This is the official blog of Northern Arizona slam poet Christopher Fox Graham. Begun in 2002, and transferred to blogspot in 2006, FoxTheBlog has recorded more than 670,000 hits since 2009. This blog cover's Graham's poetry, the Arizona poetry slam community and offers tips for slam poets from sources around the Internet. Read CFG's full biography here. Looking for just that one poem? You know the one ... click here to find it.

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

"Your Poems Are Not Good Because ... [a response]" or "The Rise, Fall and Renaissance of Poetry Slam"


(Written in response to numerous Facebook posts that began "Your poems are not good because ..." and "in the old days of poetry slam ...")

"Your Poems Are Not Good Because ... [a response]" 

or 

"The Rise, Fall and Renaissance of Poetry Slam"


I

Our poems were never that good
no one's were 
or the world we talked about
the revolution we prophesied 
would have arrived by now
but it didn't 
and it isn’t
and it won’t
because poetry can’t change a world
drunk on its own power
deaf to so many voices
poetry is only the captured sincerity of a moment
we were the moment

So we kept writing 
and slamming poems 
and sparring on stages
spitting word graffiti against the walls we faced
or the walls we broke down 

The good ol' days of poetry slam
weren't always as good as we remember
Though some days were better than we thought at the time,
remembering now and waxing nostalgic

The bastard son of jazz and Beats
born at Get Me High 
and the Green Mill
where Capone could cover the exits
we spit to barflies and java junkies
book buyers and gallery goers
we had our holy places
Nuyorican, Cantab, Starry Plough
Red Sea, MAD Linguist, the Merc
Bowery and Lizard Lounge
Blind Lemon in Deep Ellum 
in the heart of Texas
and Da Poetry Lounge
the hook there in the name
and a thousand temples 
with a hot mic
a willing owner
and a free night

We crowd-walked like Jesus
called out and heard responses
used microphones and mic stands
as the props we were forbidden to bear
climbed on bars to be better heard
wrote poems for duos, trios, foursomes
to amplify our solo limitations
turned one-person plays into touchstones
persuasive essays into epics
street protests into soliloquies
cyphered in circles
telling tales about our adventures

Our grandfathers and grandmothers
did the same
when the cosmos was our companion
the stars our only stage lights
And civilization was just a campfire

Our skin or status
age, accent or origin 
was wiped clean
we had three minutes and a ticking clock
to change the world
and ten seconds of grace
because we lost track of time
channeling the universe

We had arch rivals and forever allies
to push us forward
Titans and Olympians 
who we worshiped 
for crushing stages 
like city walls 
or opening hearts and minds
to other ways of thinking 
or living
or loving 

We had kings and goddesses
who blessed the microphones
in whispers and decrees
telling us to love ourselves 
in spite of ourselves 
“you are good enough”
“you are good enough”
“you, right now, 
hearing this, reading this
YOU, 
you are good enough
you are perfect”

We had heels and cads we loved to hate
hanging on every verse
waiting for a stolen stanza
a lifted lyric 
a reference to clothing they wore 
a cheater who judged them too knowingly 
an untruth wrapped in beautiful fiction
we could later disprove
and turn into sin

Audiences didn’t care to know our strife
in the old days of poetry slam
they hung on the shimmering words
played out stanzas in their minds
heard old poems new to them
uttered at their first hearing
they left changed, bettered and brighter
the points were never the point
they were the gimmick
to get them in the door

We asked them to judge us
sans background, affiliation or inclination
no doctorate or bibliography required 
their scores, our epitaphs
8.2, even on page
6.9 because it was a sex poem
9.7 worth the bus ride home
5.8, a punch to the gut
7.1 after we dropped a line
9.3 when we picked it up
a perfect 10 with tear-filled eyes
or guts sore with laughter
or hearing their story told through our lips

They judged our game
our struts and frets
in three minutes upon the stage
they were part of the show
they, the reason we spit:
Vox populi, 
vox deus, 
judicat poeta

We had demigods and divas
devils and demons
and sometimes, 
perhaps too often, 
we were they

We were “Beauty Ba Bo” perfectly translated

We had wingless seraphim
their halos lost in stage lights
Fallen angels seeking absolution
Mortals mid-apotheosis
We knew our saints by heart
could speak their names in mononyms
Shibboleths sans surname:
Marc, 
Patricia, 
Saul, 
Beau, Reggie, Taylor, Buddy, Gary, Roger, Bob, Wammo, Marty, Shappy, Klute, 
Sekou, Shihan, Ed, Derrick, Talib, Shane, Barbara, Miguel, Mahogany, Rachel, Sarah, Phil, Pat, MuMs, Jared, Henry, Mike, Scott, Suzi, Christopher, Hanif, Dayvid, Andy, Jack, Staceyann, Ken, Alvin, Corinna, Jaylee, Baz, Blair, Bao, Betsy, Sonya, Rives, Anis, Lauren, Bill, Patrick, Holly, Theresa, Billy, Jugga, Ragan, Steve, Sean, Suheir, Sou, Simone, Sully, Celena, Zork, Omar, Olivia, Oz, Iyeoka, Isaac, Corbet, Ebony, Eboni, Janean, Jamie, Jive, Jeremiah, Jasmine, Jerry, Cristin, Kenn, Eitan, Daphne, Danez, Donnie, Delrica, Duncan, De, Denise, Desiree, Darrell, Amelia, Xero, Mack, Paul, Stefan, Angela, Karen, Midnight, Erik, Sierra, Hakim, Adriana, Frannie, Ebo, Jesse, Matthew, Doc, Lindsay, Mickie, Maya, Laura, Emi, Nathan, Mikel, Mojdeh, Tank, Thadra, Robbie, Omari, Gypsee, Tristan, DaShade, Blue, Blythe, Tony, Rudy, Andrea, Ayinde, Abigail, Alex, Akua, Adam, Taalam, Rowie, Claire, Gabbi, Gabrielle, Genevieve, Goad, Taneka, Cass, Frank, Ryan, Valence, Evan, Josh, Nodalone, Neil, Briana, Brenna, Brit, Randy, Lydia, Jess, Naughtya, Eddie, Amy, Angelica, Caleb, Dylan, Dwain, Hakim, Lacey, Natasha, Zack, Panika, Amir, Chrysanthemum, Imani, Glori, Gigi, Tui, Jerri, Omni, Emanuelee, Ekabhumi, Javon, Jomar, George, Joyce, Joaquin, Mercedez, Mindy, Morris, Mckendy, Mayday, Matt, Esme, Brett, Dahled, Sam, Sevan, Suzee, Sabrina, Soul, Cheryl, Logan, Myrlin, James, Taz, Twain, Tova, Thomas, Crystal, Christa, Guante, Angelique, Colin, Theo, Jozer, Kealoha, Keith, Katie, Kat, Khary, Kataalyst, Bryan, Nazelah, Porsha, Daryl, Ian, Jon, Jay, Jeremyah, Jordan,  
Duke, FreeQuency, Flowmentalz, MrHumanity, Candy, Rage,  Diamond, Nova, Tempest, Verbal, Vogue, Tapestry, Rooster, Toaster, Whoopeecat
Don, Damian and Danny, the Trinity of ABQ
AJ, RJ, RC, CR, GNO, IN-Q when initials were enough 
Bowerbird just happy to be there
Mona turning spoken word into silent speech
Jeanne and Jim, no distance too far
Stephen and Julia with a Tattler
Arrian with a camera,
Inkera with a “welcome”
Clebo shirtless and rarefied
and Mighty Mike McGee, whose three names are always spoken as one

And after,
always after,
always underground
where only poets could enter
if you knew the password
the secret location
was Harlym125
the crownless king
holding court
for the best of us 
to duel in the round
until last poet standing
but no cameras in the courtroom 
no secrets from the sepulcher
no record made in this arena,
our Holy of Holies

Some of us were broken people 
writing to survive 
Some of us didn’t
some cut short by our own hands
some by fate we railed against
some by time, that takes us all
they all died too young
even the old ones
especially the old ones 

Some of us never healed 
some only healed through slam
because of the poems
because of the scores
because of the praise
because of the failures
because we got up again, and again and again
because we could banish our monsters
cast them back into darkness with wordmagic
because we would expose our sins
And find absolution by the last line
or because some stranger
we could not see under stage lights
said later in the lobby
or at the bar
or the afterparty, 
“I loved that poem… 
… you made me cry”
sometimes that alone was enough 
perhaps too often, 
it was enough
which is why we’re still here, still living
save one 
and save the world entire
their tears saving us 
from drowning ourselves  

If not for the old days of poetry slam
we would not know each other 
not have lived the stories in other skins
served in three-minute epics
or afterparties or hotel lobbies
we would not have a safe sofa,
a paying gig and eager crowd
in 50 cities and 500 small towns 
a welcome smile from a host we'd never met
but who knew us intimately
from that poem,
you know the one
the one never that good
whose ending you tweaked 
100 times trying to get right
but to someone, tonight,
it will be perfect 
exactly what they needed to hear
“your poems are not good because” 
you say over and over to yourself —
they’re not good — 
to you — 
swallowed in self-doubt and self-criticism,
but to someone,
tonight,
they are a masterpiece
wordmagic from a microphone
slammed by a wingless seraphim
halo lost in stage lights
chasing their monsters into the dark

The points weren't the point
the point was poetry
we knew that, we knew the math:
1,590 teams went to nationals
only 118 touched finals stage
we went to lose
at nationals, 
lose across states, 
lose across town
hundreds of hours practicing 
thousands of miles traveled
to be statistically eliminated on night one
to be cut from round two
to go over minute three
but we went to share
to become family 
stay family
mourn lost family
you stopped caring about the scores
about winning 
about fleeting victories
you cared about family
about impressing them with a poem
trying something new
and winning because
“your poems are good”
because you became the captured sincerity of a moment
the points weren't the point
the point was we wiped clean 
skin and status
age, accent and origin 
to become stories in skinsuits
we were words walking
the bards, bhats, griots, skalds, seanchaithe,
of our slam scenes back home
and a family wherever we were
we knew that 
in the “old days of poetry slam”

II

We forget now
the churning civil war inside ourselves
“The revolution will not be televised”
we believed wholeheartedly
poets may start revolutions, 
but we don't lead them
without an army, armed and funded
no one fights them
airwaves aren't free
raised fists don't rake in ratings
empty seats at finals add up over time 
But we refused to be bought
we refused to cash in
we refused to sell out
even when bankruptcy came knocking

Our poems were never that good
but we believed our own bios
in the old days of poetry slam
Gaslit by our own press releases
we knew the money would come
the chapbooks would one day be bound
TV gigs and book deals were around the corner
bars would become Broadway
book thrift shops would lead to theaters 
finals night would be standing-room only
MFAs were as good as MBAs
success would fall off the shelf
if this poem was perfect
this line was just right
if this hook had teeth
if we unfurled our dreams into a ship’s sail
we could make it to Avalon or Valinor
Penguin, Simon & Schuster, 
Random House, HarperCollins
PBS or HBO’s Def Poets
presidential inaugurations,
UN floor speeches 
White House dinners
Olympic openings
like the other poets who did

But we forgot
no one reads poetry anymore
no one reads print anymore
we pay to be published
selling books at slams
to make it to the next gig
and we’re left with
bookshelves of others’ words from
The old days of poetry slam

It was never enough to be brilliant
you have to do the work to prove it
sometimes you have to break into Harvard
and put your poetry book on the Woodberry shelf
for it to be found there

Now we count our scars and remember
the sins and stages, the dream teams 
the host hotels and victory poems
hip-hop battles and haiku head-to-heads 
nerd quizzes and fifth-wheel features
group pieces and late-night erotica
a trophy we once tore in half
the beautiful bouts 0.1 points apart
with the whim of a judge — 
some college kid on a date
some mom from the suburbs
some closet writer with her journal at home
some wannabe rapper
some grizzled retiree reliving his youth
or sweet grandma seeing what the kids are doing now —
deciding between prize money and parting gift

We were Kings of Kings, shouting:
“Look on my words, ye Mighty, and despair!

All statutes crumble
All empires fall
All languages change over time
or die on lips of the last speaker

"The old days of poetry slam”
are the “old days” for a reason
and the reasons were legion, 
but sometimes
but perhaps too often, 
we were they

III

But words never die
not once uttered and amplified
they echo endlessly across eternity
or get swallowed back into the throat
for a new voice to speak

The new slam isn’t the old slam
it’s better, it’s worse,
it doesn’t follow the rules
that we belabored and bickered over at slammasters meetings
ensconced in scripture we printed before Nationals
but it’s here and it’s now
and it’s asking us to dance
the steps are new
the new music is different
but we learned the last time
and danced waltzes across stages 

“Your poems are not good …”
we shout on social media
with a million reasons why
some don't read other poets
some don't read better poets
some shun critique or criticism 
some forget it's a gimmick not godhood
some outshine their mentors
some have no mentors to follow 
some first drafts stay final drafts
some value victories over craft
notching one-night slams into headboards
like some of us did

time will cull or cure
like it did us —
we forgotten heroes uncelebrated
we word barons stripped of fiefdoms
we veterans with razorblade tongues

Our poems were never that good
but they were good enough
and the proof is new slam is here
in the echo of the old

They love slam like we did
because we taught them to
the high schooler in the back out past curfew 
the fan who bought our chapbook with $1s
the one-time judge, drunk on our fire
the mourner who saw us grieve in public
watching a man cry without sin or shame, 
the teen who added 100 to your view count
didn’t you see them?
were the stage lights too bright
in "the old days of poetry slam”?
When we gave up
when the old slam became old
when we euthanized it at 34
in the city where it was born
at a meeting of 200 who loved slam so much
we had to cut its throat
when we took ”kill your darlings” too literally
they rose up 
where our words had sowed them
and built temples 
with the blueprints we burned
enriching their soil with our echoes

A legacy isn’t a carbon copy
it’s not a clone or a rerun
children may have our names
but they are only half-us
half-someone else
wholly themselves
something new built on the old

they read our poems in school
in chapbooks, on websites 
shared our voices, videos and clips
In mixtapes, LiveJournal, MySpace, 
YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, 
Tumblr, TikTok, TedX,
Button, Write About Now
They heard us say 
“you are good enough”
“you are good enough”
“you are good enough”
like we were taught
and they believed us
even when we didn’t believe ourselves
they still believe us
because our poems were that good
they outlived their makers
words still speaking 
“Poetry is Necessary”
like food, shelter, water, poetry is necessary

No cataclysm can kill poetry 
manmade or otherwise, 
not really, not forever, 
it'll rise from the corpses, the ashes, 
the broken bones and fallen towers
emerge from the flood waters 
that could kill, 
but not drown
Team SNO taught us that 

We martyred ourselves in suffering
on stages or pages
but not in vain
and not in silence
and someone was listening
even if we didn’t hear it

They heard about a thing called slam
how it could change the world some day
if the poem was perfect
the line was just right
if the hook had teeth
and when the old slam became old
they made it new again

The new slam isn’t the old slam
it’ll wander and conquer and collapse
and get back up, like we did
they will learn by doing, like we did.
they will learn by failing, like we did.
they will learn but getting up again and again and again
they will anoint new saints in new styles
they will take the ghost from our rebel skeleton
and outshine their ancestors
it is out legacy even if our name is absent

We were candles in the dark
but one can light another 
and still burn brightly 
our words remain to light the way 
even if we don't, 
some new poets will become furnaces, 
others bonfires, 
some just brief matches and flashes in the pan
some will come in like a fireball, 
burn into explosion and fade away into the dark
like some of us did
sometimes it’s enough
just to light the flame

Our poems were never that good
they didn’t have to be
but they were enough 
to someone, somewhere
and sometimes, 
perhaps too often, 
that someone 
was me

New slam is here
there are first-timers on stage
new voices in old skins
old voices with new poems
legends in renaissance
prodigies proving themselves
and audiences oblivious to the difference 
but they heard about a thing called slam

because they’re here
our poems were good enough
they’re ready to listen to wingless seraphim
see halos in stage lights
show them the glory 
of the old days
in the new temples
leave them changed, bettered and brighter
like in “the old days of poetry slam” 

There’s a sign up list 
and a hot mic
if you have a poem to share
or an open seat for tonight
if you want to lend your ears

They just want to be heard
like we did
want to say to us — 
but more so to themselves —
“you are good enough”
“you are good enough”
“you are good enough”

and hear us answer 
sincerely
simply, 
with hope
and with thunderous applause

Sunday, March 31, 2024

Haiku Death Match at Heritage Square on April 13, as part of the Northern Arizona Book Festival


The Sedona Poetry Slam and Northern Arizona Book Festival are co-hosting a head-to-head Haiku Death Match at Heritage Square on April 13, as part of the 2024 Northern Arizona Book Festival. The event features $600 in prizes: $300 for first, $200 for second, $100 for third place.

Haiku (俳句) is a form of Japanese poetry consisting of 17 syllables in three metrical phrases of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables.

Japanese haiku typically contain a kigo, or seasonal reference, and a kireji or verbal caesura. 
In Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed in a single vertical line, while haiku in English usually appear in three lines (5-7-5 syllables), to parallel the three metrical phrases of Japanese haiku.


A Haiku Death Match is a competitive poetry duel that is a subgenre of poetry slam. The Haiku Death Match is a prominent feature at the annual National Poetry Slam, replete with full costume for the host.
Slam haiku used in a Haiku Death Match is far simpler than traditional Japanese style haiku: The kigo and kireji can be omitted.


Slam haiku are simply three or fewer lines of exactly 17 syllables, no more, no less. Slam haiku can be anything from a single 17-syllable sing line or simply 17 words.

"Old Pond’’ by Matsuo Bashō [1644-1694] — a haiga in his own handwriting

Matsuo Bashō [1644-1694], born Matsuo Kinsaku, later known as Matsuo Chūemon Munefusa was the most famous Japanese poet of the Edo period. Bashō's most famous haiku:
古池や 
蛙飛び込む 
水の音

koike ya
kaeru tobikomu
mizu no on

Translated by Robert Hass as
Old pond…
a frog jumps in
water’s sound

やがて死ぬ
けしきは見え
ず蝉の声

yagate shinu 
keshiki wa miezu 
semi no koe

Translated by David G. Lanoue as:
The cry of the cicada
Gives us no sign
That presently it will die.


A standard Haiku Death Match is conducted thus:
⏹The host randomly draws the names of two poets, known as haikusters, from the pool of competitors.
⏹The haikusters adorn headbands of two colors: Red and Not-Red (white).
⏹Red Haikuster and Not-Red Haikuster bow to each other to demostrate they are friendly and that a Haiku Death Match is ultimately a silly thing.
⏹Red Haikuster goes first.
⏹The Red Haikuster reads his or her haiku twice. The audience does not clap or make noise (usually, though, they laugh or vocalize, but, of course, we must pretend that this is completely unacceptable).
⏹The Not-Red Haikuster reads his or her haiku twice. Again, the audience does not clap or make noise.
⏹The host waits for the three judges to make their choice for winner, then signals them to hold aloft their Red or Not-Red flag.
⏹Simple majority (3-0 or 2-1) determines the winner.
⏹The host asks the audience to demonstrate “the sound of one hand clapping,” i.e., silence, then “the sound of two hands clapping,” at which point they can finally applaud. The mock ceremony involving the audience is half the fun.
⏹The winning haikuster of that round then goes first.
Depending on the round, the winner will be best 3 of 5, 4 of 7, best 5 of 9, etc., of a number determined beforehand for each round.
After the duel, Red Haikuster and Not-Red Haikuster bow to each other and shake hands. The next duel begins.

Haiku by Matsuo Bashō:
"Quietly, quietly,
yellow mountain roses fall –
sound of the rapids"
Rules for the Haiku Death Match:
⏹Register: E-mail at foxthepoet@yahoo.com
⏹Participation: Anyone can compete.
⏹No Titles: Haikusters shall not read the title of the haiku. Just the 17-syllable haiku itself.
⏹While some haiku are merely three lines, Death Match Haiku must be 17 syllables exactly.
⏹Haikusters shall read the haiku twice, first for initial recitation, the second time for proper digestion. 
⏹Originality: Poets must be the sole authors of the haiku they use in competition. Plagiarized or others' haiku are grounds for disqualification. We all love Matsuo Bashō, but he’s 300 years too dead to compete.
⏹Preparation: Poets can have haiku written beforehand or write them in their head while at the mic. As long as the haiku are 17 syllables, we don’t care how, when or from where the haiku originates. 
Poets can read from the page, book, journal, notepad, smartphone, etc. 
⏹Rounds: Will be determined by the number of haikusters who sign up to compete.
⏹Quantity of haiku needed: Depends on the number of rounds. 30 haiku will likely be enough for poets who push rounds to the last haiku needed and go all the rounds, but 20 haiku might be enough. 50 to 100 gives haikusters enough material to be flexible in competition. Most veteran haikusters have several hundred to compete with.
If you run out of pre-written haiku, you can make them up on the mic and count on your fingers; that's perfectly fine.
⏹Adult themes and language. Remember that this is a live event and content of haiku will not be known ahead of time, but the event takes place at Heritage Square at a family friendly event. Please respect the audience, There may be children present so you may have to deal with their parents afterward. 
⏹Judges: Three random people at the event will be selected as the judges. Using the "fluid rule," the judges cannot share bodily fluids with any of the haikusters (i.e., no parents, siblings, blood relatives, children, spouses or lovers) and hope that the judges are not related and the event is fair. We will ask the haikusters before the Death Match if that rule applies to any judges before the event begins.
⏹Draw: We will pull two names from a hat containing the names of the competitors before each duel. If your name is drawn, you must haiku in that duel.
⏹Third Place: When we get to the final four haikusters, the top two will advance. The two defeated haikusters will then compete for third place, and the $100 prize, before the top two haikusters compete for first place ($300) and second place ($200).

This sheet of kaishi writing paper is inscribed with verse by Japan’s most famous haiku poet, Matsuo Bashō, and one of his pupils in the teacher’s own handwriting. When this work was first publically displayed at Seattle Asian Art Museum in 2015, it created a small sensation among literary specialists in Japan because not only were the Bashō poems recorded here previously unknown, the work must date to relatively early in his career as a poet, before he turned 40. In the West, it would be the equivalent of discovering a manuscript with previously unpublished poems by (Bashō’s contemporary) John Milton in his own hand. At the time of the discovery, the Bashō expert professor Tamaki Tsukasa stated that the handwriting, seal, and signature could also be authenticated as genuine.
Credit: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2018, The Met


What’s the Best Strategy to Win a Haiku Death Match?
⏹A winning haikuster is flexible.
⏹If your opponent reads a serious or deep haiku, read one that is more serious or more profound, or go on the opposite tack and read something funny.
⏹If your opponent reads a funny haiku, read one that is funnier, or go on the opposite tack and read something serious or deep.
⏹If your opponent makes fun of you, make fun of yourself even bigger or make fun of them. A good head-to-head haiku can work wonders and often wins a Haiku duel. 
⏹If you’re on stage and you get an idea for a haiku, feel free to write it down immediately. That might be the next round’s haiku that wins you the duel.
⏹Have a good time. Even if don't get past the first round, it's still a great time for all.
⏹You get to read the haiku twice, so let that play into how you read it. You may want to read it verbatim with the same inflection or intonation, or you may want to emphasize a different portion of the haiku the second time. You may also use the repetition to your advantage and write a haiku about repeating yourself.

Poet Matsuo Bashō meets two farmers celebrating the mid-autumn moon festival in an 1891 print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi from "Hundred Aspects of the Moon." The haiku reads:
“Since the crescent moon,
I have been waiting
for tonight.”



The Robert Spiess Memorial 2012 Haiku Awards
nautical chart
I touch the depth
of my mother’s ashes
— Scott Mason, First Prize

slave quarters ...
the shapes of their shadows
in this dust
— Duro Jaiye, Second Prize

shades of blue ...
the deer’s remaining eye
cradled by bone
— Susan Constable, Third Prize

winter dusk
my grief released
from the crow’s throat
— Margaret Chula, Honorable Mention

formation of geese —
a log opens
to the woodsman’s maul
— Michele L. Harvey, Honorable Mention

I seem to be
an intermittent shadow . . .
summer clouds
— Kirsty Karkow, Honorable Mention


Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Northern Arizona Book Festival sponsors free Sedona Poetry Slam, featuring slam legend Bill Campana on Saturday, April 13

The Sedona Poetry Slam proudly welcomes Arizona slam poetry legend Bill Campana to the stage on Saturday, April 13, as performance poets bringing high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre starting at 7:30 p.m. 

Admission is free, thanks to funding from the Northern Arizona Book Festival.

A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Anyone can sign up to compete in the slam for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. Between rounds, Campana will perform a featured set.

Bill Campana

Campana seeks to find answers to the big questions in life, but usually settles for vague, watered down, surreal explanations.

Campana has been a fixture in Phoenix poetry since 1997 and is the author of six out-of-print collections of poetry, a six-time member of the Mesa National Poetry Slam Team, and is the 2014 Individual World Poetry Slam's Haiku Death Match Champion.

“A poetry tour de force, Bill Campana has done what few poets could ever dream of in writing sharp, entertaining poetry that doesn't cater to anyone but is enjoyed by all,” publisher Bob Nelson stated. “In his live performances, he comes at you like a machine gun of short, powerful linguistic observations. Bill's live performances are the thing of legend.”


Anyone Can Compete

To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.

Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. Poets come from as far away as Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff, competing against adult poets from Sedona and Cottonwood, college poets from Northern Arizona University and youth poets from Sedona Red Rock High School. All types of poetry are welcome on the stage, from street-wise hip-hop and narrative performance poems, to political rants and introspective confessionals. Any poem is a "slam" poem if performed in a competition. All poets get three minutes per round to entertain and inspire the audience with their creativity.

Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.

The next poetry slams of the season will be held on Saturdays, May 11 and June 8.

The prize money is funded by the Northern Arizona Book Festival and by Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.

Email foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up early to compete or by the Friday before the slam or at the door the day of the slam. 

For more information, visit sedonafilmfestival.com or foxthepoet.blogspot.com. For a full list of slam poetry events in Arizona, visit azpoet.com.

The Saturday, April 13, Sedona Poetry Slam is FREE ADMISSION, thanks to funding by the Northern Arizona Book Festival, which is cover the costs and prize money for the winning poets: $100 for first place, $75 for second place and $50 for third place

Northern Arizona Book Festival

The Northern Arizona Book Festival returns from Friday, April 5, to Monday April 15, with in-person and online events and activities for all ages, including readings from multiple local and regional authors, poetry slams, workshops and live performances for all ages in multiple venues across Flagstaff, Sedona and online.

Admission to all festival events is free and open to the public. The list of the over 30 different events are available at noazbookfest.org.

The bulk of the events, including a Haiku Death Match, take place Friday, April 12, to Sunday, April 14.

What is Poetry Slam?

Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984 by Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. Poetry slams are judged by five randomly chosen members of the audience who assign numerical value to individual poets' contents and performances.

Poetry slam has become an international artistic sport, with more than 100 major poetry slams in the United States, Canada, Australia and Western Europe. Slam poets have opened at the Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmons' Def Poets" on HBO.

Sedona has sent four-poet teams to represent the city at the National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C., Boston, Cambridge, Mass., Oakland, Calif., Decatur, Ga., Denver and Chicago

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Lizard the Wizard, Sondraya and Lalli will represent Sedona at the BlackBerry Peach Poetry Slam's Arizona Championship

Chosen by the five judges in the audience after three rounds of high-energy, competitive spoken word at the Sedona International Film Festival's Mary D. Fisher Theatre, the top three poets at the Saturday, March 9, Sedona Poetry Slam earned spots to compete at the BlackBerry Peach Poetry Slam's Arizona Championship, to be held in Phoenix on Friday, April 19. 

From a field of 14 competing poets, the top three slam poets earning Sedona's berths are:

Lizard the Wizard, with a score of 82.2

Lizard the Wizard, photo by Christopher Fox Graham

Sondraya, with a score of 78.5

Sondraya Bradley, photo by David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers

Lalli, with a score of 77.7

Jason Lalli, photo by Christopher Fox Graham

The other competors included Adrienne Peters of Phoenix, Cylie Naylor of Scottsdale, Eric Hoff of Sedona, "Moose" of Phoenix, Roger Blakiston of the Village of Oak Creek, Bear Smith of Sedona, Gary Every of Cottonwood, LMB of Prescott and Rex Arrasmith of Sedona.

Athena Zelda Nebula Skye Sylvia Diana Fox Graham, age 5, of Sedona, and Naughty A. Mouse of Phoenix, calibrated the slam.

Athena Zelda Nebula Skye Sylvia Diana Fox Graham, photo by Christopher Fox Graham

BlackBerry Peach

The top three poets will earn Sedona's three spots at the BlackBerry Peach National Poetry Slam's Arizona State Championships, sponsored by the Arizona State Poetry Society.

Three poets each from open poetry slams in Sedona, Mesa, Prescott, Phoenix and Flagstaff will compete at the 15-poet slam held by Ghost Poetry Slam and hosted by Ben “B-Jam” Gardea on Friday, April 19. 

The overall state champion will win trip sponsored by the ASPS to represent Arizona at the National Federation of State Poetry Societies' BlackBerry Peach National Slam from June 5 to 8 in Roswell, Ga.

B-Jam, photo by Sedona Poetry Slam

A regular competitor at the Sedona Poetry Slam, B-Jam is a Phoenix native, married father of three children. Gardea overcame both alcoholism and a rare hip disease that made him unable to walk. After getting sober and a total hip replacement, he had two goals: To share his poetry and and hike a mountain in Sedona. Three years later, B-Jam is the 2023 ASPS State Poetry Slam champion, ranked 10th nationally and has curated writers workshops, featured at poetry events, won a grant to publish a poetry book and is the host and producer of the popular PHX Poetry Slam.

“Poetry has changed my life and I want to be a caretaker of the artform for future generations to explore and become part of, because I know that poetry can make the most profound impact on human beings,” B-Jam said. 

B-Jam, photo by Sedona Poetry Slam

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, March 9, to select three representatives to send to BlackBerry Peach National Poetry Slam's Arizona State Championships

With the fourth poetry slam of the Sedona Poetry Slam's 15th season, performance poets will bring high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, March 9, starting at 7:30 p.m. 

The top three poets at this slam with earn spots to compete at the BlackBerry Peach Poetry Slam's Arizona Championship, to be held at the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix in April. 

Open Slam

Anyone can compete in a poetry slam if they have poems to read and the courage to get on stage. A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Anyone can sign up to compete in the slam for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.

Sondraya Bradley, photo by David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers

Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. Poets come from as far away as Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff, competing against adult poets from Sedona and Cottonwood, college poets from Northern Arizona University and youth poets from Sedona Red Rock High School. 

Tempest Juliet, photo by David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers

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.

Valence, photo by David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers

Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.

Steven Ojeda, photo by David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers

The next poetry slams of the season will be held on 

  • Saturday, April 13, featuring Briana Grace Hammerstrom of Portland. Ore., by way of Flagstaff; 
  • Saturday, May 11; 
  • and finally on Saturday, June 8.

Lydia Gates, photo by David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers

The February poetry slam selected three poets — Lydia Gates, Josh Wiss and Tyler “Valence” Sirvinskas — who will be representing Sedona at the All-Arizona Poetry Slam Championship in Maricopa in March.

Josh Wiss, photo by David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers

The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.

Email foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up early to compete or by the Friday before the slam or at the door the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive. 

MC Tristan Marshell, photo by David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers


For more information, visit sedonafilmfestival.com or foxthepoet.blogspot.com. For a full list of slam poetry events in Arizona, visit azpoet.com.


BlackBerry Peach

The top three poets will earn Sedona's three spots at the BlackBerry Peach National Poetry Slam's Arizona State Championships, sponsored by the Arizona State Poetry Society.

Three poets each from open poetry slams in Sedona, Mesa, Prescott, Phoenix and Flagstaff will compete at the 15-poet slam held by Ghost Poetry Slam and hosted by Ben “B-Jam” Gardea. 

The overall state champion will win trip sponsored by the ASPS to represent Arizona at the National Federation of State Poetry Societies' BlackBerry Peach National Slam from June 5 to 8 in Roswell, Ga.

B-Jam, photo by Sedona Poetry Slam

A regular competitor at the Sedona Poetry Slam, B-Jam is a Phoenix native, married father of three children. Gardea overcame both alcoholism and a rare hip disease that made him unable to walk. After getting sober and a total hip replacement, he had two goals: To share his poetry and and hike a mountain in Sedona. Three years later, B-Jam is the 2023 ASPS State Poetry Slam champion, ranked 10th nationally and has curated writers workshops, featured at poetry events, won a grant to publish a poetry book and is the host and producer of the popular PHX Poetry Slam.

“Poetry has changed my life and I want to be a caretaker of the artform for future generations to explore and become part of, because I know that poetry can make the most profound impact on human beings,” B-Jam said. 

B-Jam, photo by Sedona Poetry Slam

What is Poetry Slam? 

Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984 by Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. Poetry slams are judged by five randomly chosen members of the audience who assign numerical value to individual poets' contents and performances.

Host Christopher Fox Graham, photo by David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers

Poetry slam has become an international artistic sport, with more than 100 major poetry slams in the United States, Canada, Australia and Western Europe. Slam poets have opened at the Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmons' Def Poets" on HBO.

Stacy Eden, photo by David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers

Sedona has sent four-poet teams to represent the city at the National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C., Boston, Cambridge, Mass., Oakland, Calif., Decatur, Ga., Denver and Chicago.

Randy Morris, photo by David Jolkovski/Larson Newspapers

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Buddy Wakefield: "A Waste" in Round 2 of the 2004 iWPS in Greenville, SC

Taylor Mali, MC, introduces Buddy Wakefield who performs "A Waste" in Round 2 of the 2004 iWPS in Greenville, SC
Videographers: Gabrielle Bouliane and Tazuo Yamaguchi 


BUDDY WAKEFIELD is an actor, writer, producer, and three-time world champion spoken word artist featured on the BBC, HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, ABC Radio National and has been signed to both Sage Francis’ Strange Famous Records as well as Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records. In 2004 he won the first Individual World Poetry Slam Finals thanks to the support of anthropologist and producer Norman Lear, then went on to share the stage with nearly every notable performance poet in the world in over 2000 venues internationally from The Great Lawn of Central Park, Zimbabwe’s Shoko Festival and Scotland’s Oran Mor to San Quentin State Penitentiary, House of Blues New Orleans and The Basement in Sydney, Australia.

Buddy has been a busker in Amsterdam, a street vendor in Spain, a team leader in Singapore, a re-delivery boy, a candy maker, a street sweeper, a bartender, a maid, a construction worker, a bull rider, a notably slow triathlete, a facilitator at Quantum Learning Network, and is the most toured performance poet in history. He is the founder of Awful Good Writers, and the producer and host of Heavy Hitters Festival 2020, a summer-long series of online shows and workshops featuring thirty of the most beloved performance poets alive.

The inaugural author released on Write Bloody Publishing, and an original Board of Directors member with Youth Speaks Seattle, Buddy is published in dozens of books internationally with work used to win multiple national collegiate debate and forensics competitions. His first short film, Farmly, directed by Jamie DeWolf, won Best of Texas at the Literally Short Film Fest, and the USA Film Festival.

In the spring of 2001 Buddy left his position as the executive assistant at a biomedical firm in Gig Harbor, WA, sold or gave away everything he owned, moved to the small town of Honda Civic, then set out to live for a living. His aim was to tour North American poetry venues for two years. He did not stop. Wakefield, who isn’t concerned with what poetry is or is not, delivers raw, rounded, disarming performances of humor and heart. 

Friday, February 16, 2024

My grandfather was a union man

On August 19, 1959, Mine-Mill Workers went on strike against the Anaconda Company after failed negotiations. 

Miners from Butte, Anaconda, Great Falls, and Helena set up pickets around the company’s mining properties. After 181 days, the strike ended, and miners could return to work on February 16, 1960. The 1959 strike was the second-longest in the history of Butte.

My grandfather, Raymond Graham, served as president of the West Falls Local, and mentioned in a Dec. 11, 1959, story in the The Independent-Record from Helena on Page 9.


He was serving as secretary of the Local when it ended in Feb. 16, 1960, and was quoted by an Associated Press reporter.




1952 Labor Day parade in Great Falls, Montana




Sunday, January 21, 2024

Sedona Poetry Slam on Feb. 3 will select three poets for the All-Arizona Championship Poetry Slam


Performance poets will compete for the third time this season, bringing high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3.

B-Jam

The top three poets will be representing Sedona at the All-Arizona Championship Poetry Slam that will be held in the town of Maricopa on March 9.

Lydia Gates

A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Anyone can sign up to compete in the slam for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. 

R.J. Walker, a featured poet from St. Lake City, performed Jan. 13.

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.

Sondraya Bradley

Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. Poets come from as far away as Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff, competing against adult poets from Sedona and Cottonwood, college poets from Northern Arizona University and youth poets from Sedona Red Rock High School. 

Josh Wiss

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. 

Raina Jane

All poets get three minutes per round to entertain and inspire the audience with their creativity.


The Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.

Kate Martin

The next poetry slam of the season will be held on Saturdays, March 9; April 13, featuring Briana Grace Hammerstrom of Portland. Ore., by way of Flagstaff, May 11 and finally on June 8.

Roger Blakiston

The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.

Cylie Lawrence

Email foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up early to compete or by the Friday before the slam or at the door the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive. 

Damien Matthews

For more information, visit sedonafilmfestival.com or foxthepoet.blogspot.com. For a full list of slam poetry events in Arizona, visit azpoet.com.


All-Arizona Championship Poetry Slam

The All-Arizona Championship Poetry Slam will take place Saturday, March 9, at the Global Water Maricopa Center in the town of Maricopa. Poets from around the state will compete in slams held in four communities — Sedona, Flagstaff, Maricopa and Prescott — with each selecting their top three poets to send to the finals, in addition to drawing for the final three slots.

The 15 poets will compete in the championships hosted by Thomas Cooper, a slam poet from the Phoenix area who has represented Arizona a several regional events, and who made it to the finals ot the  Bigfoot Poetry Slam in Oregon. Cooper has coached youth slam teams, featured at events, judged slams and hosted events, which is now his focus.

Founded in 2018 and formerly hosted the late Arizona slam poetry legend Bernard “The Klute” Schober, the All-Arizona Championship is sponsored by the Maricopa Arts Council and the city of Maricopa.



What is Poetry Slam? 

Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984 by Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. Poetry slams are judged by five randomly chosen members of the audience who assign numerical value to individual poets' contents and performances.


Poetry slam has become an international artistic sport, with more than 100 major poetry slams in the United States, Canada, Australia and Western Europe. Slam poets have opened at the Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmons' Def Poets" on HBO.

Sedona has sent four-poet teams to represent the city at the National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C., Boston, Cambridge, Mass., Oakland, Calif., Decatur, Ga., Denver and Chicago.

Lydia Gates