Messages

1

General Discussion / Re: 2012 WoW COMPETITOR LIST

« on: February 18, 2012, 04:53:57 PM »

Quoted from that thread:  "Distance to event
To make sure we don't have a bunch of poets from the same city applying for the event"

This is what I, and I think Dane, would like to have explained further.  I understood this to be a major determining factor, but it does not seem to show in this list--for instance, Columbus has four total representatives, and Arizona as a whole has none.  I understand that there is not a precise methodology, but I don't think it's unreasonable of us to be curious (and I certainly don't think it's surprising that the folks who didn't make it in would like to know why).

I know everybody's busy getting ready for WoW, and I know it's frustrating to have to have this conversation over and over, so I'm sorry for being a pest about it.  But it sucks to not make it into my favorite tournament, and I'm guessing I'm not the only one who would like to have a clearer understanding of how these decisions are being made.  My impression, reading this list, is that some areas have been unfairly favored and some have been unfairly overlooked.  I would really appreciate having an explanation that would ameliorate the perceived unfairness.

Thanks so much!

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General Discussion / Re: 2012 WoW COMPETITOR LIST

« on: February 18, 2012, 04:26:31 PM »

I'm interested in the answer as well--I also see two storms from Houston and two from Columbus, and none from the Denver area.  Obviously there's some self-interest motivating this question, but can you tell us why some areas got more storm poets than others?

Thanks!  Looking forward to seeing y'all in a few weeks!

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General Discussion / Buddhism Fellowship at Naropa University

« on: December 17, 2010, 12:56:56 PM »

Hey y'all,

I wanted to let you academic types know about an opportunity my school offers for a semester-long residency working on a project related to "Buddhism and American Culture & Values."  All sorts of interdisciplinary proposals are considered and I would love to see some projects that bring poetry into the mix!  More info and application guidelines are here:

www.naropa.edu/lenz

Much love!

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General Discussion / Re: New Slammaster In Berkeley

« on: July 12, 2010, 07:05:46 PM »

How do you become a Slam Master?

You have to win a haiku deathmatch against Sho Nuff.

-Jesster

I'm buying you a drink in St. Paul for that.

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General Discussion / Tucson Poetry Festival Grand Slam

« on: February 05, 2010, 01:41:18 PM »

2010 Tucson Poetry Festival Grand Slam--$1000 Prize!

As part of the 28th Annual Tucson Poetry Festival, Ocotillo Literary Endeavors presents the biggest slam ever to hit Tucson.  Poets from across the Southwest compete for fame, glory, and a cool $1000 at the historic Club Congress, the hottest venue in downtown Tucson!

Friday, April 2 and Saturday, April 3
Club Congress
311 E Congress St
Tucson, AZ 85701

Registration is only $50, and for that low price you get an all-access pass to the rest of the Festival, including workshops, a panel discussion, and readings by Manuel Paul Lopez, Gypsee Yo, Linda Russo, and Sonya Renee.  TPF is the longest-running poetry festival in the Southwest, and this is the first time we've done a slam this big.  If the turnout is good, next year's could be even bigger.  Don't miss out!

Email Lindsay Miller at oppositeofmermaids@gmail.com to reserve your spot, and check out tucsonpoetryfestival.org for more info on the Festival.

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General Discussion / Call for Submissions--Arizona Poets

« on: February 05, 2010, 12:19:21 PM »

The 26th Annual Statewide Poetry Contest (Will Inman Award) is accepting submissions from unpublished Arizona poets. The winner of the contest will read the winning poem at Tucson Poetry Festival XXVIII—Poetry Where You Are in April 2010. The winner will be introduced by contest judge Linda Russo and will also receive a $200 cash award. Second and third place winners will receive $50 cash awards.

Deadline: March 6, 2010
Entry fee: $10.00

1. Open to all Arizona poets who have not published—through the Internet or any recognized press—a full-length collection (more than 30 pages) of poetry. No previously published poems are acceptable. Poems that appear on an individual poet’s website are not considered “published.”

2. Entrants submit two (2) identical sets of up to six (6) pages of recent work. Only one poem may appear on a single page; poems of more than one page in length are acceptable. Entrants’ name must NOT appear on manuscript pages. Please staple the individual sets of six (6) pages together. Only one entry per poet will be accepted.

3. Mail entries unfolded in a 9 x 12 envelope. Enclose a title page including your name, address, day & evening phone numbers, email address, and titles (or first 2 lines) of the poems submitted. Also enclose a check for $10.00, payable to Tucson Poetry Festival. Entries containing incomplete or false information will forfeit Entrant’s eligibility for the Contest. No manuscripts will be returned.

Mail entries to:
TPF Statewide Poetry Contest
PO Box 44000, Tucson, Arizona 85733
Entries must be postmarked by March 6, 2010.

Contest judge Linda Russo earned her Ph.D. in English from the Poetics Program at the University at Buffalo (SUNY) and her M.F.A. from Emerson College. Her publications include two books of poetry: MIRTH (Chax Press, 2007) and o going out (Potes & Poets Press, 1999). Russo is a contributing editor of HOW2, a journal of experimental writing by women, &, until recently, the director of Sounds Out, a poetry reading series at the University of Oklahoma. A recipient of fellowships from the Ragdale Foundation and the Millay Colony for the Arts, she has given poetry readings in the U.S. & locations abroad, including Toronto, Portugal & Cuba.

Contact: Lindsay Miller oppositeofmermaids@gmail.com

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General Discussion / Re: The Next Big Thing: WOWps 2010

« on: October 21, 2009, 07:56:08 PM »

I volunteer to be a logistics organizer for a DIY version of Getting Ugly.  Linds, you with me?

Yes, of course!

Also, if you haven't already joined the WOWPS Facebook group and invited every single person you know to do the same, you should really oughta get on that.

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General Discussion / Re: The Next Big Thing: WOWps 2010

« on: October 13, 2009, 12:04:45 AM »

Hey, I have an idea. Why don't folks hire Dee to come to their hometowns and put on the workshop? That's the way to do it. I'll bet you could get her for a fair price.

Definitely.  We had her in Tucson and she was amazing.  So very, very worth it.

And I think doing an unofficial Getting Ugly would be amazing.  Really, most of what we get out of that workshop comes from the other participants anyway.  I would love to be involved in making that happen.

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General Discussion / Re: The Next Big Thing: WOWps 2010

« on: October 11, 2009, 11:03:33 PM »

I almost never attend workshops at NPS/iWPS/WOWps, but I'll go to a Dee Matthews workshop on three hours of sleep and no coffee.  That shit is intense, folks.  There are poets who will always be my sisters because of Getting Ugly Onstage.  If she doesn't want to do it because she'd rather focus on competing, that's awesome, but if the issue in question is whether people will show up--count me as a HELL YES.

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General Discussion / Re: Preselected, qualified judges for NPS?

« on: August 27, 2009, 09:40:25 AM »

Sorry to be ornery, but I wasn't agreeing with you, I was just paraphrasing you in the hopes of figuring out what you meant.  I absolutely don't believe that "poets shouldn't strive to meet any aesthetic standard."  That's senseless on the face of it.  EVERYONE who writes poetry is aiming for SOME specific aesthetic.  Should they all be going for the same standard?  No, because that would be boring.  But of course poets have aesthetic preferences, and of course they're going to try to write poems that embody those preferences.

And "don't be a rapper, don't be a performer, don't be academic" IS a particular set of aesthetic preferences, but because they'e YOUR preferences you've summed them up under the heading of POETRY, thus implying that anyone who does stuff that you don't like is not doing POETRY.

This, folks, is why I have a problem with the idea of "qualified" judges.

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General Discussion / Re: Preselected, qualified judges for NPS?

« on: August 26, 2009, 11:39:39 AM »

Basically, you can run your own shows however you want. If you want to start a tournament with "expert" judges, go for it! But that isn't slam. "Random" judges is an essential fact of what we do. It represents the democratization of art, points out the absurdity of the very notion of "expert" art judges, and involves the audience in an important way.

See, this is why Mike Mlekoday is awesome.  The whole point of poetry slam is that EVERYONE'S voice counts.  You don't need to be an expert, you don't need a degree or years of slam experience, you don't need to have ever read a poem before in your life.  If you're there, you're qualified to judge.  It's not cool to fuck with that just because you don't share some of the judges' opinions.  The day we start having "expert" judges at NPS is the day I stop going.

I would argue that a good writer doesn't write to an aesthetic, and that good poetry should win out. It's not that I want to alienate non-poets (i.e. performers, monologuists, rappers, other types of entertainers) from a POETRY slam, but it would be nice to go to a POETRY slam and hear nothing but POETRY. Not academic, not hybrid, just some POETRY. Those writing to a supposed 'standard' should reconsider why they're slamming, and perhaps step aside.

This doesn't make sense to me.  Poets shouldn't strive for any aesthetic standard, but they shouldn't be academic, or "hybrid," or performers, or rappers, because then they're not doing POETRY, which is defined as... what?  Stuff that you like?  And if we all started writing and performing according to your guidelines, how would that NOT lead to the exact problem Chancelier xero Skidmore is talking about?

One of the best things about slam is that you never know who the judges are going to be on any given night.  You always have to read the room, respond to the audience, figure out on the fly what's working and what isn't.  Having preselected judges would take the fun out of it.  I don't want to hear a room full of people doing stuff they wrote just to impress Hyped-Up Celebrity Judge X.  I want to see poets doing risky pieces that they love because they're gambling that some random person in the room will love it too.

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General Discussion / Re: Women's Open Mic Showcase

« on: July 23, 2009, 12:06:41 AM »

You know what two words I like to see right next to each other?  "Free" and "Sangria."

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General Discussion / Re: Now that the venues have been announced...

« on: July 20, 2009, 10:57:23 AM »

So, all venues allow performers 18+. Does that mean under-21 team members can go to bouts in all the venues, or are they only welcome if they are competing in the bout?

My guess is if you show your poet pass, it's all good.

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General Discussion / Re: Will it be impossible to compete in both haiku and nerd slams?

« on: July 17, 2009, 08:29:49 PM »

Then again, weren't they just called "The Trio"?

They called themselves The Trio.  Although Buffy fans tend to refer to them as "The Troika," for some fuckin' reason.

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General Discussion / Re: Will it be impossible to compete in both haiku and nerd slams?

« on: July 17, 2009, 08:28:20 PM »

And hey, let's do a question right now:

In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who are the members of the Evil Trio, and in what episodes were they introduced?

Since TSPrunier only got half credit, I'll go for the whole thing.  Jonathan was introduced in Season 1--the first episode with Danny Strong is "Inca Mummy Girl," though I don't think he had a name until the season 2 ep "Go Fish."  I could be wrong about that.  (I'm not looking this stuff up.)  Warren first appears in Season 5, "I Was Made To Love You."  Andrew first appears early in Season 6, "Life Serial," I believe--I'm not great at S6--but he is, of course, Tucker's brother, and Tucker's first (and only) appearance was in Season 3, "The Prom."

I've taken you down at Buffy trivia once before.  I am all ready to do it again.