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.

Friday, November 23, 2018

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

“The Wedding Ghost”
by Frank O'Brien


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

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

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

I loved you with my blood

I loved you with my bones

With my every defiant breath

I love you with my ghost


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


Copyright © Frank O'Brien

Friday, October 19, 2018

Aaron Norris (1969-2018)



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

Poeta vade loquere ad mortuos.

Monday, October 1, 2018

Monday, May 21, 2018

Predict when our daughter will be born

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


Sunday, May 20, 2018

Sedona hosts Last Chance Poetry Slam on Saturday, May 26


The Sedona Poetry Slam bring high-energy, competition spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre for the "Last Chance Slam" on Saturday, May 26, at 7:30 p.m.

The Last Chance Slam on May 26 is be the final opportunity for poets who want to qualify for the 2018 Grand Slam. 

All poets are welcome to compete for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.

A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. All types of poetry are welcome on the stage, from street-wise hip-hop and narrative performance poems, to political rants and introspective confessionals. Any poem is a "slam" poem if performed in a competition. All poets get three minutes per round to entertain and inspire the audience with their creativity.

Poets in the Sedona Poetry Slam come from as far away as Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff, competing against adult poets from Sedona and Cottonwood, college poets from Northern Arizona University, and youth poets from Sedona Red Rock High School.

The first six slams of the season were held Nov. 4, Dec. 16, Dec. 30, Feb. 3, April 7 and May 5, won by Lauren Perry, M.C. Tristan Marshall, Bernard "The Klute" Schober, Josh Wiss and Kim Jarchow and Ryan Smalley, respectively. The final open slam of the season will be at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona, on Saturday May 26.

The Klute won the Dec. 30 Sedona Poetry Slam
Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org

The 2017-18 season will culminate in selection of Sedona's seventh National Poetry Slam Team, the foursome and alternate who will represent Sedona and the Verde Valley at the National Poetry Slam in Chicago in August. 

With every regular slam, poets earn points toward a slot in the Grand Slam, on Saturday, June 9. The poets who make the Sedona National Poetry Slam Team at the final contest will represent Sedona and share the stage with 350 of the top poets in the United States, Canada and Europe at the week-long National Poetry Slam in Chicago in August.

Sedona sent its first team to the 2012 NPS in Charlotte, N.C., its second to the 2013 NPS in Boston and Cambridge, Mass., and its third and fourth to Oakland, Calif., its fifth to Decatur, Ga., and its sixth to Denver. For more information, visit foxthepoet.blogspot.com.

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

Contact host Christopher Fox Graham at foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up to slam early by Friday, May 25, or arrive at the door by 7 p.m. to sign up the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive. The Sedona Poetry Slam will be hosted by Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on 10 FlagSlam National Poetry Slams in 2001, 2004-06, 2010 and 2012-17. Graham has hosted the Sedona Poetry Slam since 2009.

What is Poetry Slam?
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. Poetry slams are judged by five randomly chosen members of the audience who assign numerical value to individual poets' contents and performances. Poetry slam has become an international artistic sport, with more than 100 major poetry slams in the United States, Canada, Australia and Western Europe. Slam poets have opened at the 2010 Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmon's Def Poets" on HBO.

For more information, visit poetryslam.com or the PSi channel on YouTube.

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Sedona Poetry Slam hosts slam Saturday, May 5

The Sedona Poetry Slam bring high-energy, competition spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m.

All poets are welcome to compete for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.

A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. All types of poetry are welcome on the stage, from street-wise hip-hop and narrative performance poems, to political rants and introspective confessionals. Any poem is a “slam” poem if performed in a competition. All poets get three minutes per round to entertain and inspire the audience with their creativity.

Poets in the Sedona Poetry Slam come from as far away as Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff, competing against adult poets from Sedona and Cottonwood, college poets from Northern Arizona University, and youth poets from Sedona Red Rock High School.

Kim Jarchow won the Sedona Poetry Slam on April 7
The first five slams of the season were held Nov. 4, Dec. 16, Dec. 30, Feb. 3 and April 7, won by Lauren Perry, M.C. Tristan Marshall, Bernard "The Klute" Schober, Josh Wiss amd Kim Jarchow, respectively. The final open slam of the season will be at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona, on Saturday May 26.

Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.

The 2017-18 season will culminate in selection of Sedona’s seventh National Poetry Slam Team, the foursome and alternate who will represent Sedona and the Verde Valley at the National Poetry Slam in Chicago in August.

The Last Chance Slam on May 26 will be the final opportunity for poets who want to qualify for the 2018 Grand Slam. With every regular slam, poets earn points toward a slot in the Grand Slam, on Saturday, June 9. The poets who make the Sedona National Poetry Slam Team at the final contest will represent Sedona and share the stage with 350 of the top poets in the United States, Canada and Europe at the week-long National Poetry Slam in Chicago in August.

Sedona sent its first team to the 2012 NPS in Charlotte, N.C., its second to the 2013 NPS in Boston and Cambridge, Mass., and its third and fourth to Oakland, Calif., its fifth to Decatur, Ga., and its sixth to Denver. For more information, visit foxthepoet.blogspot.com.

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

Contact host Christopher Fox Graham at foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up to slam early by Friday, May 4, or arrive at the door by 7 p.m. to sign up the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive. The Sedona Poetry Slam will be hosted by Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on 10 FlagSlam National Poetry Slams in 2001, 2004-06, 2010 and 2012-17. Graham has hosted the Sedona Poetry Slam since 2009.

What is Poetry Slam?
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. Poetry slams are judged by five randomly chosen members of the audience who assign numerical value to individual poets’ contents and performances. Poetry slam has become an international artistic sport, with more than 100 major poetry slams in the United States, Canada, Australia and Western Europe. Slam poets have opened at the 2010 Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmon's Def Poets" on HBO.

For more information, visit poetryslam.com or the PSi channel on YouTube.

Saturday, March 31, 2018

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

The Sedona Poetry Slam bring high-energy, competition spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m.

All poets are welcome to compete for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.

A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists.

All types of poetry are welcome on the stage, from street-wise hip-hop and narrative performance poems, to political rants and introspective confessionals. Any poem is a "slam" poem if performed in a competition. All poets get three minutes per round to entertain and inspire the audience with their creativity.

Poets in the Sedona Poetry Slam come from as far away as Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff, competing against adult poets from Sedona and Cottonwood, college poets from Northern Arizona University, and youth poets from Sedona Red Rock High School.

The first four slams of the season were held Nov. 4, Dec. 16, Dec. 30 and Feb. 3, won by Lauren Perry, M.C. Tristan Marshall, Bernard "The Klute" Schober and Josh Wiss, respectively. The next two slams will be at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona, on Saturdays May 5 and May 26.

Bernard "The Klute" Schober reads his victory poem after winning the third 
Sedona Poetry Slam of the 2017-18 season on Dec. 30 at the Mary D. Fisher 
Theatre. The next Sedona Poetry Slam takes place Saturday, April, at 
7:30 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
Tickets are $12. For tickets, call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org

The 2017-18 season will culminate in selection of Sedona's seventh National Poetry Slam Team, the foursome and alternate who will represent Sedona and the Verde Valley at the National Poetry Slam in Chicago in August.

The Last Chance Slam on May 26 will be the final opportunity for poets who want to qualify for the 2018 Grand Slam. With every regular slam, poets earn points toward a slot in the Grand Slam, on Saturday, June 9.

The poets who make the Sedona National Poetry Slam Team at the final contest will represent Sedona and share the stage with 350 of the top poets in the United States, Canada and Europe at the week-long National Poetry Slam in Chicago in August.

Lauren Perry won the first Sedona Poetry Slam of the 2017-18 season 
on Nov. 4 at the Sedona Arts Center. The next Sedona Poetry Slam 
takes place Saturday, April 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher 
Theatre.
Sedona sent its first team to the 2012 NPS in Charlotte, N.C., its second to the 2013 NPS in Boston and Cambridge, Mass., and its third and fourth to Oakland, Calif., its fifth to Decatur, Ga., and its sixth to Denver. For more information, visit foxthepoet.blogspot.com.

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

Contact host Christopher Fox Graham at foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up to slam early by Friday, April 6, or arrive at the door by 7 p.m. to sign up the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive.

The Sedona Poetry Slam will be hosted by Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on 10 FlagSlam National Poetry Slams in 2001, 2004-06, 2010 and 2012-17. Graham has hosted the Sedona Poetry Slam since 2009.

What is Poetry Slam?

Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition.

Poetry slams are judged by five randomly chosen members of the audience who assign numerical value to individual poets' contents and performances. Poetry slam has become an international artistic sport, with more than 100 major poetry slams in the United States, Canada, Australia and Western Europe.

Slam poets have opened at the 2010 Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmon's Def Poets" on HBO.

For more information, visit poetryslam.com or the PSi channel on YouTube.

Saturday, March 17, 2018

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday, February 10, 2018

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


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

Performing "Our Death is in Your Belly"

The kiss after the poem

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

With the ring on bended knee

The kiss

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

The kiss after the "yes"

The crowd wildly applauding

Putting on the ring

We're engaged!
Well-wishes from our friends:
Kenny Kreslake
Ian Keirsey
Taylor Hayes
Kenny Kreslake
Teresa Newkirk
The Klute
Valence
Ryan Smalley
Nicolas Perez
Briana Grace Hammerstrom
Kim Possible
Gabbi Jue
Vincent Vega
Taja Carina
Claire Pearson
Briana Grace Hammerstrom
Gabbi Jue
Jessica Renee Ballentyne
Jeanne Freeland
Our last kiss in the video


Monday, February 5, 2018

"Our Death is in Your Belly" by Christopher Fox Graham



our death is in your belly
a mass of muscle and sinew
stitching with her own needle
four helixes into two
a ribbon dancer
pirouetting with our DNA
in a 40-week recital before leaping forth,
half-you-half-me
and ending our lives

our death is in your belly
because before her
we were strangers

boy                  and                  girl
ping-ponging                  across                  the                  continent

until we collided hips into a moment
when we both forgot our names
shed our skins into each other
poured and swallowed our best intentions
two short lifetimes of sins and sorrows
into hope of something better than us both

our death is in your belly
because once she arrives
reforming us into something new
we will no longer be Self and Other
but Her
entire
and no shatter of time
nor territory
can unmake the magic
we distilled into her cells

our death is in your belly
bearing a name we have chosen but not yet bestowed
a name she will shape
with experiences chiseled from scraped knees and first kisses
painting her legacy across the tongue of history
until he speaks her story
into the generations hence

whatever name we articulate
afterward, the echoed men and women will call her
the name trees have 
for earthquakes

the noun waves use
for tsunamis

or what shattered moons 
call the supernovae
that reduced them 
to asteroids


our death is in your belly
and when she cuts umbilical
the arrogant World will know his greatest sin
was not anticipating her arrival
not building enough bomb shelters to preserve his deceptions
not assembling an army to resist her

so she will leave in wreckage his broken promises
turn into refugees the Should-Haves and Might-Have-Dones
that civilizations left behind in the vapor around their stone monuments

you
will be the mother who bore the joyous cataclysm
and I
will be the failure
she will rectify
in her own time

our death is in your belly
how we die
will be up to us
                  and what kills us
                  up to fate

but she will be our death
the last face we see

the last hand we hold

the last voice we hear

as the light dims in our irises

as the mechanics slow

to a dull whisper

as the organs take well-earned vacation

from life-long labor

and she,
looking back
will be the price paid
for all we have endured

she will be our death
the daughter to bury us both
first one,
then the other
she will be our death
judging whether our lives be worthy of eulogy
she will inscribe the epitaph
telling the world
what we have left behind

whatever she writes
will be for her,
not us
for us,
she is what we left behind
she will forge the fire
our privilege was to light the flame

she will be our death
and I can hear the rumblings of our doom
when I press my ear against your belly
she sounds like gods 
of 6,000 mythologies ...
... trembling

she sounds like a love song 
stars sing to each other

she sounds like Four Horsemen 
before loosening themselves upon the World

she sounds like a poem 
just before it is spoken

she sounds like revolution 
wrapped around the first bullet

she sounds the whisper in the night 
that ignites 
the
Big
Bang

she sounds like the ache 
of our first kiss
when it was still partitioned on our lips
knowing our next moment
would end in death for us both

but a little girl we have yet to meet
would ferry us into the dark

unafraid of what may 

not 

come

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