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.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Sending David Blair to Burning Man

While I normally find burning poetry a sacrilege, I am sending a copy of “Detroit (while I was away)” by David Blair with Azami for her to burn at the Temple of Juno when she leaves for Burning Man in about an hour.

Fly high above Black Rock City, Blair. May the ashes reach Detroit, your beloved city.

Fa una canzone senza note nere
se mai bramasti la mia grazia havere.
Falla d'un tuonó ch'invita al dormire,
dolcemente, dolcemente facendo la finire



Blair performs "Detroit"
Producer: Connie Mangilin, Philip Lauri
Camera: Sean Redenz
Editor: Steven Oliver


David Blair
Photo by David Lewinski Photography
“Detroit (while I was away)”
By David Blair


Even though I know the air hangs
like a dead dog’s ass over River Rouge,
I still miss you. Your fenced in gardens
filled with sustenance and Saturday

evening draped over a back alley porch.
The September stench that creeps
slow as a Woodward bus on Sunday.
Black tires crawling in summer heat.

Your acoustic guitars and amplified hair.
Your rows of long thin buildings,
arranged on a young man’s head.
Last time I saw you, a woman stood

on a corner conducting traffic.
Her own sunken opera.
A crack pipe baton. Car horns joined
in like a bad man cruising a dream.
She stood on the stage of Cass and Mack

dying to reach Joy Rd. The moon left
its spotlight on a backdrop of burnt buildings.
Yellow police tape posed like velvet rope.
Do Not Cross.

A picket line of teens careened down Cass
past broken glass that spread
like urban sprawl, a Diego Rivera mural
painted across the DIA wall.

Another time I saw you,
steam barreled out of your manhole covers
like you were about to explode. A soul imbibed
forty ounces of courage so it could head back to the axle plant

on Lynch Road, Jefferson or some other
conveyor belt street that gets everyone moving
in step like a Temptation line dance.
22 ounces of sweat and iron hidden in a bathroom stall.

Away from the plant tours and fat cats,
shop stewards and snitches. I remember you
old friend. I’m in another city now.
But Martin Luther King St. always looks the same.

It just doesn’t intersect with Rosa Parks,
12th Street where ‘67 fires started,
named for a woman who chose you beyond
a boycott in Montgomery, then rode

the front of that big old dog
straight home to you Detroit, I love you...

from your basketball sun, that hangs in the sky
then falls, only to bounce back up tomorrow. Down
to your alligator shoes. I’ll kiss you on the river.
Meet you in the middle of a suitcase and wonder

do you think of me this way...?
Do you even know I’ve gone? Say my name, Detroit.
I pray you claim me. A small town boy.
Born in New Jersey, but made in Detroit.
My heart beats like tool and die for you.
like horse power and pistons for you,
while mechanized, lumpenized robot
zombies haunt Mack Avenue.

Here they come, a gang of buildings in tank tops,
Mack Trucks in do rags, marching
down to Hastings Street.
Though I never knew you back when
you wore your onyx necklace
like a tire around your neck, I witness

the aftermath. Dipping your blue black hands
in electric currents of music and art. The circumference
of Outer Drive. Moross and Joy.
Paris of the Midwest they called you.

And every time ‘67 fires or Halloween came around,
you lived up to it. The year I was born, you blew up.
I heard it. I came when I could. I’ve never left.
I stay, even when I go. Chosen heart.
Adopted town. From Belle Isle to Eight Mile.

Chocolate city where the mothership landed.
Late night downtown and the peacocks are out
on Fourth Street, calling to billboards
that hover over highways, telling stories to streetlamps.
The moon is a plate full of soul food, Mexican food.
Pierogies and paczkis. Kafta and curry
We mix and separate, mix and separate.

Each Prentis stoop is a garage rock chord
strummed and banged, like a car mechanics sledge.
A man screams beneath the Ambassador bridge.
Another drums on plastic tubs for tourists.
“Will work for food” is a piece of poetry
scribbled on an art house wall.

Festival wizards, Saunderson, Atkins and May.
The Big Three. De trois, of three.
Black panthers, white panthers and Lions, oh my.
Tight boys in rock pants, the hustlers in Palmer Park.
Lovers, thugs and blues men with axes
sharp enough to cut down another forced overtime shift.
The sun dresses flowing like the Detroit River. Supremely
turning, bending with the weight of the city. Detroit,

your beautiful hair woven women, putting on gloves
and grabbing tools next to me on the assembly line,
teaching me what perseverance and being a brother is
all about. Overtime fists clocking. These are the hands
that braid hair and lock dread, cook meat that falls
right off the bone into fat, black pots of collards working harder
and harder...
and harder still...

...so step on, Detroit,
dribble and shoot,
pass and play,
struggle and fight,
darken and light,
drive and impel,
riot and quell, pick the steel burrs
off the cross members at the front of the Jeep Cherokee.
Look what we have made you. Steam and steel.
Still, that’s how hard I love you.


David Blair
Sept. 19, 1967 -- July 23, 2011
David Alan Blair “Blair”, age 43, born Sept. 19, 1967, passed away Saturday, July 23, 2011. David grew up in Newton, N.J., but came to call Detroit his adopted home. He is the son of Hildegard Blair and Herbert Blair.

Blair was an award-winning, multi-faceted artist: poet, singer-songwriter, writer, performer, musician, community activist and teacher. In the words of Metro Times journalist Melissa Giannini, “Blair focused his work on the hope that rises from the ashes of despair.”

A 2010 Callaloo Fellow and a National Poetry Slam Champion, his first book of poetry, Moonwalking, was recently released by Penmanship Books. Blair, as a solo artist, and with The Urban Folk Collective, self-released more than seven records in the last ten years. His most recent album, The Line, with his band The Boyfriends, was released in 2010 on Repeatable Silence Records.

Throughout his life, Blair performed at venues, large and small, across the nation and around the world. He was nominated for seven Detroit Music Awards, including a 2007 nod for Outstanding Acoustic Artist. He was named Real Detroit Weekly Readers Poll’s Best Solo Artist and The Metro Times Best Urban Folk Poet. In 2007, he won the Seattle-based BENT Writing Institute Mentor Award.

As well as being the recipient of numerous awards, he taught classes and lectured on poetry and music in Detroit Public Schools, The Ruth Ellis Center, Hannan House Senior Center, the YMCA of Detroit, and at various universities, colleges and high schools across the country.

Blair has friends and fans on almost every continent. He will be greatly missed by the loved ones he left all too early. He is preceded in death by his father, Herbert Blair. He is survived by his mother, Hildegard (Smith), siblings Herbert Blair (who resides in Pennsylvania), Tony Blair (New Jersey), Walter Blair (Florida), Joy Blair Swinson (New Hampshire) and many nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles.


And every raindrop falling from the sky
is like a tribute to the blue skies following behind,
And every raindrop falling to the sea
is like a testament to a new life that will come to be.
~Blair

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Kevin Holmes features at Sundara on Aug. 25

Touring slam poet Kevin Holmes features at Sundara Boutique & Gallery, 22 East Route 66, Flagstaff, at 7 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 25.

Kevin Holmes is the Santa Cruz Slammaster, Team Coach, and Anchor Poet.

Kevin led the first Santa Cruz slam team to a 3rd place finish at the 2010 National Poetry Slam's Group Piece finals. In 2011, as a poet coach, he returned to NPS to tie for 5th. 


Kevin Holmes (famed Santa Cruz Slam Poet) Came up with Dusty Rose to Feature at the Chicoslam. Flmed April 15, 2010 in 1080i HiDef
 
Before co-founding the new Santa Cruz Slam, Kevin's surreal political commentary somehow won a 2009 Berkley finals and took a top 20 finish at the Individual World Poetry Slam. Kevin enjoys homemade deep fried tofu, Doctor Who, and dry gin.

Kevin has been involved with the University of California Santa Cruz's campus slam team since 2004 as poet and then a coach. In 2009 his coaching pressed the UCSC team to a 2nd place finish at the Collegiate Union Poetry Slam Invitational.

When not lingering around dimly lit rooms with microphones, Kevin works with special needs students.


Kevin Holmes' winning poem at Tourettes Without Regrets. Filmed and edited by Zero Coordinate Inc.

Fifty Years of Exploration to Our Neighboring Planets

Fifty Years of Exploration
The first attempts to reach Mars (1960) and Venus (1961) failed, yet triumph followed quickly. Of the nearly 200 solar, lunar, and interplanetary missions depicted on this map, most have been Earth's closest neighbors. As rocketry, navigation, and imaging have become ever more capable and reliable, the planets and many of their moons have been examined in detail. The New Horizons mission to Pluto is under way, as is the MESSENGER mission to Mercury. Others not yet launched, perhaps not yet dreamed, await. --National Geographic

Monday, August 20, 2012

"Unrequited Love Poem" by Sierra DeMulder



Sierra DeMulder performs "Unrequited Love Poem" in St. Paul, Minnesota.

In addition to winning the 2009 and 2010 National Poetry Slams with Saint Paul, Sierra DeMulder ranked 9th at the Individual World Poetry Slam, 11th at the Women of the World Poetry Slam and coached MacAlester College to Final Stage at College Union Poetry Slam Invitational2010. She was awarded Best Female Poet at CUPSI 2009 and in January 2010, her first full-length manuscript, "The Bones Below: Poems by Sierra DeMulder," was published in 2010 by Write Bloody Publishing. She released her second book, New Shoes on a Dead Horse, in 2012, coincidentally on my birthday, March 12.

Sierra DeMulder on tumblr



Video by A Poem Observed // Button Poetry

Poetry Observed is committed to producing high quality videos of performance poetry, off the stage. The first series features Twin Cities-based poets and was produced in collaboration with Button Poetry.

"Snakes & Bees," group poem by Slam New Orleans


The poem, "Snakes & Bees," that sent Slam New Orleans on to win the 2012 National Poetry Slam. The team scored a 27.7, 0.4 higher than the second-place team and SNO never looked back.
The poets are, front row, left to right, Kataalyst, Tarriona Tank Ball and Sha'Condria ICon Sibley with Akeem Martin in the back.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

"Oil Dealers & Deepwater Part II – Étouffée" redux


Part II – Étouffée


the last thing he remembered
was her étouffée
the way shrimp and chicken
could fall apart in his mouth
the texture of onion,
the soft burn of the bell pepper,
the crunch of celery
the way a drop of saffron
could flavor a whole meal
for a moment
after the alarm sounded
after the shock of fear subsided in his spine
he was there again
in her Baton Rouge kitchen
surrounded by the smell of her labors

he had seen a blowout on another rig
before BP
before Deepwater Horizon
everyone jumped to their posts
did their jobs
and when all was said and done
insurance wrote off the damage
and they thanked heaven no one got hurt

for a moment
he flashed back to that rig
hoped it would repeat

and as the rumble rose
his eyes dimmed
the world fell away from focus
and he could taste  her étouffée in his throat

the moment was too quick to prepare
he saw the faces of the men around him
he had seen them all today on the rig
they were 11 roughnecks who would go home
when the job was over
they were strangers before the rig
and they would be afterward
they always wanted to be forgettable
for a roughneck,
to have one’s name known
means you’ve fucked up
you screwed the boss’s daughter
you carelessly killed a man
or you died on a rig


they were 11 men
whose names would be remembered:
Jason Anderson
Aaron Dale Burkeen
Donald Clark
Stephen Curtis
Gordon Jones
Roy Wyatt Kemp
Karl Kleppinger
Blair Manuel
Dewey Revette
Shane Roshto
Adam Weise
no longer forgettable


when it came
the rip roar of steel and crude
swallowed in a sun
the last thing he remembered
was her étouffée
the last thought
was the smell of Cajun cooking
the feel of her arms around him
as the bowels of the earth
those billions of animals
compressed into oil
buried for millions of years
saw the sky again
released the rage of imprisonment
ignited into fire
rose into the sky
carried his disintegrated memories
with them
rising like steam
from a cooking pan
of her étouffée


the earth hemorrhaged billions of gallons
like a head wound
across the Gulf
to her, it was bloodstain


denied his body,
she collapsed
the first time she touched the oily surf
prayed that somewhere in the black crude
there was some drop of him
some molecule of her husband
the size of a saffron seed


after she walked home
barefoot from beach across the bayou
she refused to wash
the oil would fall away
but he would hold her
sink into her skin
flavor her like saffron
she has no gravesite to visit
but she can smell him in the kitchen
any time she cooks étouffée

Deepwater Horizona victims

Jason C. Anderson, 35, Midfield, Texas, father of two.
Aaron Dale Burkeen, 37, Philadelphia, Miss., married, father of two (14-year-old daughter Aryn and 6-year-old son Timothy), died four days before his 38th birthday.
Donald Clark, 49, Newellton, La., married to Sheila Clark.
Stephen Ray Curtis, 39, Georgetown, La., married and had two teenagers. Taught his son to hunt and play baseball and was active in his church.
Roy Wyatt Kemp, 27, Jonesville, La., married to Courtney Kemp.
Karl D. Kleppinger Jr., 38, Natchez, Miss., U.S. Army veteran of Operation Desert Storm, enjoyed NASCAR and cooking barbecue. Married with one son, Aaron.
Gordon L. Jones, 28, Baton Rouge. Wife Michelle Jones was nine months pregnant with their second son when he died.
Keith Blair Manuel, 56, Gonzales, La., father of three (Kelli Taquino, Jessica Manchester and Ashley Jo Manuel). Engaged to Melinda Becnel. Had season tickets to Louisiana State University baseball and football games.
Dewey A. Revette, 48, State Line, Miss., married with two daughters. Had been with Transocean for 29 years.
Shane M. Roshto, 22, Liberty, Miss., married to Natalie Roshto, father of 3-year-old Blain Michael.
Adam Weise, 24, Yorktown, Texas. During time off, the former high school football star spent time with his girlfriend, hunted deer and fished from his boat.

Oil Dealers & Deep Water Part I - redux

Part I – Oil Dealers*

drive the needle deeper
we need this to fuel us
drive it deeper
till it hits
suck it out like Mother Nature
was givin’ a blowjob
it hurts, yeah, but hurts more
when we don’t have none



used to have our own,
but never enough
I found some pure stuff
bought it cheap
right next door
who knew the neighbor was a dealer?
had to go under the water
not so easy and finding it in the dirt
but don’t matter none
once it goes in
you don’t think about where it came from



got it pure and cheap
got it from B.P.
always trust a Limey, I say
they talk like us and don’t do no wrong



drive the needle deeper
we need this to fuel us
drive it deeper
till it hits
suck it out like Mother Nature
was givin’ a blowjob
it hurts, yeah, but hurts more
when we don’t have none



we don’t trust the Saudi dealer anymore
he’s got too many issues
beats his wife for speaking out
little brothers always bitchin’
’bout how we smack ’em around
Saudi thinks we like him
but we won’t even know his name
if he didn’t have any



his crew don’t trust us none
last time we went there
one o’ them ragheads
left us with a bloody lip
knocked over a few towers in our neighborhood
but we done fucked him up good



we only go to the Saudi for this junk
when we’re desperate
— and when we’re armed, rollin’ with our boys
got to show ’em who’s boss
if you want a fair deal



had some homegrown
but it’s gone bunk
always need more
if we’re going to make it ride
and if it runs out
we still got the Saudi
he’s eager to deal
if he don’t sell to the Chinaman first
but if he do
we’ll just go back with bigger guns
bleed him dry till he’s done
maybe go visit the Chinaman
sure, he packs heat
and rides with his boys
but I think we can take him
We’re ’Mericans,
and we don’t take no shit
John Wayne wasn’t no pussy
we're bad motherfuck'rs



drive the needle deeper
we need this to fuel us
drive it deeper
till it hits
suck it out like Mother Nature
was givin’ a blowjob
it hurts, yeah, but hurts more
when we don’t have none



spill a little, no big deal
always more where this came from
if you lose control
let it flow, let it burn
give Mother Nature a facial
it hurts, yeah, but hurts more
when we don’t have none

*All BP satire logos from www.logomyway.com

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

FlagSlam Poetry Slam, round two

Total Scores

TeamRankScore
Slam Nahuatl, Richmond, Va.1114.3
Louder ARTS, Union Square, Manhattan, N.Y.2112.8
Seattle Poetry Slam, Seattle, Wash.3109.1
FlagSlam, Flagstaff, Ariz.4107
Rotation: 1
Team Performer Group Score
Seattle Poetry Slam Roma Raye 27.30
FlagSlam Ryan Brown:
"Goodbye"
26.60
Slam Nahuatl Group 27.60
Louder ARTS Catalina Ferro 26.80
Rotation: 2
Team Performer Group Score
Slam Nahuatl Rob Gibson 29.00
Seattle Poetry Slam Rose McAleese 26.50
Louder ARTS Group 29.00
FlagSlam Christopher Fox Graham & Tara Pollock:
"Dust (In the Corners of this Room)
Group 25.80
Rotation: 3
Team Performer Group Score
Seattle Poetry Slam Amber Flame 27.00
Louder ARTS Jamaal VS May 27.80
Slam Nahuatl Group 29.60
FlagSlam Jackson Morris:
"Education in America"
27.50
Rotation: 4
Team Performer Group Score
FlagSlam Nodalone:
"Identicals"
27.10
Louder ARTS Megan Falley 29.20
Seattle Poetry Slam Sara Brickman 28.30
Slam Nahuatl Group 28.10

FlagSlam Poetry Slam, round one

Total Scores

TeamRankScore
Nuyorican, Lower East Side of Manhattan, N.Y.1106.4
HawaiiSlam, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawai'i2103.8
FlagSlam, Flagstaff, Ariz.3101.4
Lake Effect, Cleveland, Ohio494.3
Rotation: 1
Team Performer Group Score
Lake Effect Group 20.70
HawaiiSlam Tui-Z 24.40
Nuyorican Jamaal St. John 25.80
FlagSlam Christopher Fox Graham & Ryan Brown:
"Dear Pluto"
Group  25.40 (Down by 0.4)
Rotation: 2
Team Performer Group Score
Nuyorican Falu 23.80 (49.6)
Lake Effect Cory Mikesell 24.30 (45.0)
FlagSlam Ryan Brown:
"Justino"
26.40 (51.8 - in the lead by 2.2!)
HawaiiSlam Ink 25.30 (49.7)
Rotation: 3
Team Performer Group Score
FlagSlam Tara Pollock:
"Acceptance"
24.70 (76.5)
Nuyorican Rico Frederick 28.50 (78.1)
HawaiiSlam Liam Skilling 26.30 (76.0)
Lake Effect Sarah Skylark Bruce 22.80 (67.8)
Rotation: 4
Team Performer Group Score
HawaiiSlam Sterling Higa 27.80 (103.8)
FlagSlam Christopher Fox Graham & nodalone:
"Babies"
Group 24.90 (101.4)
Lake Effect Carla Thompson 26.50 (94.3)
Nuyorican Cyn 28.30 (106.4)

Sedona Poetry Slam, bout two

Total Scores

TeamRankScore
Neo-Soul, Austin, Texas1114.3
ABQ Slams, Albuquerque, N.M.2112.2
WU Slam, St. Louis, Mo.3106
Sedona Poetry Slam, Sedona, Ariz. 4104.6 (after 1.5 time penalty)
Rotation: 1
Team Performer Group Score
ABQ Slams Group 25.40
Sedona Poetry Slam Group 25.50 (0.5 time penalty)
Neo-Soul Danny Strack 27.00
WU Slam Sam Lai 26.80
Rotation: 2
Team Performer Group Score
Neo-Soul Korim 28.70
ABQ Slams Group 28.60
WU Slam Adam Segal 25.60
Sedona Poetry Slam Valence 26.30
Rotation: 3
Team Performer Group Score
Neo-Soul Group 29.30
Sedona Poetry Slam Spencer Troth 25.50 (1.0 time penalty)
ABQ Slams Group 29.90
WU Slam Tayler Geiger 24.90
Rotation: 4
Team Performer Group Score
Sedona Poetry Slam Evan Dissinger 27.30
WU Slam Freeman Word 28.70
ABQ Slams Group 28.30
Neo-Soul Group 29.30

Sedona Poetry Slam, bout one

Total Scores

TeamRankScore
Portland Poetry Slam, Portland Ore.1111.1
Red Dirt Poetry Slam, Oklahoma, Okla.2109
Sedona Poetry Slam, Sedona, Ariz.3108.3
MO Poetry Slam Springfield, Springfield, Mo.4106.1
Rotation: 1
Team Performer Group Score
Red Dirt Poetry Slam Michael Pearce 25.80
MO Poetry Slam Springfield Gretchen Teague 25.50
Portland Poetry Slam Doc Luben 28.20
Sedona Poetry Slam Valence 27.30
Rotation: 2
Team Performer Group Score
Portland Poetry Slam Group 27.20
Red Dirt Poetry Slam Grae Rose 26.70
Sedona Poetry Slam Josh Wiss 26.00
MO Poetry Slam Springfield Amber Culbertson-Faegre 26.70
Rotation: 3
Team Performer Group Score
Red Dirt Poetry Slam Rob Sturma 27.80
Sedona Poetry Slam Evan Dissinger 26.80
Portland Poetry Slam Will Stanford 27.80
MO Poetry Slam Springfield Group 27.30
Rotation: 4
Team Performer Group Score
MO Poetry Slam Springfield Michelle Nimmo 26.60
Sedona Poetry Slam Frank O'Brien 28.20
Red Dirt Poetry Slam Melissa May 28.70
Portland Poetry Slam Samantha Peterson 27.90

Friday, August 10, 2012

National Poetry Slam semi-final bouts

NPS 2012 Semifinal Bouts - 8 PM

Semifinal 1 Semifinal 2 Semifinal 3 Semifinal 4
Booth Playhouse, 130 North Tryon St. Charlotte, NC 28202. 704.372.1000 Duke Energy Theater, 345 North College St. Charlotte, NC 28202. 704.348.5740 Stage Door Theater, 130 N. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC, 28202, (enter on College St.) Wells Fargo Auditorium, at the Knight Theater - 430 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC
Boston Poetry Slam @ the Cantab Lounge Beltway Poetry Slam Golden State Slam Slam Nuba
Slam New Orleans Slam Nahuatl Killeen Poetry Slam Da Poetry Lounge
Denver Mercury Poetry Slam Nuyorican Louder ARTS Soap Boxing
Inkwell Poetry Slam SlamRichmond Elevated! SF BayArea Unified
Eclectic Truth Austin Poetry Slam Salt City Slam Respect Da Mic

NPS 2012 Group Finals -10 PM - McGlohan Theater

  • ABQ Slams
  • Bull City Slam
  • Piedmont Poetry Slam
  • Burlington Slam Project
  • Jersey City Poetry Slam
  • Dallas Poetry Slam
  • Neo-Soul
  • Vancouver Poetry Slam
  • Urbana
  • Loser Slam
  • (Calibration) Java Monkey Slam

Thursday, August 9, 2012

FlagSlam takes third, but gives Nuyorican and Hawaii a run for their money

Lake Effect, group, 20.7
Hawaii, Tui-Z, 24.3
Nuyorican, Jamaal, 25.8
FlagSlam, "Dear Pluto," Ryan CFG 25.4

Nuyorican, Falu, 23.8, 49.6
Lake Effect, Cory Mikesell, 24.03, 45.0
FlagSlam, Ryan Brown, "Justino," 26.4, 51.8
Hawaii, 25.3, 49.3

FlagSlam, Tara, "Acceptance," 24.7, 76.5
Nuyorican, Rico, 28.5, 78.1
Hawaii, Liam, 26.3, 75.9
Lake Effect,22.8, 67.8

Hawaii, 27.8, 103.7
FlagSlam, "Babies," Nodalone and CFG, 24.9, 101.4
Lake Effect, 26.35, 94.3
Nuyorican, Cyn, 28.3, 106.4

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

National Poetry Slam scores; Sedona ranked 30 of 48 thus far

Scores from night No.1
Sedona did well, but slipped from 2nd place to third by 0.7. Next bout is Thursday.
FlagSlam slams for the first time tonight.
Sedona is top-ranked Arizona team right now.

http://scores.poetryslam.com/node/4179/scores

PlaceTeamBout 1 RankBout 1 ScoreBout 2 RankBout 2 ScoreTotal RankStrengthTotal Score
1Boston Poetry Slam @ the Cantab Lounge1117.6

1
117.6
2Salt City Slam1115.2

1
115.2
3Beltway Poetry Slam1112.6

1
112.6
4Da Poetry Lounge1111.6

1
111.6
5SlamRichmond1111.5

1
111.5
6Portland Poetry Slam1111.1

1
111.1
7Slam New Orleans1110.9

1
110.9
8Soap Boxing1110

1
110
9Respect Da Mic1109.5

1
109.5
10Urbana1108.3

1
108.3
11Killeen Poetry Slam1104.3

1
104.3
12Golden State Slam1101.4

1
101.4
13SF BayArea Unified2117.1

2
117.1
14Java Monkey Slam2113.9

2
113.9
15Writing Wrongs2112.2

2
112.2
16Green Mill2111

2
111
17Slam Free or Die2109.1

2
109.1
18Red Dirt Poetry Slam2109

2
109
19Bull City Slam2108.5

2
108.5
20Vancouver Poetry Slam2107.8

2
107.8
21Dallas Poetry Slam2107.5

2
107.5
22Verbal Slap2106.4

2
106.4
23Intangible Slam2100.7

2
100.7
24Inkwell Poetry Slam298.8

2
98.8
25Piedmont Poetry Slam3114.9

3
114.9
26Houston Poetry Slam3112.4

3
112.4
27SlamCharlotte3111

3
111
28Writer's Block3109.7

3
109.7
29Burlington Slam Project3108.4

3
108.4
30Sedona Poetry Slam3108.3

3
108.3
31ABQ Slams3107

3
107
32WU Slam3106.6

3
106.6
33Lizard Lounge3104.1

3
104.1
34Steel City Slam3101.3

3
101.3
35Providence Poetry Slam398.3

3
98.3
36OM Center Poetry Slam393.8

3
93.8
37Lawn Gnome Poetry Slam (Phoenix)4112.7

4
112.7
38Neo-Soul4110.7

4
110.7
39Rocktown Slam4109.6

4
109.6
40White Plains Library Slam4107.8

4
107.8
41Fort Worth Poetry Slam4106.8

4
106.8
42MO Poetry Slam Springfield4106.1

4
106.1
43Sacred Sounds4106.1

4
106.1
44Boise Poetry Slam4103.9

4
103.9
45Las Vegas Slam4101.5

4
101.5
46Spoken Innovation Slam498.1

4
98.1
47Loser Slam493.1

4
93.1
48Ocotillo Poetry Slam (Tucson)492.7

4
92.7

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

National Poetry Slam schedule

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE (This schedule will change)

 DATE/TIME EVENT

Monday, August 6, 2012 
2:00pm – 5:00pm Registration  (Holiday Inn Center City) 
 6:00pm – 7:00pm Poet Orientation (Holiday Inn Center City)
9pm – Until Welcome Party

 Tuesday, August 7, 2012 
8:30am – 9:30am Tai Chi
10:30am – 2:00pm Registration (Holiday Inn Center City)
10:30am – 12:00pm How to Care for Your Voice Workshop
12:00pm – 2:00pm Writing 101 Workshop
1:00pm – 3:00pm Open ASL Showcase
2:00pm – 4:00pm Entertainment Law Workshop
3:00pm – 5:00pm Point of Origin Reading
3:30pm – 4:30pm Poet Orientation (Holiday Inn Center City)
7:00pm – 9:00pm Round 1 Preliminary Bouts
9:00pm – 11:00pm Round 2 Preliminary Bouts
11:00pm – 2:00am Erotic Slam
11:00pm – 2:00am Slam Master vs. Rookie Slam (cash prize)

 Wednesday, August 8, 2012 
 8:30am – 9:30am Tai Chi
  10:30am – 12:00pm “Workshopping the Workshop” Workshop
 12:00pm – 2:00pm Writing 101 Workshop  
1:00pm – 3:00pm Recovery & Remembrance Reading
 2:00pm – 4:00pm International Booking Workshop
 3:00pm – 5:00pm Haiku Prelims  
7:00pm – 9:00pm Round 3 Preliminary Bouts  
9:00pm – 11:00pm Round 4 Preliminary Bouts  
11:00pm – 2:00am    Hip Hop Night  
11:00pm – 2:00am Beauty Vs. Brawn (cash prize)

Thursday, August 9, 2012 
 8:30am – 9:30am Tai Chi  
10:30am – 12:00pm Workshop
 12:00pm – 2:00pm Writing 101 Workshops
 1:00pm – 3:00pm Nerd Slam
  2:00pm – 4:00pm How to Make touring worth it! Workshop
 3:00pm – 5:00pm Haiku Prelims
  5:00pm-7:00pm Chow Down Uptown
 7:00pm – 9:00pm Round 5 Preliminary Bouts  
 9:00pm – 11:00pm Round 6 Preliminary Bouts
  11:00pm – 2:00am Encyclopedia Show  
11:30pm – 2:00am Monologue Slam (cash prize)  

Friday, August 10, 2012
 8:30am – 9:30am Tai Chi  
10:00am –2:00pm SlamMasters Meeting
 10:30am – 12:00pm Art as Business Workshop
 12:00pm – 2:00pm Writing 101 Workshop  
1:00pm – 3:00pm Day at the Museum Slam (guided tours or art installations)
  3:30pm – 5:00pm Haiku Finals (cash prize)
 8:00pm – 10:00pm Semi-Finals
  10:00pm – 1:00am Group Finals

Saturday, August 11, 2012 
10:00am – noon Slam Family Meeting  
Noon – 2:00pm Youth Slam  
Noon – 4:00pm Slam Family Picnic
 8:00pm – 11:00pm  FINALS  
11:00pm – Until Closing Party


Saturday, July 28, 2012

Sedona National Poetry Slam Team squeezes out a 2nd place win by 0.2

Oral Experts, group poem, 24.3
Downtown Phoenix, Tomas, 29.1
Phoenix Nationals, Klute's "Arizona Board of Tourism," 29.7
Sedona, Evan Dissinger, 28.9
Sedona in third, behind DT Phx by 0.2, and Phoenix Nationals by 0.8

Phoenix Nationals, Rowie Shebala "Toy soliders" 28.7, 58.4

Oral Experts, woman, 26.4, 50.7
Sedona, Josh Wiss, 29.1, 58.0
Downtown Phoenix, Jeremiah Blue, 28.6, 57.7
Sedona pushes past DT Phx by 0.3, still behind Phoenix Nationals by 0.4

Sedona, Valence, 28.9, 86.9
Phoenix Nationals, Chesko's "ADD," 29.4, 87.8
Downtown Phoenix, Myrlin, 29.7, 87.4
Oral Experts, woman #2, 26.7, 77.4
DT Phx leaps past Sedona, which is now behind it by 0.5, and trailing Phoenix Nationals by 0.4, leaving Sedona in third behind Phx Nationals by 0.9

Downtown Phoenix, woman, 29.8, 117.2
Sedona, trio: Frank O'Brien, Josh Wiss, Evan Dissinger, 29.9, 116.8
Oral Experts, duo, 24.9, 102.3
Phoenix Nationals, Charles, 28.8, 116.6
Sedona's group poem knocks it out of the park, scoring the highest of the night. The push means Sedona can hold on to second if Phoenix Nationals fails to reach a 29.0. Charles only gets a 28.8 after following a lackluster duo from Oral Experts, leaving Phx Nationals in 3rd by 0.2.

Only top two teams, Sedona and DT Phoenix advance to finals tomorrow night.