This week, Michigan and LoGic's T-shirts
I know, I know. I promise to get some real sleep...when I'm in Texas next week doing a feature and running the SlamMasters meeting.
Come tomorrow, though, I hit the road early to do:
Friday, April 7 - Feature @ Buffalo State College; Buffalo, NY
Friday, April 7 - Feature @ Nickel City Slam; Buffalo, NY
Tuesday nght I MCed the show in Ann Arbor, which was daunting for me because it's run by such solid cats: Erik Daniel and Steve Marsh, who are both really strong MCs. I eventually calmed down once I got there, had a Coke and some German potatoes, and just did me. We had a great time, and the poetry was really top-notch all around. The night never slowed down at all. Congrats to the 2006 Ann Arbor team: Matt Ernst, LoGic and Karrie Waarala. I know for some it might have seemed a little anti-climactic in terms of competition, but just remember that there are people who would key your car if they knew it got them on a plane to Nationals. Enjoy it, respect it, and prove that you weren't a shoe-in poet no matter who showed up.
Some fun:
"Karrie what's the call number for black history?"
" 'I love you! Now Die!' "
"Come on, LoGic, we can take Larry Francis."
LoGic has a bunch of 24-hour reading t-shirt ideas I hope he'll post so that I can actually get one made up. Come on, bro, help me out.
Yesterday I participated at the Writer's Day hosted by the school that Larry Francis teaches at. It's a phenomenal school (their auto shop is better than Firestone's) and I got to do two workshops and a feature at eth end of the day with the other two guests: poet (and old school slammer) Tracie Morris and fiction writer Peter Markus. The workshops were sessions of "50 Mistakes" which went over really well, and the showcase at the end was fun. I really, REALLY felt like I needed to rip it after telling the students all day what NOT to do, and I did. It felt good, made even better by the fact that the students aree so astute; they got all the jokes, nothing was over their heads, they knew good poetry...they were a phenomenal audience.
The student poetry was equally impressive. This was not typical high schoool suicide dirges. These students had been reading, had been writing, had been coached, had slammed, and were bona fide talented. I was floored every time one of them got up there. The school's slam team even did a group piece. A really amazing group of students there, led by great teachers.
I read:
- Elementary
- Shaman
- Whuppin's
- Queen Takes Black Knight
- Jesse
Come tomorrow, though, I hit the road early to do:
Friday, April 7 - Feature @ Buffalo State College; Buffalo, NY
Friday, April 7 - Feature @ Nickel City Slam; Buffalo, NY
Tuesday nght I MCed the show in Ann Arbor, which was daunting for me because it's run by such solid cats: Erik Daniel and Steve Marsh, who are both really strong MCs. I eventually calmed down once I got there, had a Coke and some German potatoes, and just did me. We had a great time, and the poetry was really top-notch all around. The night never slowed down at all. Congrats to the 2006 Ann Arbor team: Matt Ernst, LoGic and Karrie Waarala. I know for some it might have seemed a little anti-climactic in terms of competition, but just remember that there are people who would key your car if they knew it got them on a plane to Nationals. Enjoy it, respect it, and prove that you weren't a shoe-in poet no matter who showed up.
Some fun:
"Karrie what's the call number for black history?"
" 'I love you! Now Die!' "
"Come on, LoGic, we can take Larry Francis."
LoGic has a bunch of 24-hour reading t-shirt ideas I hope he'll post so that I can actually get one made up. Come on, bro, help me out.
Yesterday I participated at the Writer's Day hosted by the school that Larry Francis teaches at. It's a phenomenal school (their auto shop is better than Firestone's) and I got to do two workshops and a feature at eth end of the day with the other two guests: poet (and old school slammer) Tracie Morris and fiction writer Peter Markus. The workshops were sessions of "50 Mistakes" which went over really well, and the showcase at the end was fun. I really, REALLY felt like I needed to rip it after telling the students all day what NOT to do, and I did. It felt good, made even better by the fact that the students aree so astute; they got all the jokes, nothing was over their heads, they knew good poetry...they were a phenomenal audience.
The student poetry was equally impressive. This was not typical high schoool suicide dirges. These students had been reading, had been writing, had been coached, had slammed, and were bona fide talented. I was floored every time one of them got up there. The school's slam team even did a group piece. A really amazing group of students there, led by great teachers.
I read:
- Elementary
- Shaman
- Whuppin's
- Queen Takes Black Knight
- Jesse