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General Discussion / NORAZ Poet Christopher Ya'ir Lane has passed away.

« on: August 20, 2012, 01:28:28 AM »

Arizona Slam Poet Christopher Ya'ir Lane has passed away.  He was on a few NORAZ/Flagstaff teams and was also the coach of Sedona's BNV team.  From Northern Arizona poet Kayt Pearl:

*********************************************************************************

I write to share some very sad news with you all.

 Christopher Ya'ir Lane passed away last night in his sleep.

 Chris was dear friend to me and a true mentor to me in the field of arts programming. We worked closely together with his poetry organization and shared a great deal of mutual support for each other’s dreams. I've been balling my eyes out all day but pulled together enough to write to you because we all knew him and loved him. Some of you know much better than I who his friends are in the poetry community and beyond. Please share this news with love in your hearts.

 We are planning a memorial benefit for his family on September 14th, in Sedona AZ, at Java Love Cafe, which is a venue here in town that was just acquired by another dear friend of his, Dotan Lior, who is opening his doors for this event.
 I am looking for friends, poets, colleagues, students, and former students of Chris's who would love to be a part of this event, -- to perform, to offer words of remembrance, and to share feelings of gratitude and love for this man's life. Please be in touch or direct people to me to get in touch about it. My email is kaytpearlwoman@gmail.com. Email or facebook.

 He leaves his two beloved sons Oren & Zephryn and his wife Akasha here, and they are in need of your support. We are hoping to raise a large sum of money for his memorial services and their living expenses, as well as establish a memorial fund for his boys.

 Phoenix poet and youth mentor Myrlin Hepworth once said to me that "Chris is like an OG of slam poetry", and its true. For almost 2 decades(or more?!), he has lived and breathed it, and he leaves a poetry legacy behind that will live on for many years to come. As a 3-year newcomer to AZ and a 3-year old friendship with Chris, I only know a small part of the story. I can only partially attest to the thriving poetry scene he helped to establish here Northern AZ and the rest of the state, from the ground up, and to the networks and relationships he has built, connected, and immersed himself in over the years, out of love for the literary arts. My hope is to compile a more complete picture of his influence from those who felt love for him.

 Recently, he had handed over the Director role of our youth program Young Voices Be Heard to me, so he could free up some of his time to dedicate towards expanding our non-profit and fundraising on a much higher level than ever before.

 I will attempt to piece together some of those relationships that our non-profit LARC – Literary Arts for Rural Communities, formerly NORAZ Poets, thrived on. Christopher had a core belief in the power of the word, “Voice=Legacy” , and I do hope, with all of your help and connectivity, that I can keep the fabric of this organization together. Please share this info with those you may know who would seem appropriate.

 For now, our community is focusing on supporting his family and honoring his life. For those of you who can contribute in any way, through words, monetary support or presence at the benefit, please get in touch. Akasha as I understand, is neck deep in working out what is there is to work out after such a tragedy. I'm sure you can imagine.

 Thanks for your support, prayers and well wishes to his family.
 No more words.

 Best, Kayt Pearl

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General Discussion / Registered/Storm WoWps registration?

« on: February 03, 2012, 05:11:51 AM »

When does that open up? Only certified is available at the store right now.

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General Discussion / Cab share from airport to IWPS host hotel on 9/12?

« on: September 20, 2011, 12:55:39 PM »

Folks,

I'm coming in on 9/12 at around 2PM.

Anyone coming in to the airport around that time want to split a cab?  Let me know!

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General Discussion / Arizona State Senator wants an English-Only Poet Laureate.

« on: September 07, 2011, 01:53:54 PM »

Hey folks, in the next legislative session, a State Senator (Al Melvin from district 26 in Southern Arizona) is going to sponsor a bill that would create an Arizona Poet Laureate position.  An ENGLISH ONLY Poet Laureate. 

In Arizona, poetry is written in Spanish, it is written in O'odham & Dine, English, and other languages both transplanted and native. 

Creating a Poet Laureate position in "English Only" would put a government stamp on what is and isn't poetry with the borders of the Copper State. This cannot be allowed to happen. 

State Senator Al Melvin can be reached here: amelvin@azleg.gov. He also can be reached at: almelvin3@gmail.com or his cell at 520.429.8083 (he published those himself on the form letter response from the azleg.gov e-mail). 

He is expecting this to be a simple act that no one cares about.

Please forward this to anyone who might want to help in this fight.  If this does come to a floor vote, we will be working on doing something at the State Capitol to protest, but more importantly, *you* will need to lobby your state represenatives and senators *directly*.  Protests draw attention to the cause, but it takes direct action to affect change.

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Slam Selection Processes / Tombstone Poets (Phoenix, AZ - formerly the Mesa Poetry Slam) selection process

« on: January 18, 2011, 05:46:51 PM »

There will be 3 monthly slams before the slamoff - January 28th, 2011, February 25th, 2011, and March 25th, 2011.

10 poets will make it to the slamoff on April 29th, 2011.  Here's how they will qualify:

1. The winner and runner-up of each slam will automatically be qualified for the slam-off.  If there six unique 1st and 2nd place poets, six slots within the 10 poet lineup are considered filled. If there are only 5 unique 1st and 2nd place poets (let's say Poet X wins the January slam and comes in 2nd in February, but the remaining 1st and 2nd place poets are different people), then only 5 slots are considered filled), and so on. It is possible that only 2 slots will be filled before the slamoff on April 29th. 

2. The remaining 4 to 8 slots will be filled by poets cumulative scores for the three slams.  If Poet X scores a 72 in January, a 82.3 in February, and 84.9 in March, but did not win a slam, he will have a cumulative score of 239.2 for the season.  The poets with the most points will make it into the remaining slots available.

3. If a poet hosts a slam, they will be given a score for that slam that is the average of scores for that slam. A host who wishes to qualify for the slamoff will be required to compete in at least one of the three slams.

The slamoff will be seeded with the poets who won first place in three slams ordered by score. Second place poets will then be ordered by score. The remaining slots will be ordered by cumulative score for all three slams. Ties will be broken by a spirited game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.  The top ranking poet will choose the order of the slamoff. If they choose go first, then the slamoff is ordered with the top ranked poet going first, the 2nd ranked poet going second, so on.  If they choose to go last, then the lowest ranked poet goes first, and so on. 

Top 4 poets from the Slamoff will make it onto the Tombstone Poets NPS team.  If any poet drops off or is removed by the coach, the coach may select any poet who competed during the slam season to fill the vacancy. The coach is NOT required to select a poet who competed in the slamoff, regardless of rank in the slamoff.

iWPS season will be from May to July, the slamoff in August. 

WoW season will be from September to December, the slamoff in January.

Direct any questions to the Tombstone Poets slammaster, The Klute, at therealklute@yahoo.com.

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General Discussion / Some things to see and do in West Palm Beach...

« on: July 23, 2009, 04:10:27 PM »

The Palm Beach Zoo: http://www.palmbeachzoo.org/index.html

Not as large as say your Omaha or San Diego Zoo, but with its focus on South and Central America, Florida, and Asia, it is a great place to relax and see animals in habitats that replicate their home turf.

The South Florida Science Museum: http://www.sfsm.org/index.html: 

More kid oriented, but they've got some interesting exhibits, including an Egypt exhibit, the planetarium, and the aquariums.

The Flagler Musem: http://www.flaglermuseum.us/

See how rich, bloated plutocrats lived at the turn of the century!  Actually, it's quite interesting if you're into history, art, or architecture.  Plus there's high tea with crumpets and doilies. 

JFK's Bomb Shelter!: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/search/tip

The Kennedy's summer home was in Palm Beach, and JFK was coming there before and during his presidency, so the military build a bomb shelter on Peanut Island.  It wasn't used after that, and became a place where Jimmy Buffett listening potheads would go to avoid "The Man".  "The Man" officially reclaimed it a few years ago, and turned it into a museum.  The island's only accessible by boat, but the county offers a water taxi to the island.   There's also a Coast Guard museum on the island as well. 

More to come...

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General Discussion / Nationals Snorkeling Trip?

« on: July 22, 2009, 11:27:00 AM »

So, I'm thinking about arranging a snorkeling trip from the host hotel to Boca Raton's Red Reef Park.  It's probably South Florida's best beach accessible snorkeling experience.   

Go here for the details:

http://theklute.livejournal.com/1059215.html

If you're interested, hit me up at mesaslam at yahoo dot com.

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General Discussion / Here's a map on how to get to the host hotel to the beach.

« on: July 20, 2009, 09:28:09 AM »

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1pn=Marriott+West+Palm+Beach&2c=Palm+Beach&2s=FL&2a=Royal+Palm+Way+%26+South+Ocean+Blvd.#a/maps/l:Marriott-West+Palm+Beach:1001+Okeechobee+Blvd:West+Palm+Beach:FL:33401:US:26.706105:-80.063314:address::1/l::Royal+Palm+Way+&+S+Ocean+Blvd:Palm+Beach:FL:33480:US:26.70556:-80.033365:intersection:Palm+Beach+County:1/m::12:26.705545:-80.050066:0:::::1:1:1::/io:1:::::f:EN:M:/e

That big body of water between the hotel and the beach?  Intracoastal waterway.  There's no beach there, just a seawall.  And beneath that - sharp, jagged rocks that are crawling with sea roaches. 

Yes, sea roaches.   

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General Discussion / What do you want to know about West Palm Beach?

« on: June 27, 2009, 03:15:15 PM »

Hey kids,

As part of the now OFFICIAL Survival Guide to West Palm Beach,  I'd like some suggestions about what you'd like to know about the city.

Restaurants, nightlife, getting back to nature, that sort of thing. 

Hit me up here or backchannel. 

Otherwise, you'll hear what I think you want to know.  Which is basically goth clubs and where to get a decent bagel.

10

General Discussion / The Klute's officially unofficial guide to South Florida.

« on: March 14, 2009, 05:48:15 AM »

Hey there all.  As some of you know, I'm a native of South Florida, so I thought I'd give some insight into South Florida culture and local quirks.  I'm doing a review of things you might enjoy and questions you might have about West Palm Beach (what to do when you've got spare time, where to eat, etc).

I know Chris Imperial and the NPS '09 crew will have many official pronouncements and recommendations, but just to wet your wistle (and to keep me from falling asleep while working the graveyard shift), I'll be assembling a rough guide that may or may not be of interest to you.   

Here's the link:

http://theklute.livejournal.com/tag/nps+2009+guide

Tonight I've started off with entries about why you should and should not go to the town of Palm Beach (east of West Palm Beach), Cuban restaurant recommendations, and some thoughts about the West Palm Beach weather.  It'll be updated randomly and periodically.   

Hope you find it enjoyable and of worth.

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General Discussion / Liveblogging the Great Plains Poetry Pile-up!

« on: September 19, 2008, 07:11:42 PM »

Over at http://theklute.livejournal.com, I'll be liveblogging the Great Plains Poetry Pile-up from Fremont, NE. 

Come and join the fesitivities. 

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General Discussion / What are some "Don't Miss" things in Madison?

« on: May 28, 2008, 03:39:29 PM »

'Cause so far, all I've found is "Funeral home with Perky Animal Dioramas".

Full story here: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2247

Now if you're like me, the words "funeral home" and "perky animal dioramas" are more than enough to entice me to go, but is there other neat touristy stuff that we shouldn't miss while in Wisconsin (the Sprecher Brewery and The Safe House in Milwaukee are two of my other stops).

13

Slam Selection Processes / Mesa, AZ - Essenza Poetry Slam

« on: May 10, 2008, 05:21:37 AM »

Mesa Poetry Slam
Del Sol Reception Hall
Every Thursday
243 S Mesa Dr
Mesa, AZ 85210
(480) 655-9100
www.anthology.org

Here is the 2009 Slamoff Process:
2009 Mesa National Slamoff

This will be year 14 that we have picked a team, and as the old addage says: Go Big, or Go Home. So here we go:

This is the information that was sent out on Anthology.org this evening:

The 2009 Mesa National Poetry Slamoff will be held Thursday, May 21st, 2009.
Tickets for the 2009 Mesa National Poetry Slamoff  will go on sale April 1st, 2009.

If you would like to be a member of the 2009 Mesa National Poetry Slam Team, and compete in the 2009 National Poetry Slam to be held in Florida in August 2009:

- How to Qualify

Between March 1 and May 14th, 2009, poets will be able to Slam weekly and earn points the schedule is listed below:

March, 2009- 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th

April, 2009- 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th

May, 2009- 7th and 14th

You will notice that we have replaced all open mics with slams during these months. In each poetry slam, poets will earn points based on how many total poets slam. See the example below for details. Following the final week of Competition (May 14th), the top 12 poets will be invited to compete in the Slamoff, which will be held on Thursday May 21st, 2009. The poet that has accumulated the most points will be allowed to read last in the first round, with the poet that has earned the fewest points reading first.

An Example of earning points.
If there are 10 poets that read in a slam, the winner receives 10 points, the 2nd place poet 9 points, and so on.

   * To sucessfully earn points, you must read in each round that you ualify for. If you are cut from a round because of congestion, you will still earn points for the slam.
   * Hosts do not receive any points for hosting.
   * Points may not be transferred of given away.

Registration for the 2009 Slamoff

Poets that qualify for the 2009 Slamoff will need to:
   * Bring a registration fee of $40 on the night of the Finals (May 21st).
   * Make sure that they are registered members of Poetry Slam Inc. Membership may be obtained at http://www.poetryslam.com.
   * Accept their invitation Prior to May17th, 2009.

Additional 2009 Slam Team Info
   * The 2009 Team will be coached by veteran Mesa Slammaster Bob Nelson.
   * If you are on the team, you should understand that you will be obligated to meet once per week outside of the normal slam schedule for a series of workshops and practice sessions between May and August.
   * If you are on the team, you should also be prepared to contribute to a team chapbook and CD for fundraising, attend fundraising shows and generally spend a distressingly busy summer promoting your poetry and raising money so you has to come up with less money on your own when the time comes.

Updates and Changes

As always, visit http://www.anthology.org for updates and/or changes to the 2009 Mesa National Slam Team selection process. Directions to Del Sol are on the site.

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General Discussion / Now that Win and You're in is over, is there a list of "In" teams?

« on: May 02, 2008, 02:31:11 PM »

You've read the subject line, now read the post!

Now that Win and You're in is over, is there a list of "In" teams? 

This is a curiosity thing, not an "OMG TEH EC SUX SO BAD!1!" thing.  If there's still tabulating and paperworking going on, that 1. would be totally understandable and 2. not unexpected (but in an understanding way, not in a passive-agressive insulting sort of way). 

But if there is, can it be posted? 

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General Discussion / Paging Los Angeles-Southern California

« on: April 02, 2008, 04:40:49 PM »

Looking for a gig on Sunday, May 4th!  Anyone know of any shows down there looking for features?