“The Most Human” (with sincere apologies to Adam Nimoy)

I performed two poems at Lowell Observatory's annual I ❤ Pluto Festival Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Orpheum Theatre. The featured guests were Adam Nimoy, a television director and son of the late actor Leonard Nimoy; Alan Stern, Ph.D., Principal Investigator of the New Horizons Mission to Pluto; comet-hunter David Levy, who co-discovered Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (D/1993 F2) with Flagstaff scientists Gene and Carolyn Shoemaker.

This was the second of the two poems I wrote for the event. Adam Nimoy gave me standing ovation as I left the stage. I'm so glad he enjoyed this poem about his dad.

Adam Nimoy emailed me after the festival:

"Thank you for all of this, Christopher. Very thoughtful, thought provoking, and just simply well said.

A fitting tribute to a man and an icon both of whom have become so much a part of our collective psyche.

LLAP,

Adam"

“The Most Human”

(with sincere apologies to Adam Nimoy)

by Christopher Fox Graham

“Space: the final frontier”

urged us to look beyond this earth

upwards

to trek across the stars

to contemplate what’s beyond the event horizon

of Doomsday Machine black holes

wonder, awestruck at the Menagerie

of metronomic pulsars

of sapphire-amethyst nebulae

stretching across light years 

to go where no man has gone before

Mercury, Gemini and Apollo brought men

to the edge of space and beyond

but before Armstrong set foot on the moon

we were already among the stars

as silent passengers aboard our 

Enterprise

This model of the starship Enterprise was used in the original 1966-1969 "Star Trek" TV show, donated to the National Air and Space Museum in 1974.

to shorten impossible distances,

we warped space itself

for the sake of plot 

and beamed down to worlds

we will never reach

never see in our lifetime

on this side of the screen

the Red Scare

Japanese Internment camps

and Segregation weren’t yesterdays

but ancient history

sins forgiven, but never forgotten

the Enemy Within, a Balance of Terror

between human nature and our better angels

we Let That past Be Our Last Battlefield

understanding "without followers, evil cannot spread" 

and formed a United Federation

of planets and crew

the future was now

and now was history, 

Pavel Chekov navigated the course

Hikaru Sulu helmed the ship

Nyota Uhura spoke unsilenced for them all

Montgomery Scott could work miracles down below

amid redshirts 

who deaths were never statistics

but revelations that danger

hides amid the stars

we could remain safe here

trapped on This Side of Paradise

in All Our Yesterdays 

but this fragile starship Earth,

is a City on the Edge of Forever,

and the Devil is in the Dark

so we go boldly 

to seek strange new worlds,

new life and new civilizations

ethos, pathos, logos commanding in trinity

James Kirk the spirit,

Bones McCoy the heart 

and Spock the mind

Crew of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 in 2266: Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott [James Doohan], Ensign Pavel Chekov [Walter Koenig], Lt. Cmdr./Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy [DeForest Kelley], nurse Christine Chapel [Majel Barrett], Captain James T. Kirk [William Shatner], Lt. Nyota Uhura [Nichelle Nichols], Cmdr. Spock [Leonard Nimoy] and Lt. Hikaru Sulu [George Takei], from left

passion and compassion

can’t survive long 

with death outside the bulkheads

only cold Vulcan logic could rationalize 

that the needs of the many 

outweigh the needs of the few

or the one

Spock was too human to be Vulcan,

and too Vulcan to be human,

a exile son of two worlds

fully from neither

fully from both

Photo from "Star Trek: Spock's Entire Prime Universe Timeline,Explained" ScreenRant

with pointed ears that marked him as “other,”

Spock mirrored us to ourselves

wondered what made us human

questioned what we took for granted

pushed against illogical behaviors

we accept without question

“logic is the beginning of wisdom, 

not the end”

the old Vulcan proverb says

“only Nixon could go to China”

and only Leonard Nimoy could be Spock

Mr. Nimoy,

you, too, were of two worlds

an exile son of the old 

but a citizen of the new

fully from neither 

but fully from both

your grandfather, the adventurer, 

left behind the ghosts of the old nations

came to this America, 

the mother of exiles

this safe shore for the tempest-tossed

your parents fled a shtetl in Russia

to escape pogroms and Cossack raids

your father, walking across the border to Poland

your mother, smuggled out in a hay wagon

you were born in Boston’s West End, 

speaking Yiddish with your grandmother

keeping Kosher in a city of gentiles

with rough accents and strange customs

but a sky full of the same stars

they arrived as aliens, 

and became citizens

you went to Hollywood 

and became an alien

a bridge between past and present

telling tales from the future

not burdened by history

not bound to earth

you forged Spock, 

making him more you than Roddenberry

maintaining character between shoots

the voice of reason

emotions restrained

logical, rational, distant from the chaos

you transformed a priestly blessing from synagogue

into the Vulcan salute

mainstreaming a childhood memory 

of your orthodox upbringing

into the American melting pot 

“Live Long and Prosper” a shibboleth

so we nerds and fans 

Trekkies and Trekkers,

may know each other by it

you, Mr. Nimoy as Mr. Spock,

became a symbol for NASA and astronomers

who wore pointed ears to Star Trek conventions 

after weeks studying the cosmos

when Spock fell at the Battle of the Mutara Nebula

his death shook two galaxies

sacrificing himself to save the ship and the crew

dying as he lived

his final words:

“I have been... 

and always shall be... 

your friend”

said to Kirk, but meant for all of us

you and Spock speaking as one

and you are our friend, Mr. Nimoy,

even if only met through the screen

Hollywood cast and Starfleet crew

brought Spock back,

McCoy lost his mind holding your katra

Kirk lost his son, his ship, his command

the crew destroyed a planet

destroyed the Enterprise

“Because the needs of the one... “

“outweigh the needs of the many”

and your fascinating story was not yet over

neither in time 

nor in timeline

true friendship transcends death

The cast on the set of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country," in 1991, the last film where the original crew appeared as a group.

your final words, off screen, Mr. Nimoy,

were your blessing, LLAP

“Live Long and Prosper”

fully human, fully Vulcan

even at the end

you gave yourself,

to give us Spock

You did not feel this sacrifice a vain or empty one, 

and we will not debate your profound wisdom at these proceedings 

Of our friend

We can only say this: 

Of all the souls we have encountered in our travels, 

yours was the most ... 

human

External Links:

"The Most Human: Reconciling with My Father, Leonard Nimoy," a new memoir by Adam Nimoy.

"765874" by OTOY

(It's best to just watch this four-part series and not ask any questions about how they were made until you finish, if at all. Just accept these pieces as they are, as high art, as filmmaking, as storytelling, then watch them and walk away satisfied.

If you are curious about how and why they were made, and the tremendous work and love that went into them, the story is amazing)

   

 "765874 - Memory Wall" by OTOY

   

 "765874 - Regeneration" by OTOY

   

 "765874 - Unification" by OTOY 

Kirk and Spock get the final goodbye they never had on screen.

 

Leonard Nimoy's Oral History from the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Mass.

"Sur­viv­ing Leonard Nimoy’s Super­hu­man Salute"

Lowell Observatory honored me with an asteroid: 29722 Chrisgraham (1999 AQ23) after the I ❤ Pluto Festival

My friend, Kevin Schindler, presenting me with the map of the orbit of asteroid 29722 Chrisgraham (1999 AQ23) on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. Kevin first invited me to perform at I ❤ Pluto Festival in 2023, then again in 2024. This year, he told me Alan Stern, Ph.D. from the New Horizons mission to Pluto, and Adam Nimoy were going to be the guests and asked if I wanted to write two poems, so I wrote two new pieces "The New Horizon" and "The Most Human," which I debuted at the festival. (Note Kevin's custom Pluto tie).

Arizona State Rep. Justin Wilmeth [District 2], Astronomy magazine editor-in-chief David Eicher, comet hunter David Levy and Christopher Fox Graham at Lowell Observatory with the map of the orbit of asteroid 29722 Chrisgraham (1999 AQ23) on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.

I performed two poems at Lowell Observatory's annual I ❤ Pluto Festival last night at the Orpheum Theatre.  I wrote two new pieces "The New Horizon," about Leonard Nimoy and his role as Spock, and "The Most Human,"  about the New Horizon mission to Pluto.

The featured guests were Adam Nimoy, a television director and son of the late actor Leonard Nimoy; Alan Stern, Ph.D., Principal Investigator of the New Horizons Mission to Pluto; comet-hunter David Levy, who co-discovered Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (D/1993 F2) with Flagstaff scientists Gene and Carolyn Shoemaker. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 famously broke apart in July 1992 and its pieces slammed into Jupiter in July 1994, the first collision of two of extraterrestrial Solar System objects that was direct observable.

Adam Nimoy speaking about his father, Leonard Nimoy and his new book, "The Most Human: Reconciling with My Father, Leonard Nimoy."

Adam Nimoy, David Levy, Alan Stern, Ph.D., and David Eicher, from left, on stage at the Orpheum Theater in Flagstaff.

Alan Stern, Ph.D., answering an audience question about the New Horizons mission to Pluto.

Nimoy, Stern and Levy participated in a discussion on how scientific exploration inspires humanity moderated by David Eicher, editor-in-chief of Astronomy magazine.

Adam Nimoy and Christopher Fox Graham after I ❤ Pluto Festival giving the Vulcan Salute

Alan Stern and Christopher Fox Graham after I ❤ Pluto Festival giving the Pluto Salute

After the event, a number of us -- Nimoy, Levy, Eicher, my good friend Lowell Observatory Historian and Public Information Officer Kevin Schindler, Chief Marketing Officer Cody Half-Moon and Arizona State Rep. Justin Wilmeth [District 2], who wrote the bill the named Pluto as Arizona's Official State Planet in 2024 -- headed over Lowell Observatory's Giovale Open Deck Observatory to look through telescopes at Mars, Jupiter, the Moon and the Orion Nebula. The staff stayed after hours to keep the GODO in place so we could use the telescopes.

Giovale Open Deck Observatory

Afterward, as Levy, Eicher, Wilmeth and I were walking back to the parking lot, Kevin said he had a gift for me ...

... an asteroid!

29722 Chrisgraham (1999 AQ23)

According to the description:

"29722 Chrisgraham" was discovered Jan. 14, 1999, by LONEOS at Anderson Mesa. Christopher Fox Graham (b. 1979) is an American journalist and longtime managing editor of Sedona Red Rock News. He is a nationally-recognized slam poet who has written and performed multiple poems about Pluto and other space themes."

It's 4 to 5 kilometers in diameter, orbiting the sun in just over 1,552 days, or 4.249 years.

Current location of asteroid 29722 Chrisgraham (1999 AQ23)

It has an inclination of 14.70 degrees from the ecliptic:

Asteroid 29722 Chrisgraham (1999 AQ23) is off the ecliptic by 14.70 degrees

And an orbital eccentricity of 0.123 (0 being a perfect circle, 1 being a parabola; e.g., Earth has an eccentricity of 0.016709 while Halley's comet has an eccentricity of 0.96658):

Huge thanks to Larry Wasserman, Ph.D., the longtime Lowell Observatory astronomer who maintains the Asteroid Orbital Elements Database and sends nominations for asteroid names to the International Astronomical Union.

Special thanks to Kevin Schindler (obviously) and Justin Wilmeth, David Levy and David Eicher for being part of our impromptu celebration.

Track asteriod 29722 Chrisgraham (1999 AQ23) here: ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html 

Osculating Orbital Elements

Epoch 2460800.5 (2025-May-05.0) TDB
Reference: JPL 57 (heliocentric IAU76/J2000 ecliptic)

Element	Value	Uncertainty (1-sigma)	Units
e	0.123863053596922	6.4653E-10
a	2.623394965358557	6.7557E-10	au
q	2.298453254158455	1.64E-9	au
i	14.70847304577334	3.2354E-8	deg
node	135.1805250376861	1.8459E-7	deg
peri	98.0162157504617	3.36E-7	deg
M	354.1630116692738	4.4962E-7	deg
tp	2460825.664034520440 2025-May-30.16403452	1.9454E-6	TDB
period	1552.007972959458 4.249166250402348	5.995E-7 1.6413e-9	d y
n	0.2319575712704176	8.96E-11	deg/d
Q	2.948336676558659	7.5925E-10	au

Huge thanks to Kevin and his team at Lowell Observatory who run an amazing event: Chief Marketing Officer Cody Half-Moon, Marketing Operations Coordinator Heather Craig, Communication Designer Alex Elbert, Brand Manager Sarah Gilbert and Content Writer Madison Mooney, as well as Lowell Observatory Operations Manager Amanda Bosh, Ph.D., who manages the observatory and the staff. She and Kevin are great at making the I ❤ Pluto Festival more than just an astronomy event by incorporating the community, bringing in local officials, glass-blower George Averbeck to create ornaments for the speakers, Mother Road Brewing Company founder Michael Marquess to brew a special beer every year and a poet to perform poems about Pluto and space.

Backstage in the green room at the Orpheum Theater with David Eicher, David Levy, Adam Nimoy, Kevin Schindler (standing) and Alan Stern, Ph.D., from left. Arizona State Rep. Justin Wilmeth [District 2] is reflected in the mirror.

I'm performing at the I Heart Pluto Festival, whose keynote speakers are Adam Nimoy, Dr. Alan Stern and David Levy

On Feb. 15, 2025, Lowell Observatory and the Orpheum Theater will present A Night of Discovery, commemorating the 95th anniversary of Clyde Tombaugh’s discovery of Pluto and the 10th anniversary of the New Horizons mission to explore this icy world. This is the keynote event of the 6th annual I Heart Pluto Festival, with the theme “To Boldly go Beyond New Horizons.”

Adam Nimoy, left, sporting “Spock ears” with his father, Leonard Nimoy. Photo by Adam Nimoy

The evening will feature an exclusive conversation with distinguished guests Adam Nimoy, a television director and son of the late actor Leonard Nimoy.

Adam Nimoy

Dr. Alan Stern (Principal Investigator of the New Horizons Mission to Pluto), 

Sol Alan Stern is an American engineer, planetary scientist and space tourist. He is the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Chief Scientist at Moon Express

and comet-hunting legend David Levy. David Eicher, Editor-in-Chief of Astronomy magazine, will moderate this discussion on how scientific exploration inspires humanity.

David Howard Levy, a Canadian amateur astronomer, science writer and discoverer of comets and minor planets, who co-discovered Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 in 1993.

Nimoy’s father starred in the iconic Star Trek television show, Stern led the New Horizons mission that revolutionized our understanding of Pluto, and Levy co-discovered — with legendary Flagstaff scientists Gene and Carolyn Shoemaker — Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, which collided with Jupiter in 1994. Each of these events captured the imagination of people around the world and spurred widespread curiosity about space and its exploration.

Following this discussion, Adam Nimoy will sign copies of his new book, "The Most Human: Reconciling with My Father, Leonard Nimoy" and the entire panel will also sign event posters. Books and posters will be available for purchase at the Orpheum throughout the evening.

Lowell Observatory Executive Director Dr. Amanda Bosh says, “We are pleased to join the Flagstaff community in celebrating our Pluto heritage and this esteemed group of presenters will inspire our imaginations to boldly go beyond our little corner of the solar system.”

Additional presentations and events during A Night of Discovery include:

Arizona State Rep. Justin Wilmeth will discuss the bill he introduced that declared Pluto as Arizona’s official state planet in 2024.

• Christopher Fox Graham, longtime editor of the Sedona Red Rock News and a noted slam poet, will read two poems he wrote honoring Pluto and Leonard Nimoy
• Lowell Observatory Historian Kevin Schindler will recount the story of Clyde Tombaugh’s discovery of Pluto on February 18, 1930, and how he ended up at the Orpheum on that momentous evening
• Flagstaff Mayor Becky Daggett and Coconino County Supervisor Patrice Horstman will read proclamations celebrating this year’s I Heart Pluto Festival
• FlagTagAZ will set up their popular axe-throwing cage just outside the Orpheum
• Lowell Observatory’s Starry Skies Shop will offer Pluto-themed merchandise for sale
• A Pluto-themed beer, created especially for this year’s I Heart Pluto Festival by Mother Road Brewing Company, will be available. Additional beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, as well as food will also be available for purchase throughout the evening

Doors open to the public at 6pm, with programs commencing at 7pm.

General admission tickets, as well as a VIP option that provides access to a private reception at 5pm with the presenters prior to the main program, are available at

wl.seetickets.us/event/i-heart-pluto-a-night-of-discovery/629870?afflky=OrpheumTheater

Background of the I Heart Pluto Festival

Flagstaff is often referred to as the “Home of Pluto” due to its significant contributions to research of this icy world. These efforts include Percival Lowell’s early searches for a ninth planet, “Planet X”; Clyde Tombaugh’s discovery of Pluto on February 18, 1930; Jim Christy’s detection of Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, in 1978; the first observation of Pluto’s atmosphere in 1988; early maps of Pluto’s surface; the New Horizons flyby of the Pluto system in 2015, and more. 

To celebrate this rich heritage, Lowell Observatory inaugurated the I Heart Pluto Festival in 2020. This community event is held annually on or near February 18. 

About Lowell Observatory

Founded in 1894, Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, is a prestigious nonprofit research institution renowned for its historic and groundbreaking discoveries, including the first evidence of the expanding universe and the discovery of Pluto. Today, Lowell's astronomers utilize global ground-based and space telescopes, along with NASA spacecraft, for diverse astronomical and planetary science research. The observatory hosts more than 100,000 visitors annually for educational tours, presentations, and telescope viewing through a suite of world-class public telescopes.

City of Sedona and Community Library Sedona launches search for Sedona Poet Laureate

City of Sedona & Community Library Sedona Poet Laureate Program

The city of Sedona in collaboration with the Community Library Sedona seek poet applicants for Sedona’s first Inaugural Poet Laureate Program. One senior and one junior poet will serve as ambassadors for a two-year term to elevate education in literature by promoting an appreciation of poetry in the community, and to inspire an emerging generation of literary artists and readers within our local schools. 

This announcement reflects City Council’s desire to continue to support and expand arts and culture programming within the city.  

Both poet laureates are expected to perform the following duties throughout their appointment: 

• Give up to four public readings per year. 
• Compose poems for community events and ceremonial occasions as requested. 
• Provide poetry workshops to area schools.  
• Pursue a major literary project with an emphasis on outreach and education, in addition to community outreach projects as requested. 
• Collaborate with other poet laureate programs in Arizona. 

The Senior Poet Laureate will receive a stipend of $2,000 for their two-year term and the Junior Poet Laureate will receive a scholarship to further their education. Both poets will receive per-diem costs for school outreach and workshops. 

The selection process 

The process will begin with a work group reviewing all applications and selecting up to five finalists. This group consists of the city of Sedona Arts and Culture Specialist Nancy Lattanzi, Executive Director Judy Poe of the Community Library Sedona and several local literary colleagues, including Rex Arrasmith, a widely published poet who spearheaded this initiative, Christopher Fox Graham, a poet who has been running the Sedona Poetry Slam for 16 years, Sedona Red Rock High School English teacher Jill Swaninger and Sedona Financial Services Director Barbara Whitehorn, whose father was apoet. 

The finalists will perform and be scored at four different consecutive events, including the Moment of Art at the City Council meeting on April 8, 2025; Mary D. Fisher Theater on April 12; the Community Library Sedona on April 16; and Tlaquepaque in late April. The two highest ranking applicants will be notified and appointed by the City Council at an upcoming City Council meeting in May. 

Eligibility 

To be eligible for this appointment, all applicants will undergo a background check and must: 

• Reside within the Sedona-Oak Creek School District boundaries for at least one year from the application date and must reside there for at least six months of the year. If applicants for the Senior Poet Laureate live outside the boundaries, they should demonstrate a strong connection to Sedona. 
• Be a poet in the literary arts in the community or beyond. 
• Be willing to make presentations throughout the Sedona area. 

The Junior Poet Laureate must meet the above requirements, as well as be a current student or recent graduate from a Sedona or Verde Valley schools, be between 16 and 20 years of age and willing to work closely with the Senior Poet Laureate. 

Sedona-Oak Creek School District boundaries

How to apply 

The deadline for nominations is March 19, 2025 by 5 p.m. To apply, send the following materials: 

• Cover letter with name, address, phone, email and publication history. 
• Statement describing why the nominee should be considered, why this appointment is important to the nominee, the nominee’s connection to Sedona and a brief proposal of planned initiatives and events designed to promote poetry within the community. 
• Writing samples of the nominee’s work published or unpublished, not to exceed 10 pages. 
• Nominee’s current resume or curriculum vitae.  

Please mail or email nomination packets to: 

Tasha Spuches, Assistant Director, Community Library Sedona
3250 White Bear Road
Sedona, AZ 86336
TSpuches@communitylibrarysedona.org 

More information 

For more information on the Poet Laureate Program, contact city Arts and Culture Specialist Nancy Lattanzi at 928-203-5078 or NLattanzi@SedonaAZ.gov.  

Sedona Poetry Slam returns on Saturday, Feb. 1

With 2024 in the rear-view mirror and 2025 underway, the Sedona Poetry Slam's 16th season, performance poets will bring high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, Feb 1, starting at 7:30 p.m.

A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. Poets come from as far away as Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott and Flagstaff, competing against local poets from Sedona and Cottonwood, college poets from Northern Arizona University and youth poets from Verde Valley high schools. 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.

Open Slam

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.

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.

The Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.

The next poetry slams will be on Saturdays, March 15, April 5, May 3 and finally on May 31.

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

For more information, visit sedonafilmfestival.com or foxthepoet.blogspot.com.

For a full list of slam poetry events in Arizona, visit azpoet.com.

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. 

Flagstaff legend Ryan Smalley features at the Sedona Poetry Slam on Saturday, Oct. 19

The Sedona Poetry Slam hosts the second slam of its 16th year as performance poets bring high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Saturday, Oct. 19.

Between rounds, Flagstaff spoken word legend Ryan Smalley will perform a featured set.

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.

Ryan Smalley

Originally hailing from Alaska, Smalley attended Northern Arizona University to study political science, but left with an enduring love of spoken word and the written form.

His experience with music and theatre weaves itself through his works, leading to a frenetic display of wit, humor and social commentary through the rhythms of spoken word.

This combination has taken him to poetry competitions all over the country, competing with colleagues from all of Arizona to perform in Chicago, Denver, Portland, Ore., and Oakland, Calif. His nuanced writing combines seamlessly to deliver high-powered performances alone or in concert with others.

His approach to spoken word feels modern, yet arcane, exploring the intricacies of the internet and modern society as breathlessly as love, community and the natural world. His focus on the interconnectedness of these subjects, along with his deft performance style has captivated audiences for more than a decade.

Smalley won the Flagstaff Grand Poetry Slam three years in a row, from 2014 to 2016, against some of the top poets in Northern Arizona and was on the Flagstaff National Poetry Slam Team in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018, showcasing his talents across the country on behalf of his home community.

Open Slam

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. Tickets are $12 in advanceor $15 at the door. For tickets, call 282-1177, visitSedonaFilmFestival.org or click here.

The next poetry slams of the season will be held on Saturdays, Nov. 9, Feb 1, March 15, April 5, May 3 and finally on May 31.

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.

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

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.