The Slam

We raised over $500 for the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word last night (counting the take from the door and the raffle). The raffle was a lot of fun, with poets donating tons of stuff to stuff the boxes. The winners took home treasure chests filled with goodies from my kitchen and chapbooks, cds, books, t shirts etc.

The playoffs were spectacular. Nine poets competed. It was one of the best evenings of poetry and performance I've seen in a long time. Good good good poetry and poets trying their best and brightest to get onto the second Vancouver team. Any four of the nine would have made up a great team.

I was thrilled to be part of a "slam-off" at the end of the show. Three poets (including me) tied for 3rd place at the end of the second round, with room for just 4 poets on the team. We each performed one more poem. In the end, I came in behind the other two, so I will continue as a "close but no cigar" supporter and active participant in the slam. I am sincerely delighted to have come so close. I feel like I am improving my performance skills and connecting better with the audience each time I perform. I just love the feeling of being part of the show. It's a thrill to write and prepare a piece, then bring it to the stage. It may sound corny, but being part of the Vancouver slam community and Vancouver Poetry House is as good as winning.

Now it's time for me to help with festival preparations, and also to write some of the poetry that's bubbling around just below the surface of my creative/thinking/feeling self. And to support our two wonderful Vancouver teams as they go into our own Canadian festival. Congratulations Magpie Ulysses, Dunce the Wizard, Kim Shaughnessy and TL Groves as you join Zaccheus, Chrystalene Buhler, Brendan McLeod and Barbara Adler as Vancouver's representatives in slam poetry. What great teams! What a night! What a community!

question: Is it really the first day of school? How can it be?

mompoet - turning pages