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Hello Poets & Poetry Lovers!
National Poetry Slam '06 will be held in Austin, Texas
August 9 - 12.
Their press release found on austinslam.com:
OVER 300 POETS TO CONVERGE ON AUSTIN THIS AUGUST FOR LARGEST-PROJECTED NATIONAL POETRY SLAM
Poets from across North America and Europe to celebrate 20 years of slam
(AUSTIN) -- The National Poetry Slam has grown from a bardic grudge match between Chicago and San Francisco to a four-day festival involving hundreds of poets, as many as a dozen venues, and audiences numbering in the thousands. Organizers for the 2006 National Poetry Slam, to be held in Austin, Texas., this coming August, expect record numbers of teams and audience members to converge on Austin for the largest poetry event of its kind.
The 2006 National Poetry Slam, which will kick off on Wednesday, August 9 with as many as 80 teams competing in eight venues along Congress Avenue, will culminate with the Individual Finals show on Friday, August 11 at the historic Paramount Theater and the Team Finals competition on Saturday, August 12 at the newly-revitalized Palmer Auditorium.
"When we held Nationals in Austin in 1998, it was the largest one in history," said co-director Mike Henry. "Selling out the Paramount Theater for poetry was an unthinkable accomplishment at the time, and now it's part of slam's considerable lore. In 2006, Austin is ready to add another chapter to the story and make history again."
The National Poetry Slam is the premier annual event for poetry slammers across the globe. Billed as "the competitive art of performance poetry," slam was invented in Chicago in July 1986 by Marc Smith, a construction worker-turned-poet who included the slam as part of his performance poetry troupe's weekly show at the Green Mill Tavern, an uptown Chicago watering hole once frequented by Al Capone.
The slam, initially a King-of-the-Hill-styled gimmick involving two poets dueling against one another, quickly evolved into a competition involving all comers reading their poems and being scored by a panel of judges, selected from the audience, who rated the poems on an Olympic-style 0-10 scale.
The slam spread to San Francisco, Boston, New York, and Ann Arbor by the late '80s, and thanks to MTV's interest in spoken word in the early '90s, Lollapalooza's inclusion of a spoken word stage on its 1994 tour, the release of the documentary film SlamNation in 1998, and the debut of the HBO original series, Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry in the early '00s, slam has grown exponentially in its audience, in the number of cities staging slam events, and its execution during its two decades as an art form.
Sometimes raucous entertainment and sometimes riveting confession, the slam movement has sustained and developed a format that has supplanted the open mike poetry reading as the prime live medium for 21st century poetry. Because of its cardinal rule of a three-minute time limit, the poets compete in a fast-paced show which combines the thrill of competition with polished, dynamic deliveries that ably showcase its ever-growing ranks of poets, spanning a diverse range of ages, ethnicities, backgrounds, and writing and performance styles.
The slam has not only found its way into popular culture, being referenced by television programs from The George Lopez Show to The Simpsons, but is also a major contributing factor in a recent resurgence of interest in poetry. The National Poetry Slam, which ran on a shoestring budget for much of its early history, is now regularly funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, by local and state government agencies, and by corporate sponsors.
The National Poetry Slam pits teams of three to five members against one another in five-team "bouts." The teams are formed through slam competitions throughout North America and Europe, which take place during a September to May slam season. The teams, representing, venues in cities from huge metroplexes to small towns practice throughout the summer for the event. All the teams compete the first two nights, and the top 20 teams compete on the third night, with the four winners of those bouts facing off in a team finals competition which closes the event.
Nationals serves as a convention as well as a competition, offering workshops and daytime reading events which are free and open to the public. The daytime events and open mikes featuring many of the competing poets include a grief and remembrance reading, a group piece showcase highlighting ensemble work many of the teams create over the summer, a head-to-head haiku battle, and the always-irreverent nerd slam, to name a few.
For the first time in National Poetry Slam history, Austin has received the bid to host two years in row. and will host both the 2006 and 2007. This reflects not only the increasing scope of the event &emash; only a handful of cities can provide the necessary venues and audience to host 80 teams -- but also reflects the trust the slam community has in the Austin team of organizers, and the high-regard the slam community has for Austin's well-schooled, responsive audiences. Austin slam poets have performed everywhere from the annual FronteraFest, a highly-regarded experimental theater festival, to the hallowed halls of Austin's City Council Chambers. In fact, popular Austin mayor Will Wynn counts himself among the local slam's biggest fans. More information about venues, tickets, competitors, and a schedule of events will be made available at the event website, www.nps2006.com, in the coming months.
Other notable events in slam's 20th year celebration include a 20th Anniversary of Slam Celebration Week July 23-29 (involving slams across North America doing special events), and the premiere of a new documentary film, Slam Planet: War of the Words, which chronicles the fortunes of slam teams from Austin and New York City's Bowery Poetry Club at the 2004 National Poetry Slam in St. Louis.
-Phil West, Publicity Director, NPS, 2006
Other press releases:
NPS: 2006 One Page Overview
NPS 2006 Factsheet
Slam Factsheet
To be added to our mailing list, write me:
Keep writing!!
Bri
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Write to us concerning anything about the newsletter and we will respond. Feel free to let us know any additional features you'd like to see in the newsletter.
If you missed the June issue of Speakeasy, you can read it here.
If you missed the May issue of Speakeasy, you can read it here.
Voodoo Live Read Schedule
The new schedule for the Voodoo reads is as follows:
Monday Night Open Mic with Ivvy -
9 PM central
Tuesday Night Open Mic with Bri -
9 PM central
Saturday Night Open Mic with Sally -
9 PM central
Sunday Night Open Mic with Kendred -
9 PM central
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National Poetry Slam:
Austin, Texas
August 9 - 12, 2006
For more information, visit their website at:
http://www.austinslam.com
14th Poet Laureate Named
Donald Hall was named the 14th poet laureate of the United States on Wednesday, June 14, 2006. Read more here:
Poetry Foundation
Poems.com
Poets.org
His writings include:
Poetry:
To the Loud Wind and Other Poems (1955)
Exiles and Marriages (1955)
The Dark Houses (1958)
A Roof of Tiger Lilies (1964)
The Alligator Bride: Poems, New and Selected (1969)
The Yellow Room: Love Poems (1971)
A Blue Wing Tilts at the Edge of the Sea: Selected Poems, 1964-1974 (1975)
The Town of Hill (1975)
Kicking the Leaves: Poems (1978)
The Toy Bone (1979)
The Happy Man (1986)
The One Day (1988)
Old and New Poems (1990)
Here at Eagle Pond (1992)
The Museum of Clear Ideas (1996)
The Old Life (1996)
Without (1998)
The Painted Bed (2002)
White Apples and the Taste of Stone: Selected Poems 1946-2006 (2006)
Prose:
String Too Short to Be Saved: Recollections of Summers on a New England Farm (1961)
Henry Moore: The Life and Work of a Great Sculptor (1966)
As the Eye Moves: A Sculpture by Henry Moore (1970)
Marianne Moore: The Cage and the Animal (1970)
The Pleasures of Poetry (1971)
Writing Well (1974)
Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball (1976)
Remembering Poets: Reminiscences and Opinions--Dylan Thomas, Robert Frost, T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound (1978)
Goatfoot Milktongue Twinbird: Interviews, Essays, and Notes on Poetry, 1970-76 (1978)
To Read Literature (1980)
The Weather for Poetry: Essays, Reviews, and Notes on Poetry, 1977-81 (1982)
Seasons at Eagle Pond (1987)
Poetry and Ambition (1988)
Life Work (1993)
Death to the Death of Poetry: Essays, Reviews, Notes, Interviews (1994)
Old Home Day (1994)
The Farm Summer, 1942 (1994)
Principal Products of Portugal: Prose Pieces (1995)
The Best Day The Worst Day: Life with Jane Kenyon (2005)
Drama:
An Evening's Frost (1965)
Bread and Roses (1975)
Ragged Mountain Elegies (1983)
Essays:
To Keep Moving: Essays, 1959-1969 (1980)
Fathers Playing Catch with Sons: Essays on Sport (Mostly Baseball) (1985)
Winter (1986)
For Children:
Andrew and the Lion Farmer (1959)
Riddle Rat (1977)
Ox-Cart Man (1979)
The Man Who Lived Alone (1984)
I Am the Dog, I Am the Cat (1994)
Summer of 1944 (1994)
Lucy's Christmas (1994)
Lucy's Summer (1995)
Old Home Day (1996)
When Willard Met Babe Ruth (1996)
The Milkman's Boy (1997)
Letters:
The Ideal Bakery (1987)
Voodoo News
If you haven't downloaded Voodoochat yet, you can find it at:
Voodoochat.com
After you have downloaded the chat client, you can enter our
Cafe through the software (Voodoo Village server, Poetry Cafe).
Be sure to also register a name, or you can
enter as a guest. If you already have Voodoochat downloaded,
be sure to update to the newest version. It has many cool new
features, including Tabs, which we will be using during the
poetry reads. All poetry is read on the Chat tab, and everything
else (chitchat) will take place on the offtopic tab. If you don't
have voodoo downloaded yet, it will make more sense to you
after you load it, and visit the room.
Bring your poetry, and let's READ!!
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Featured Poet
Bob “Whoopeecat” Stephenson is a native Texan
from the Dallas/Ft Worth area. An Executive Chef
by trade, he’s been slinging hash professionally
 for thirty years. His current restaurant passion
is Cool River Café, established in January 1997,
where he is the Executive Chef, Culinary Guru and
Gourmet Poet.
Whoopeecat is the Slam Master for the Poetry Grind
at Pugsley’s Library in Dallas. He has been an active
member of the Dallas poetry scene since 1997.
Whoopeecat’s poetry and recipes have been performed/
published in chapbooks, cook books, CD/DVD’s,
television, radio, anthologies, journals, and on line
e-zines. He appeared on the finals stage as a member
of the 2004 Dallas Slam Team. Cat has volunteered as
an MC/BM at iWPS since its inaugural year in 2004,
served on the protest committee in 2006, and as an
MC/BM through the entire (including finals) Albuquerque
NPS 2006.
In the Dallas community, Whoopeecat has served as a past
co-slam master and Vice President of the Dallas Poetry
Slam and the non profit Bridges of Light Foundation
serving as Secretary and Vice President. He has been an
active fundraiser with numerous charities such as:
Meals on Wheels, Texas Neurofibromatosis Foundation,
Camp John Marc, The North Texas Food Bank, The Troy
Aikman Foundation, The Pudge Roderiguez Foundation,
A Wish with Wings, and Southlake Carroll Education
Foundation. He also donated a salt & pepper pony tail
to Locks of Love for chemotherapy patients.
If Cat is not teaching a culinary class at the local
high schools or attending a poetry reading, you might
find him spending quality time with his skydiving
semi-pro billiard playing accountant wife, Julie,
enjoying an afternoon on the Texas highways riding
his motorcycle or playing with his Labrador kids,
Odessa and Paloma.
Bob also currently serves as secretary on the executive
council of Poetry Slam Incorporated (psi.com)
I'd like to thank Cat for taking time to send this rewrite. July and August are the busiest months in the slam world.
You can compare it to the original, posted on Write On in his folder. You'll see the power of a good edit! Thanks again, Cat, and good luck in Austin!
Chaplain’s Prayer
© Whoopeecat Productions
6/5/06
Heavenly Father
Gracious God
I ask for your guidance in this
my time of need.
I’ve prayed over countless innocent young men and women
in this theater of war on burning sands,
Packed with hour glass running spiritual indifference
and toe tied dog tag numbered religions
that at times…. I loose track of my own faith
I’ve looked into the eyes of young warriors
and witnessed existence marred cruelty.
Life explodes at the end of a trigger,
each hammer fall steals two souls.
I’ve held the hands of the fallen in surgery
as another arm or leg was being amputated
in a life over limb decision
Red plastic bags of destroyed memories are stuffed
with the broken fragments of war,
and the ghosts that remain
still grasp for a half full glass of dreams.
I’ve comforted survivors of I.E.D. attacks
Pain can’t blink an eye in the face of guilt
when you survive the death of a brother in arms length.
A company of children is constantly haunted by ripping blasts
that peeled apart their gunnery sergeant
A man that drove them to be great soldiers
and to his own death.
I have to remind these scarred kids
to loosen the lid of emotion
on bottled tears
because to weep for a friend or comrade that dies
is not a sign of weakness
and Lord …
in this hard core uncut
trauma of mortar attacks
C-4 wrapped in ball bearing suicide acts
and the violent burdens you have laid
upon my weakened shoulders
to drag through this Baghdad sea of insanity
I pray…I don’t loose my humanity.
I pray that a medi vac chopper
can get to a fallen sniper victim in time
I pray for a twenty one year old private’s birthday surgery
to remove shrapnel from his spine
I pray for every life on these tables
dangling by a string
I pray nurses won’t have to tag and bag
pictures, watches and wedding rings
I pray you can whisper comfort
through nightmare screams in morphine dreams
I pray for relief from phantom limbs
clawing resurrection through scar tissue seams
I pray another wife will never don
a K.I.A. black bracelet on her wrist
I pray parents will never touch
an engraved son or daughters name on memorial wall list
I pray veterans don’t become forgotten shadows
living on homeland streets.
I pray we don’t leave a divided nation
with our heads hung in defeat
I pray children with folded flags
will understand sacrifice for love of country
I pray if I come home some day
my family will still recognize me
I pray lives and loses
will hasten the cause for peace
and this violence will end
In Christ,
your name,
I pray
Amen
If you missed Rex's poetry last month, you can see it here:
June Spotlight: RXR
If you missed Ninian's poetry in May, you can see it here:
May Spotlight: Ninian
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Write On Forum:
If you haven't found your way to our poetry boards yet, I hope you will now! We've been in existence for a little over a year and currently have 212 members. Each poet has his/her own folder for poetry, and there are also many other discussion and challenge areas. You can visit and read as a guest or join the boards and also post! You can find us at:
Write On!
See the last 20 posts here.
Be sure to check out the folder of our newest member, hayzeedave:
Hayzee
PoetryCafes.com:
The most recent site submissions are:
Title: Wendy Dimmette
Description: Wendy Dimmette is an award winning poet with a voice that is at once elegant and earthy. Hers is the rhythm of the pulse of mankind's deepest yearnings. Read her poetry and download free PDF editions of her children's books.
*****
Title: Online Rhyming Dictionary
Description: By Write Express and Rhymer.com
Submitted by PoetMES (gallowglass).
Be sure to check the new links out!
Bulletin Board
We are trying to find the poets who have been a part of Ninian's Poetry Cafe & Boards, Voodoo Cafe & Excite. Help us find our old friends and new friends by forwarding this newsletter to anyone you think would enjoy it! Thanks!
Audio Poetry
Here are a few links for your listening pleasure!
Litstation: Filling Station for the Mind. An online radio station dedicated to streaming the best audio literature to you each day. You will hear poems, novels, short stories, essays, plays, book reviews, myths, and epics, appealing to a wide variety of interests.
Poets.org Listening Booth There are more than 150 audio clips on Poets.org, and the list is always growing. Search by poem title or the author's name, or you can browse their most popular clips below.
Many of these clips are available for purchase on CD.
Poetry Out Loud A must hear collection!
E-poets: A Book of Voices The Book of Voices is e-poets' new media library of poetry in spoken word, performance, and text. It's a portal into aural poetry culture gathered from some of the more interesting voices of our day, with readings from the USA, Canada, Australia, and Europe. If it's spoken or watched and we keep it online at e-poets.net, we've catalogued it here.
The Courtland Review: Audio This site features a collection of audio recordings exclusive to The Cortland Review. The bulk of the audio appears in TCR Issues, where poets and writers read their own work.
Occasionally audio content is provided for a monthly feature, a portion of an interview, or a broadcast poetry event. An example may be found in Issue Six, where audio clips of Henry Taylor discussing poetic form are provided.
In some instances, a substitute reader may be asked to read if the author is unavailable for a recording.
To search for an author's work in realaudio, visit the Author Index.
DiaCenter: Readings in Contemporary Poetry Since the fall of 1987, over one hundred poets have read in Dia's Readings in Contemporary Poetry series. These readings have included historic literary events, such as James Schuyler's first public reading. All events have been videotaped, resulting in an extensive archive of poets reading from wide spans in their careers. Thanks to a generous grant from the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, selected audio from historic readings is being made available, starting with the 1987 season. Beginning with the October 9, 2001, reading by Paul Auster and Michael Ondaatje, recordings of entire readings will be posted.
I'll add to this list as I find more links.
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