The nearly complete story and last post about this.
Last spring, Ed Mabrey, Will Evans, Dave Nicholas, Spike and I drove down to Black Mountain, North Carolina for the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF), a large money slam that attracts many regional competitors, including slammers from Columbus, DC/Baltimore, Atlanta, and the Carolinas. With a prize payout of $2.4k among the top 10, I threw my hat into the ring, despite my hesitation to face LEAF's infamous improv round. Who knew that this was one of the first contributing events to lead to the Kimberly Simm's e-mail?
The slam was six rounds long, with five cumulatively scored rounds and a clean slate at the top 3, with poets reading low to high every round. Which means, if you win the first round, you get to go last in the second round, etc.
Out of the 10 finalists, I drew 2nd and it was an uphill climb the entire time. Though I managed to make the top four cut, the combination of score creep and my miserable improv performance (I was the only poet to not get a 30 -- and the only poet who tried to be lyrical), I finally succumbed to the format and my competitors, who kept the gas on the entire time.
The eventual top 4 was:
4th Me
3rd Chris August
2nd Bluz
1st Gypsee-Yo
If you'll remember, Gypsee-Yo was also mentioned in the Kimberly Simm's letter, something I considered coincidence. Apparently, it was not.
A few weeks ago, Chris August sent me an e-mail directing me to Gypsee Yo's blog, where she mentions "there's speculation ... that the only reason why I won is because I had my baby with me and that somehow swayed the audience's judgement." In her blog, she even mentions me by name twice in a very positive light, which is why her open letter to me was to surprising. For people who don't want to have to wade through it, she says I am guilty of a few things, all of which I will systematically reject.
-- called an entire region racist unprovoked, then ask to be booked there
-- in a bout [Alvin] had with the Greenville team at Nationals, for a few measly points, you got up and performed the poem which contains the now famous verse "my oppressed mother in Greenville, NC".
The poem that Gypsee and Kim are responding to is called "To the Arizona State Legislature," which is about the unfairness of English-only legislation in that state. It contains a four line aside about Greenville, which I've written out below:
"[English-only legislation] sounds like the same discrimination laughing
my mother our of every job interview in South Carolina
where'd they only offer her sawtooth smiles and 'I'm sorry.
We just don't think you're right for the job."
Not only does this omit the line "my oppressed mother in Greenville," but it hardly paints an entire region racist.
I would also like to point out that team Phoenix was also in the bout, and were actually from Arizona, the primary subject of the poem. So far, no poet or organizer has told me they were offended or felt unfairly labelled, and were extremely welcoming and helpful when I began tour booking. In fact, tomorrow I'm flying to Phoenix for a slam!!
-- tried to create in the minds of the judges a stereotype of racism related to their location, and worse, associating your poet brothers and sisters who are at the forefront of the war against stereotypes and racism.
I beg anyone to point out where in the above four lines I do this.
These kind of wild accusations make me wonder if ANYONE HAS HEARD THIS POEM IN THE FIRST PLACE. Because frankly, if I was going to make wild accusations about someone's poetry, I'd get a copy and study that shit first.
-- spilled to anyone that would listen that the only reason why I won was because I had my infant daughter with me.
This is the hardest to debunk because you can't prove something you did not do.
I talked to Will Evans last night, and found out that he and Ed Mabrey were originally accused of making Gypsee-Yo / Baby comment, which of course they denied tooth and nail. They even told their accuser "to ask Alvin" about it.
And the fact of the matter is, they didn't. Ed and Will are some very upstanding individuals who would never anything so petty.
Neither Will or I were sure of exactly what happened, but somehow I was secretly found guilty of making this comment. What the fugg? Gah.
During that slam, I often confided in Chris August and Joanna Hoffman about how I felt the slam was going, and after the slam on the ride back, I let Ed, Will, Dave, and Spike all know how I felt. (And how did I feel? That score creep fucking sucks when you draw poorly.)
So ask Ed Mabrey, William Evans, David Nichols, Chris August, and Joanna Hoffman if I said anything in the ballpark of what Gypsee-Yo accuses me of. And if you don't believe the word of those five well-respected people, between whom I spent every second of my time at LEAF, then I don't know who you can believe.
That being said, I'm not even going to look at the PSI boards or post about this in my journal anymore. It's not going to generate anything but unhappiness.
Though for the record, I still think through the entire ordeal, that I was never in the wrong. Tim Stafford had a great comment: "I don't mind when people call you for being an asshole, it's fun. But this time, you weren't an asshole." I'll take that one to the bank.
The slam was six rounds long, with five cumulatively scored rounds and a clean slate at the top 3, with poets reading low to high every round. Which means, if you win the first round, you get to go last in the second round, etc.
Out of the 10 finalists, I drew 2nd and it was an uphill climb the entire time. Though I managed to make the top four cut, the combination of score creep and my miserable improv performance (I was the only poet to not get a 30 -- and the only poet who tried to be lyrical), I finally succumbed to the format and my competitors, who kept the gas on the entire time.
The eventual top 4 was:
4th Me
3rd Chris August
2nd Bluz
1st Gypsee-Yo
If you'll remember, Gypsee-Yo was also mentioned in the Kimberly Simm's letter, something I considered coincidence. Apparently, it was not.
A few weeks ago, Chris August sent me an e-mail directing me to Gypsee Yo's blog, where she mentions "there's speculation ... that the only reason why I won is because I had my baby with me and that somehow swayed the audience's judgement." In her blog, she even mentions me by name twice in a very positive light, which is why her open letter to me was to surprising. For people who don't want to have to wade through it, she says I am guilty of a few things, all of which I will systematically reject.
-- called an entire region racist unprovoked, then ask to be booked there
-- in a bout [Alvin] had with the Greenville team at Nationals, for a few measly points, you got up and performed the poem which contains the now famous verse "my oppressed mother in Greenville, NC".
The poem that Gypsee and Kim are responding to is called "To the Arizona State Legislature," which is about the unfairness of English-only legislation in that state. It contains a four line aside about Greenville, which I've written out below:
"[English-only legislation] sounds like the same discrimination laughing
my mother our of every job interview in South Carolina
where'd they only offer her sawtooth smiles and 'I'm sorry.
We just don't think you're right for the job."
Not only does this omit the line "my oppressed mother in Greenville," but it hardly paints an entire region racist.
I would also like to point out that team Phoenix was also in the bout, and were actually from Arizona, the primary subject of the poem. So far, no poet or organizer has told me they were offended or felt unfairly labelled, and were extremely welcoming and helpful when I began tour booking. In fact, tomorrow I'm flying to Phoenix for a slam!!
-- tried to create in the minds of the judges a stereotype of racism related to their location, and worse, associating your poet brothers and sisters who are at the forefront of the war against stereotypes and racism.
I beg anyone to point out where in the above four lines I do this.
These kind of wild accusations make me wonder if ANYONE HAS HEARD THIS POEM IN THE FIRST PLACE. Because frankly, if I was going to make wild accusations about someone's poetry, I'd get a copy and study that shit first.
-- spilled to anyone that would listen that the only reason why I won was because I had my infant daughter with me.
This is the hardest to debunk because you can't prove something you did not do.
I talked to Will Evans last night, and found out that he and Ed Mabrey were originally accused of making Gypsee-Yo / Baby comment, which of course they denied tooth and nail. They even told their accuser "to ask Alvin" about it.
And the fact of the matter is, they didn't. Ed and Will are some very upstanding individuals who would never anything so petty.
Neither Will or I were sure of exactly what happened, but somehow I was secretly found guilty of making this comment. What the fugg? Gah.
During that slam, I often confided in Chris August and Joanna Hoffman about how I felt the slam was going, and after the slam on the ride back, I let Ed, Will, Dave, and Spike all know how I felt. (And how did I feel? That score creep fucking sucks when you draw poorly.)
So ask Ed Mabrey, William Evans, David Nichols, Chris August, and Joanna Hoffman if I said anything in the ballpark of what Gypsee-Yo accuses me of. And if you don't believe the word of those five well-respected people, between whom I spent every second of my time at LEAF, then I don't know who you can believe.
That being said, I'm not even going to look at the PSI boards or post about this in my journal anymore. It's not going to generate anything but unhappiness.
Though for the record, I still think through the entire ordeal, that I was never in the wrong. Tim Stafford had a great comment: "I don't mind when people call you for being an asshole, it's fun. But this time, you weren't an asshole." I'll take that one to the bank.