that giving a boy freedom
can do more to raise him right
than rules, rhetoric and schooling
So I’d like to use this stage and this night
to take credit for gifting him the art of poetry
and announce the CFG Corporation for Poetic Babysitting
parents, for the low, low price of paper and pens
hire me to watch your children
while you enjoy dinner out
your children will learn how to break the rules
“yes, Michael, you can jump on the bed,
but only if it’s the surface of the moon
and you have to do it in iambic pentameter”
“Rachel, you’re right, vegetables are awesome slingshot ammunition,
but aim higher, you have to clear the backyard fence,
and spit lines about flying
from the perspective of the broccoli”
 |
Photo by Saar Ingelbert Chris "You Phonik" Harbster plays violin in his Flagstaff apartment. |
could use a little more cerulean blue
those clouds have to stand out in the hunter green sky,”
“Jonathan, remember:
rhinoceroses
with odd numbers of flippers
just swim in circles,
and that’s a haiku”I’d like espouse my wisdom with words
and squeeze its juice into eager minds
to turn your children into poets like Christopher Harbster
but the truth might be
I was a blank slate before I met him
there was so much poetry in that 10-year-old boy
aching for a page or microphone
that it couldn’t help but to seep out of him
and linger in the air
I must have breathed it in
when I was hyperventilating in those cramped spaces beneath the coffee table
during hide-and-seek
maybe it just spilled out like a blanket
on the sofa when he fell asleep next to me
watching the PG-13 movie
as his dreams gestated into poems
he would later spit on this stage
or maybe the weight of it sank into my spine
when carried him on my back in the yard
because he wanted to get just a little closer to the stars
in his hugs
I felt the tremor in his shoulder blades
that were beginning to push feathers through the skin
now on the right night,
when the lights are dim
and you’re drunk on his verses
you swear can see wings made of words
-- his halo glows a lot like these lights back here --
if I could go back in time
I’d tell that prodigy of a boy:
"you’ll be a great poet one day"
but I know he’d answer:
"I’m just waiting the mics to be hot enough,
now go pave the way for me
I’ll meet you on the stage
when you’re ready"
Friday, February 3, 2012
"Letter of Advice to My Unborn Son"
For the man from Ohio who asked for a copy of this at the FlagSlam poetry slam last night.
Spit the verse in you; the music will subside.
Life has a volume knob if you know where to look.
Bleed away the bullshit. Kill it with a 40, or a pack of cigarettes
Stand bare naked before a bathroom mirror and count your scars.
Name them in chronological order.
Invent new histories for them; they won't care.
Pretend into fact: dive bar fistfights, lovers with forgettable names.
Make new your old skin and become a rough-and-tumble drunkard in your imagination.
Learn to sneer like an old west cowboy played by John Wayne or Clint Eastwood
Name your dead horse. Work him into random conversations or slam poems.
Sit alone in the desert and remember the long rides.
Weep for him and let the desert swallow your tears.
Cut your skin deep, so you won't fear pain.
Watch yourself bleed.
Understand that that time
is doing the same thing to you.
Then let it heal and forget.
Fuck without fearing it
Don't call your first three lovers.
They will haunt you appropriately.
Then, only fuck for love
Only lonely nights, remember them all
You may love hundreds
or just one for decades
but sin or death will take them all in time
leaving you with only cherished moments
so cherish all the moments
as if they will be your last
Face the city alleys
Know their darknesses:
and the difference between a stray cat
and a street gang.
Forgive your fathers.
Let them teach you how not to live.
Where they failed, do not.
Know that their sins were simple:
they did not see you coming
teach your son better
accept that you will fail
but he may forgive you
for your effort
Some men deserve to die; you are no exception
Fear the indifference of good men more than evil
Know that fools no different than you built all institutions.
Embrace solitude. It will save you on the lonely nights.
Once a year, lay down in a gutter to learn how to sleep there if need be.
Suicide can be rational
men are not.
Watch sunsets prayerfully, to learn why we first worshipped the sun and the moon.
Count stars nightly - know that some will die tonight and never shine again.
Name constellations in your honor. Invent their mythologies
Learn to lie well.
do it sparingly, but be dedicated
Confess to no one
Honest lies become truth in time.
Not all lies are sins
Learn the difference
never admit to being an artist or a poet
they are pretentious
if you are an artist
history will take care of it for you
change jobs constantly
stagnant waters are poisonous
Be blunt with allies
for their loyalty comes through self-reflection
be relentless with enemies
for they will do the same
know that honesty turns friends to foes too often
and deception keeps the peace
build yourself an army
so you have ground to go to
serve your community selflessly
it will repay in kind
Know it can turn rabid
flee when necessary
mobs cannibalize leaders
Resist authority, always
Obedience must be earned
Governments replace anarchy, but they are not free from it
order is an illusion between riots and revolutions
Love your nation and your tribe
never call yourself a patriot
you are better than that.
Admire the pageantry of humanity
but do not believe it
we all wear silly hats
Converse with lunatics
they have much to teach
speak their dialects
Women are sacred, always.
Men are expendable, always.
Without women, our tribe is lost.
So raise your daughters to be warriors.
Breed intelligently
you owe it to your grandparents
Know that your honor and your pride
are the only gifts you give yourself
and the only things none can take from you
Death is evitable
embrace this
die nobly if you can
we are meat puppets
be sure not to spoil
Words can kill
use them wisely
Speak honestly and slow
Enunciate with conviction.
Your words will bind you when all else is lost.
Poetry is the captured sincerity of a moment
you live for only a moment
live poetically
"Letter of Advice to My Unborn Son"
By Christopher Fox Graham
 |
| Reg Rogers and Susan Pourfar in "Knickerbocker"by Jonathan Marc Sherman, performed by the Williamstown Theatre Festival |
Life has a volume knob if you know where to look.
Bleed away the bullshit. Kill it with a 40, or a pack of cigarettes
Stand bare naked before a bathroom mirror and count your scars.
Name them in chronological order.
Invent new histories for them; they won't care.
Pretend into fact: dive bar fistfights, lovers with forgettable names.
Make new your old skin and become a rough-and-tumble drunkard in your imagination.
Learn to sneer like an old west cowboy played by John Wayne or Clint Eastwood
Name your dead horse. Work him into random conversations or slam poems.
Sit alone in the desert and remember the long rides.
Weep for him and let the desert swallow your tears.
Cut your skin deep, so you won't fear pain.
Watch yourself bleed.
Understand that that time
is doing the same thing to you.
Then let it heal and forget.
Fuck without fearing it
Don't call your first three lovers.
They will haunt you appropriately.
Then, only fuck for love
Only lonely nights, remember them all
You may love hundreds
or just one for decades
but sin or death will take them all in time
leaving you with only cherished moments
so cherish all the moments
as if they will be your last
Face the city alleys
Know their darknesses:
and the difference between a stray cat
and a street gang.
Forgive your fathers.
Let them teach you how not to live.
Where they failed, do not.
Know that their sins were simple:
they did not see you coming
teach your son better
accept that you will fail
but he may forgive you
for your effort
Some men deserve to die; you are no exception
Fear the indifference of good men more than evil
Know that fools no different than you built all institutions.
Embrace solitude. It will save you on the lonely nights.
Once a year, lay down in a gutter to learn how to sleep there if need be.
Suicide can be rational
men are not.
Watch sunsets prayerfully, to learn why we first worshipped the sun and the moon.
Count stars nightly - know that some will die tonight and never shine again.
Name constellations in your honor. Invent their mythologies
Learn to lie well.
do it sparingly, but be dedicated
Confess to no one
Honest lies become truth in time.
Not all lies are sins
Learn the difference
never admit to being an artist or a poet
they are pretentious
if you are an artist
history will take care of it for you
change jobs constantly
stagnant waters are poisonous
Be blunt with allies
for their loyalty comes through self-reflection
be relentless with enemies
for they will do the same
know that honesty turns friends to foes too often
and deception keeps the peace
build yourself an army
so you have ground to go to
serve your community selflessly
it will repay in kind
Know it can turn rabid
flee when necessary
mobs cannibalize leaders
Resist authority, always
Obedience must be earned
Governments replace anarchy, but they are not free from it
order is an illusion between riots and revolutions
Love your nation and your tribe
never call yourself a patriot
you are better than that.
Admire the pageantry of humanity
but do not believe it
we all wear silly hats
Converse with lunatics
they have much to teach
speak their dialects
Women are sacred, always.
Men are expendable, always.
Without women, our tribe is lost.
So raise your daughters to be warriors.
Breed intelligently
you owe it to your grandparents
Know that your honor and your pride
are the only gifts you give yourself
and the only things none can take from you
Death is evitable
embrace this
die nobly if you can
we are meat puppets
be sure not to spoil
Words can kill
use them wisely
Speak honestly and slow
Enunciate with conviction.
Your words will bind you when all else is lost.
Poetry is the captured sincerity of a moment
you live for only a moment
live poetically
Thursday, February 2, 2012
“Nebraska” by Miles Walser
Miles Walser of the University of Minnesota performs on finals stage at the 2010 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational.
“Nebraska”By Miles Walser
For years you hid your tampons between mattresses, cut your hair short, lowered your voice, collected ace bandages and baggy clothes.
Small town talk stuck to your shoulders, you nervously shuffled around gas stations, never looked men in the eyes.
We share unwanted wombs.
While mine collects cobwebs, yours lies in a coffin in Nebraska.
 |
| Brandon Teena (Dec. 12, 1972 – Dec. 31, 1993) was a transman who was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Neb., along with two others. His life and death were the subject of the Academy Award-winning 1999 film "Boys Don't Cry," which was based on the documentary film "The Brandon Teena Story." |
Your murder was Oscar worthy.
We are walking obituaries.
Your hate crime headline already carved across my forehead, people look at me and see your delicate hands and absent adam’s apple.
Brother, I’m afraid to use the bathroom…
(Walk in, head down, don’t look at another guy.) I’m afraid I’ll be discovered…
(Don’t talk, dont stare, don’t piss too quickly.)
Some thick armed man will call me a queer, tell me to show him my tits.
Suddenly I’m thrown against faucets, spit in my face, workboot gutting my stomach.
I see you on the movie screen and wonder if it’s my reflection.
I watch them push you into the dirt and drag me into their car as they break our bodies in between our thighs.
Brother, did it hurt when you kissed her goodbye?
Did you know you were breaking your promise when you told her you’d come back?
Did your parents panic?
Buy you a prom dress?
Struggle over pronouns at family gatherings?
And how long did it take your girlfriend to run her hands along your skin, soft as hers?
Did she leave her eyes open?
We are carcasses.
Untouched boxes of condoms.
We are public secrets, playground jokes, and horror films.
We are costumes, stuffing, binding and makeup.
We aren’t real men to them.
Invisible til we’re screaming.
They don’t remember our names until they read them on our tombstones.
 |
| A tattoo from Virgina, which was inked in honor of this poem. |
Decided you’re better off as splattered ink on newspaper.
Used you as a warning for the rest of us.
And there are days when it works.
Sometimes I forget that sidewalks can be safe.
Sometimes I confuse their shooting eyes for the bullet that met yours.
Sometimes I imagine the phone call my mother would get.
Can almost hear my sobbing friends.
Smell the lillies on my casket.
Touch my girlfriend’s black dress.
But brother, I am trying to be brave.
He has also represented both Minneapolis and Madison, Wis., at the National Poetry Slam. He likes kittens more than the average person, and could never stand being land-locked.
For more of his work, check out mileswalser.tumblr.com.
“The Light Inside Us” by April Ranger
By April Ranger
Think of the firefly,
beating its bright pulse.
Think of the firefly
smashed against a child’s arm
because someone promised it would make his wrist glow
and he wanted to keep the light forever.
Think of the first love you ever destroyed
because you’d never known anything like it before,
like seeing your own heartbeat outside of yourself,
a flickering, luminescent miracle -
you wanted to crush it to your skin.
Think of the luster inside you,
that spark that blazed the first time
you bared yourself to another human being, said:
"Call me brilliant as the sun,
or ugly as a naked bulb,
I am dangling before you
so you might not stumble."
April Ranger grew up in rural Maine and discovered the Cantab Lounge in Cambrigde, Mass., while pursuing a theater degree at Emerson College. An open mic standout for months, she made a decisive slam debut in 2008, qualifying to try out for the venue’s National Poetry Slam team in one of the last open slams of the season.
After handily making the team’s roster, that same year saw her competing on the Finals Stage of the National Poetry Slam in Madison, Wis., and subsequently returning home to add the 2008 NorthBEAST Regional Individual Championship to her list of slam credits.
 |
Photo by Michelle Campbell Barry. April Ranger performs on the 2008 National Poetry Slam finals stage. |
She has informally served as the Cantab team’s vocal coach since 2008, and is a valued workshopper and featured performer throughout the region. She has completed multiple short-leg national tours with past Cantab teammate Carrie Rudzinski.
An emerging playwright, April received Emerson’s 2007 Nicole Dusfresne award for her play Street Sweepers, and her ten-minute play Frabjous Day premiered at the 2008 Boston Theatre Marathon at the Boston Center for the Arts.
Her poems have appeared in Muzzle Magazine and Off the Coast, and she is the author of three chapbooks, "We Are Not As Strong", "The Sacred Heartbeat of Consent", and "Blood Oranges," "Top Bunk", and a CD, "Like Canvas."
With her twin sister, Aimee Rose, she is a co-founder of SOOP (Stories of Our People), a storytelling-and-poetry community show run from their home in Roxbury, Mass.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Rowie Shebala wins the January Sedona Poetry Slam
 |
| Rowie Shebala won the second Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, Jan. 7. |
Benediction: Christopher Fox Graham, of Sedona
Round 1
Random Draw
Calibration: Danielle Silver, of Sedona
Ellenelizabeth, of Sedona, 18.6 Random Draw
Calibration: Danielle Silver, of Sedona
nodalone, of Flagstaff, 27.0
Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff, 27.0
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 29.0
Gabbie Jue, of Winslow, 27.6
Kendra Shebala, of Flagstaff, 25.5
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff, 29.7
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott, 29.3, after 0.5 time penalty
Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff, 29.2
Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School, 28.9
Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood, 29.0
Christopher Harbster, , of Flagstaff, 29.0
Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix, 30.0
Sorbet: Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff
Round 2
Reverse Order
Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix, 29.4, 59.4Reverse Order
Christopher Harbster, of Flagstaff, 27.8, 56.8
Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood, 28.8, 57.8
Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School, 27.6, 56.5
Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff, 28.2, after 1.5 time penalty, 57.2
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott, 29.7, 59.0
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff, 28.7, after 1.0 time penalty, 58.4
Kendra Shebala, of Flagstaff, 27.4, 52.9
Gabbie Jue, of Winslow, 28.4, 56.0
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 28.7, after 1.0 time penalty, 57.7
Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff, 30.0, 57.0
nodalone, of Flagstaff, 29.1, 56.1
Ellenelizabeth, of Sedona, 25.3, 43.9
 |
| Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff, featured at the Sedona Poetry Slam on Jan. 7. |
Feature: Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff
Sorbet: Gary Bowers, of Phoenix
Round 3
High to Low (Top 7)
Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix, 29.4, 88.8High to Low (Top 7)
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott, 29.5, 88.5
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff, 28.9, 87.3
Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood, 29.1, 86.9
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 26.5, after 3.5 time penalty, 84.2
Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff, 29.6, 86.8
Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff, 29.8, 86.8
Final Scores
Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix, 88.8
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott, 88.5
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff, 87.3
Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood, 86.9
TIE: Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff, 86.8
TIE: Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff, 86.8
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 84.2
Christopher Harbster, of Flagstaff, 56.8
Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School, 56.5Kendra Shebala, of Flagstaff, 52.9
Gabbie Jue, of Winslow, 56.0
nodalone, of Flagstaff, 56.1Ellenelizabeth, of Sedona, 43.9
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott, 88.5
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff, 87.3
Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood, 86.9
TIE: Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff, 86.8
TIE: Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff, 86.8
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman, 84.2
Christopher Harbster, of Flagstaff, 56.8
Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School, 56.5Kendra Shebala, of Flagstaff, 52.9
Gabbie Jue, of Winslow, 56.0
nodalone, of Flagstaff, 56.1Ellenelizabeth, of Sedona, 43.9
Sedona National Poetry Slam Team
Slamoff Point Standings
4 points
Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff
The Klute, of Phoenix
Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix
3 points
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott
Ryan Brown, of Flagstaff
The Klute, of Phoenix
Rowie Shebala, of Phoenix
3 points
Frank O'Brien, of Prescott
2 points
Christopher Fox Graham, of Sedona
Christopher Harbster, of Flagstaff
Lauren Perry, of Phoenix
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman
nodalone, of Flagstaff
Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff
1 point
Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood
Ellenelizabeth, of Sedona
Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff
Gabbi Jue, of Flagstaff
Jack Egan, of Sedona
Jahnilli Akbar, of New York City
Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School
Kendra Kenj Shebala, of Flagstaff
Spencer Troth, of Flagstaff
Valence, of Flagstaff
0.5 points
Christopher Fox Graham, of Sedona
Christopher Harbster, of Flagstaff
Lauren Perry, of Phoenix
Tara Pollock, of Flagstaff
Mikel Weisser, of Kingman
nodalone, of Flagstaff
Josh Wiss, of Flagstaff
1 point
Bert Cisneros, of Cottonwood
Ellenelizabeth, of Sedona
Evan Dissinger, of Flagstaff
Gabbi Jue, of Flagstaff
Jack Egan, of Sedona
Jahnilli Akbar, of New York City
Josh Goldberg, of Oak Creek Ranch School
Kendra Kenj Shebala, of Flagstaff
Spencer Troth, of Flagstaff
Valence, of Flagstaff
0.5 points
Danielle Silver, of Sedona
Gary Bowers, of Phoenix
Gary Every, of Sedona
Gary Bowers, of Phoenix
Gary Every, of Sedona
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Sedona Poetry Slam season's final list of features
2012 Sedona Poetry Slam Season
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 3Feature: Jahnilli Akbar, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Saturday, January 7
Feature: Ryan Brown, Flagstaff, AZ
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Jahnilli Akbar, Sedona Poetry Slam 12-3-2011, teaser poem
Featured poet Jahnilli Akbar performs between the first and second rounds of the Sedona Poetry Slam on Dec. 3, 2011
(My camerawoman started the tape a few seconds too late, so the first few words are cut off. My apologies.)
(My camerawoman started the tape a few seconds too late, so the first few words are cut off. My apologies.)
 |
| New York City poet Jahnilli Akbar. |
Jahnilli Akbar is a 22-year-old poet and activist, born in Chicago and raised in northern Mississippi. Currently he splits his time between Harlem and Brooklyn, N.Y.
Akbar’s poetry is best defined as an artistic mesh of alternative black, Semitic and queer life in America.
Akbar won the 2010 Rookie of the Year award at the Wade-Lewis Invitational, the second largest colligate slam in the country with more than 100 participants, held at the State University of New York at New Paltz.
Akbar is also the recipient of the 2011 Fresh Fruit Festival Queer Poet of the Year Award. He is a known face on the underground New York City art scene, as part of a movement called the Bushwick Renaissance, and as a member of Ground- Floor Collective, a leftist, African diaspora-based, predominately lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer group of artists. The Ground-Floor Collective, the Brecht Forum & Malcolm X Grassroots Movement curates the annual Black August art show, a fundraiser for political prisoners abroad.
Many stages, venues and spaces have hosted Akbar’s poetry, including Nuyorican Poets’ Café, Bowery Poetry Club, Louder Arts, NYC Intangible Poetry Slam, SUNY New Paltz and the Brooklyn Museum, all in New York, the Seattle Poetry Slam, Chicago’s Mental Graffiti Slam and Wordplay Chicago.
In early November, Akbar published his first book, “Chronicles of a Contemporary Alternative American Negro,” and headed out on tour.
Ryan Brown performs in the first round of the Sedona Poetry Slam on Dec. 3, 2011
Ryan Brown performs in the first round of the Sedona Poetry Slam on Dec. 3, 2011
Ryan Brown is a poet's poet in every sense of the word. The mountain town of Flagstaff, is known for a poetry slam scene where poets come together as a community, and Brown has been at the center of the growth as the FlagSlam Poetry Slam's slammaster since 2008.
A slammaster is the administrative representative of a poetry slam scene and its de facto leader.
Brown has attended three National Poetry Slam competitions as a member of the FlagSlam team, getting as far as the semi-finals round in 2009. At the helm of Flagstaff's slam scene, Brown has brought in featured poets such as Andrea Gibson and Gypsee Yo to help reinvigorate the poetry community in a town now bursting with poetic flavor. After a three-month hiatus spent farming in Hawai'i at the tail end of 2010, Brown has shifted the FlagSlam's location to Sundara Boutique and Gallery, which is quickly becoming one of Flagstaff's best venues for performance art.
An English major at Northern Arizona University, Brown has been writing and performing poetry for over four years, collaborating often with poets such as Frank O'Brien, John Cartier, and Sedona's Jessica Guadarrama and Christopher Fox Graham. He writes with the future in mind, his poems often revolving around the intimacy of human relationships.
Due to graduate from NAU in 2012, Brown also cultivates obsessions with baseball, skateboarding, and coffee, spending most of his time at school or at work, living the life of a pedestrian in a town where every destination is reachable on foot. Keys, wallet, cell phone, pen, and notepad: The essential tools for this particular poet.
 |
| Flagstaff poet Ryan Brown has attended three National Poetry Slam competitions in 2008, 2009 and 2010 as a member of the FlagSlam team, getting as far as the semi-finals round in 2009. |
A slammaster is the administrative representative of a poetry slam scene and its de facto leader.
Brown has attended three National Poetry Slam competitions as a member of the FlagSlam team, getting as far as the semi-finals round in 2009. At the helm of Flagstaff's slam scene, Brown has brought in featured poets such as Andrea Gibson and Gypsee Yo to help reinvigorate the poetry community in a town now bursting with poetic flavor. After a three-month hiatus spent farming in Hawai'i at the tail end of 2010, Brown has shifted the FlagSlam's location to Sundara Boutique and Gallery, which is quickly becoming one of Flagstaff's best venues for performance art.
An English major at Northern Arizona University, Brown has been writing and performing poetry for over four years, collaborating often with poets such as Frank O'Brien, John Cartier, and Sedona's Jessica Guadarrama and Christopher Fox Graham. He writes with the future in mind, his poems often revolving around the intimacy of human relationships.
Due to graduate from NAU in 2012, Brown also cultivates obsessions with baseball, skateboarding, and coffee, spending most of his time at school or at work, living the life of a pedestrian in a town where every destination is reachable on foot. Keys, wallet, cell phone, pen, and notepad: The essential tools for this particular poet.
Valence performs in the first round of the Sedona Poetry Slam on Dec. 3, 201
Valence performs in the first round of the Sedona Poetry Slam on Dec. 3, 2011
Tyler Sirvinskas, aka Valence, is a poet among other things.
Valence has been a slam poet since 2010 and new to the format of slam, but not to the art of writing.
After living 14 years in Chicago, he has spent six years and
counting in Arizona.
 |
Photo by Tara Graeber Tyler Sirvinskas, aka Valence |
Valence has been a slam poet since 2010 and new to the format of slam, but not to the art of writing.
After living 14 years in Chicago, he has spent six years and
counting in Arizona.
Josh Wiss performs in the first round of the Sedona Poetry Slam, 12-3-2011
Josh Wiss, Sedona National Poetry Slam Team, Sedona Poetry Slam, Studio Live
nodalone performs in the first round of the Sedona Poetry Slam, 12-3-2011
nodalone performs in the first round of the Sedona Poetry Slam on Dec. 3, 2011
Shaun Srivastava, aka nodalone, is a member of the 2011 Flagslam National Poetry Slam Team.
Originally from East Lansing, Michigan, nodalone moved to Flagstaff in 2008 to attend Northern Arizona University.
He will complete degrees in both exercise science and psychology in 2012, with plans to pursue a master’s degree in psychology.
While quietly writing poetry for many years, nodalone has only recently begun performing his spoken word at slams and various events throughout Arizona.
Preferring to use his platform to address current political, cultural, and social issues, the poet gives a performance that captures the power of the issue in a personal and passionate style.
 |
Photo by Tara Graeber Shaun Srivastava, aka nodalone, was a member of the 2011 Flagslam National Poetry Slam Team. |
Originally from East Lansing, Michigan, nodalone moved to Flagstaff in 2008 to attend Northern Arizona University.
He will complete degrees in both exercise science and psychology in 2012, with plans to pursue a master’s degree in psychology.
While quietly writing poetry for many years, nodalone has only recently begun performing his spoken word at slams and various events throughout Arizona.
Preferring to use his platform to address current political, cultural, and social issues, the poet gives a performance that captures the power of the issue in a personal and passionate style.
The Klute performs in the first round of the Sedona Poetry Slam, 12-3-2011
The Klute performs in the first round of the Sedona Poetry Slam on Dec. 3, 2011
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.”
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.
 |
Photo by Jessica Mason-Paull 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. |
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.”
Mikel Weisser performs in the first round of the Sedona Poetry Slam, 12-3-2011
Spencer Troth performs in the first round of the Sedona Poetry Slam, 12-3-2011
Christopher "You Phonik" Harbster performs in the first round of the Sedona Poetry Slam, 12-3-2011
 |
Photo by Saar Ingelbert Christopher "You Phonik" Harbster |
Friday, January 6, 2012
Jack Egan performs in the first round of the Sedona Poetry Slam, 12-3-2011
Jack Egan performs in the first round of the Sedona Poetry Slam on Dec. 3, 2011
Buy your tickets now for the Sedona Poetry Slam on Jan. 7
Sedona’s Studio Live hosts a poetry slam Saturday, Jan. 7, starting at 7:30 p.m. featuring Flagstaff Slammaster Ryan Brown.
All poets are welcome to compete for the $75 grand prize.
The slam will the first of the 2011-12 season, expected to be more moving, more energetic and more intense because this year, poets will be competing 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 developed the reputation and strength to muster its own team to send 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.
Ryan Brown is a poet's poet in every sense of the word. The mountain town of Flagstaff, is known for a poetry slam scene where poets come together as a community, and Brown has been at the center of the growth as the FlagSlam Poetry Slam's slammaster since 2008.
A slammaster is the administrative representative of a poetry slam scene and its de facto leader.
Brown has attended three National Poetry Slam competitions as a member of the FlagSlam team, getting as far as the semi-finals round in 2009. At the helm of Flagstaff's slam scene, Brown has brought in featured poets such as Andrea Gibson and Gypsee Yo to help reinvigorate the poetry community in a town now bursting with poetic flavor. After a three-month hiatus spent farming in Hawai'i at the tail end of 2010, Brown has shifted the FlagSlam's location to Sundara Boutique and Gallery, which is quickly becoming one of Flagstaff's best venues for performance art.
An English major at Northern Arizona University, Brown has been writing and performing poetry for over four years, collaborating often with poets such as Frank O'Brien, John Cartier, and Sedona's Jessica Guadarrama and Christopher Fox Graham. He writes with the future in mind, his poems often revolving around the intimacy of human relationships.
Due to graduate from NAU in 2012, Brown also cultivates obsessions with baseball, skateboarding, and coffee, spending most of his time at school or at work, living the life of a pedestrian in a town where every destination is reachable on foot. Keys, wallet, cell phone, pen, and notepad: The essential tools for this particular poet.
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 Jan. 7 slam will be hosted by Sedona poet Christopher Fox Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on the Flagstaff team at five National Poetry Slams between 2001 and 2010.
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.
Poetry slam has become an international artistic sport, with more than 100 major poetry slams in the United States, Canada, Australia and Western Europe.
Studio Live is located at 215 Coffee Pot Drive, West Sedona.
For more information, call (928) 282-2688 or visit http://studiolivesedona.com.
All poets are welcome to compete for the $75 grand prize.
The slam will the first of the 2011-12 season, expected to be more moving, more energetic and more intense because this year, poets will be competing 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 developed the reputation and strength to muster its own team to send 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.
Ryan Brown
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| Flagstaff poet Ryan Brown has attended three National Poetry Slam competitions in 2008, 2009 and 2010 as a member of the FlagSlam team, getting as far as the semi-finals round in 2009. |
A slammaster is the administrative representative of a poetry slam scene and its de facto leader.
Brown has attended three National Poetry Slam competitions as a member of the FlagSlam team, getting as far as the semi-finals round in 2009. At the helm of Flagstaff's slam scene, Brown has brought in featured poets such as Andrea Gibson and Gypsee Yo to help reinvigorate the poetry community in a town now bursting with poetic flavor. After a three-month hiatus spent farming in Hawai'i at the tail end of 2010, Brown has shifted the FlagSlam's location to Sundara Boutique and Gallery, which is quickly becoming one of Flagstaff's best venues for performance art.
An English major at Northern Arizona University, Brown has been writing and performing poetry for over four years, collaborating often with poets such as Frank O'Brien, John Cartier, and Sedona's Jessica Guadarrama and Christopher Fox Graham. He writes with the future in mind, his poems often revolving around the intimacy of human relationships.
Due to graduate from NAU in 2012, Brown also cultivates obsessions with baseball, skateboarding, and coffee, spending most of his time at school or at work, living the life of a pedestrian in a town where every destination is reachable on foot. Keys, wallet, cell phone, pen, and notepad: The essential tools for this particular poet.
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.
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Photo by Harley Deuce The Dec. 3 slam will be hosted by Sedona poet Christopher FoxGraham, who represented Northern Arizona on the Flagstaff team at five National Poetry Slams between 2001 and 2010. |
Sedona National Poetry Slam Team
Competing poets earn points with each Sedona Poetry Slam performance between Dec. 3 and Saturday, May 5. Future slams will take place on Saturdays, Feb. 18, March 10, April 7 and 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.
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.
Studio Live is located at 215 Coffee Pot Drive, West Sedona.
For more information, call (928) 282-2688 or visit http://studiolivesedona.com.
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