President's Letter: iWPS 2006
Straight from the mouth of PSI President Scott Woods (which will be a little slurry, since he drove all night getting back home after Finals)...
CHARLOTTE GÃô THE CITY
Fine city with weather it doesnGÃÃt deserve and too many fine lounges.
Of course, IGÃÃm sure anyone who was there will agree that the most wondrous part of the city was the soul food restaurant next to the host hotel: MertGÃÃs. Ah, the cornbread. The chicken breast. The collard greens (hey Darby: thatGÃÃs not a salad youGÃÃre ordering). The down-home staff. The swollen bellies.
CHARLOTTE GÃô THE CREW
BIG props to Inkera, who started cracking the whip on the ground a short time ago and got mad volunteers and organized, organized, organized. Who ever heard of generating so many volunteers that they needed a waiting list?
BIG props to Kimberly Simms, who drove up to Charlotte multiple times in recent weeks to make sure PSIGÃÃs interests were represented and that the holes were being plugged.
Terry, thanks for having us crazy kids in your home. You had the vision and it worked. Yeeeeeeeee-haaaaaw (my NASCAR yelp)!
And to the many, many volunteers? You guys killed.
Gabrielle and Tazuo GÃô our video team GÃô were some seriously busy bees, and I have to thank you guys for your diligence.
iWPS GÃô THE COMMUNITY
When you put slam poets sans teams and support systems somewhere for a few days on their own, they largely behave most like themselves: the cool kids become cooler, the wild kids get wilder, and the hustlers hustle harder. At every turn, poets were warm and supportive of each other, to organizers and to the people who make the machine that is the city of Charlotte work. You are to be commended on your ability to build a family anywhere we share words en masse. I continue to be honored representing you, and being represented by you.
iWPS GÃô THE BOUTS
I got there after the first night and shortly before the second set of rounds was to start, so I was seeing a lot of poets in what has become The Magic Hour: when anything could happen. Upsets are common at iWPS, and as poets become more comfortable with the expectations of the competitive aspects of the event weGÃÃre going to see even more surprises in the finalist veteran-to-non-finalist poet ratio. There were some severe jumbles as the competition wore on, and it proved the one thing about Slam that I love to point out: you can never, ever know where the Slam is going to go. The bouts were magical and dramatic, and even the bout on the first night that was unfortunately considered less noteworthy than the ones that featured Slam veterans was considered a grand force of a show. Every time you turn your back on this thing, it proves itself ten times over. Kudos to the return of real drama to Slam, and the nooks and crannies in every bout that made every bout a great show. Every time I turned around I heard poets saying, GãMan, I got more work to do.GÃÂ¥ ThatGÃÃs a testimony to the power of all of you to affect the other, and that is a beautiful thingGêand something NPS doesnGÃÃt quite do in the same way, I think.
(Special mention: Overhead projection.
(Was it me, or was the experience of reading Pilote le HotGÃÃs (France) poem while hearing (and notably, only in snatches, seeing) him perform his poetry kind of/exactly/freaking cool? I mean, the irreverence of his work certainly stands as the spice of the experience, but the interaction with the poetry in this manner clearly changed the game for me in very natural ways. HmmmGê)
(Special mention: Paper.
(Her majestyGÃÃs poet, Jim Levine of England, is Family GuyGÃÃs Stewie Griffin come to life. He even has a quiet, evil ditty about shooting a dog. (Well, itGÃÃs a poem about American violence, but it begins with the shooting of a dog.) Anyhow, you know I always love me a cat who reads off of paper in a poetry slam, so top of the morning and cheerio to you, Jim. Bring others from across the pond next year!)
iWPS GÃô FINALS NIGHT
Most finals nights, be they NPS or iWPS, I attend with some measure of trepidation. GãAh,GÃÂ¥ I think, GãthereGÃÃs some good cats in there, but thereGÃÃs some cats I wouldnGÃÃt exactly call my cup of Earl Grey.GÃÂ¥ Not this show. This was, hands-down, the best finals show IGÃÃve ever seen at a national level event, packed to the gills with poets that were pretty much canGÃÃt-miss who needed to really pull out the stops to make a dent. The quality of work across the board was jaw-dropping, and the passion of the poets and the audience was in high gear.
Congratulations to all of the poets, and to our 2006 winner, GãMightyGÃÂ¥ Mike McGee! IGÃÃll never look at the moon GÃô or pudding GÃô the same way again. In the words of Bill Cosby: GãA-zabba zibba pudding-doh bibba Camille awwwwwwwwwwwww!GÃÂ¥
(Special mention: Paper the Younger.
(IGÃÃve seen Jared Paul do, literally, hours of memorized work in 2001 at SeattleGÃÃs 24-hour open mic. IGÃÃve already told Jared what I thought about his last poem the best way I could at the moment that night, but you should all be aware that the gift that he gave the family with this decision in the third round of finals GÃô when he easily could have done the kind of work that traditionally works well in these types of situations GÃô is a bucket of love and guts most of us donGÃÃt have. Most of us refuse to see the victory in getting to the Finals stage at all in an event of this caliber. No matter what any of us think, it doesnGÃÃt belong to any of us by right; it is not anyoneGÃÃs stage except he who has the scores. Kudos to Jared for recognizing THAT win, and honoring the win with his heart and passion for the Slam family and poetry. His decision was, of course, less about paper and more about the poem, but I know some people wonGÃÃt see beyond the paper, so this all bore mentioning.)
Finally,
PSI
I can generally tell how things are going with one of our events by watching Steve Marsh. If heGÃÃs fuming, somebody dropped a serious ball. If heGÃÃs amused, somebody dropped a ball, but it didnGÃÃt hurt the event. If heGÃÃs smiling, we might actually be making money off of one of these things, but more likely weGÃÃre all having a good time. Coming into the host hotel Friday night, I saw a happy Steve.
This is key, because without Steve handling every single poetGÃÃs registration, a hundred midnight phone calls, everybodyGÃÃs money, archiving footage as it comes in from every piece of every event, the ECGÃÃs constant head-thumping, hauling boxes of product across multiple state lines and about a million other things GÃô without Steve doing these things, THERE IS NO EVENT. No NPS, no iWPS, no PSI. IGÃÃm occasionally prone to overstatement, but this is not one of those times. Sure, somebody could come up with these events, maybe scare up some of the stuff to make it happen, but Steve handles so much of this stuff in such a consistently professional manner that I think heGÃÃs a cyborg. Kudos to Steve for being monumentally instrumental in shaping this event, and our organization. His commitment to Slam and PSI is unparalleled.
(Ask his wife and kids, whom I hear have, during the week leading up to one of our events, taken to wearing shirts around the house that say, GãI am not a Slam poet. Shoot someone else.GÃÂ¥)
Kudos to the EC who have been tinkering on this thing for the past year. Only you guys know just how hard it really was.
Finally, extreme gratitude must go to our phenomenal Tournament Director, Erik Daniel. Erik runs a tight ship, and our shows were on point from beginning to end because of his leadership on this event. I tip Steve MarshGÃÃs ever-present hat to you. Now all I have to do is get you on the ECGê
All in all, it was a great event, one of the best. We say this every year anymore, and itGÃÃs because weGÃÃre putting on great shows at every turn right now. WeGÃÃre fixing the holes and checking the tires. Expect more of this kind of magic on and off the field in the coming year.
See you in Vancouver!
Scott Woods
President; Poetry Slam, Inc.
SlamMaster; Columbus, Ohio
CHARLOTTE GÃô THE CITY
Fine city with weather it doesnGÃÃt deserve and too many fine lounges.
Of course, IGÃÃm sure anyone who was there will agree that the most wondrous part of the city was the soul food restaurant next to the host hotel: MertGÃÃs. Ah, the cornbread. The chicken breast. The collard greens (hey Darby: thatGÃÃs not a salad youGÃÃre ordering). The down-home staff. The swollen bellies.
CHARLOTTE GÃô THE CREW
BIG props to Inkera, who started cracking the whip on the ground a short time ago and got mad volunteers and organized, organized, organized. Who ever heard of generating so many volunteers that they needed a waiting list?
BIG props to Kimberly Simms, who drove up to Charlotte multiple times in recent weeks to make sure PSIGÃÃs interests were represented and that the holes were being plugged.
Terry, thanks for having us crazy kids in your home. You had the vision and it worked. Yeeeeeeeee-haaaaaw (my NASCAR yelp)!
And to the many, many volunteers? You guys killed.
Gabrielle and Tazuo GÃô our video team GÃô were some seriously busy bees, and I have to thank you guys for your diligence.
iWPS GÃô THE COMMUNITY
When you put slam poets sans teams and support systems somewhere for a few days on their own, they largely behave most like themselves: the cool kids become cooler, the wild kids get wilder, and the hustlers hustle harder. At every turn, poets were warm and supportive of each other, to organizers and to the people who make the machine that is the city of Charlotte work. You are to be commended on your ability to build a family anywhere we share words en masse. I continue to be honored representing you, and being represented by you.
iWPS GÃô THE BOUTS
I got there after the first night and shortly before the second set of rounds was to start, so I was seeing a lot of poets in what has become The Magic Hour: when anything could happen. Upsets are common at iWPS, and as poets become more comfortable with the expectations of the competitive aspects of the event weGÃÃre going to see even more surprises in the finalist veteran-to-non-finalist poet ratio. There were some severe jumbles as the competition wore on, and it proved the one thing about Slam that I love to point out: you can never, ever know where the Slam is going to go. The bouts were magical and dramatic, and even the bout on the first night that was unfortunately considered less noteworthy than the ones that featured Slam veterans was considered a grand force of a show. Every time you turn your back on this thing, it proves itself ten times over. Kudos to the return of real drama to Slam, and the nooks and crannies in every bout that made every bout a great show. Every time I turned around I heard poets saying, GãMan, I got more work to do.GÃÂ¥ ThatGÃÃs a testimony to the power of all of you to affect the other, and that is a beautiful thingGêand something NPS doesnGÃÃt quite do in the same way, I think.
(Special mention: Overhead projection.
(Was it me, or was the experience of reading Pilote le HotGÃÃs (France) poem while hearing (and notably, only in snatches, seeing) him perform his poetry kind of/exactly/freaking cool? I mean, the irreverence of his work certainly stands as the spice of the experience, but the interaction with the poetry in this manner clearly changed the game for me in very natural ways. HmmmGê)
(Special mention: Paper.
(Her majestyGÃÃs poet, Jim Levine of England, is Family GuyGÃÃs Stewie Griffin come to life. He even has a quiet, evil ditty about shooting a dog. (Well, itGÃÃs a poem about American violence, but it begins with the shooting of a dog.) Anyhow, you know I always love me a cat who reads off of paper in a poetry slam, so top of the morning and cheerio to you, Jim. Bring others from across the pond next year!)
iWPS GÃô FINALS NIGHT
Most finals nights, be they NPS or iWPS, I attend with some measure of trepidation. GãAh,GÃÂ¥ I think, GãthereGÃÃs some good cats in there, but thereGÃÃs some cats I wouldnGÃÃt exactly call my cup of Earl Grey.GÃÂ¥ Not this show. This was, hands-down, the best finals show IGÃÃve ever seen at a national level event, packed to the gills with poets that were pretty much canGÃÃt-miss who needed to really pull out the stops to make a dent. The quality of work across the board was jaw-dropping, and the passion of the poets and the audience was in high gear.
Congratulations to all of the poets, and to our 2006 winner, GãMightyGÃÂ¥ Mike McGee! IGÃÃll never look at the moon GÃô or pudding GÃô the same way again. In the words of Bill Cosby: GãA-zabba zibba pudding-doh bibba Camille awwwwwwwwwwwww!GÃÂ¥
(Special mention: Paper the Younger.
(IGÃÃve seen Jared Paul do, literally, hours of memorized work in 2001 at SeattleGÃÃs 24-hour open mic. IGÃÃve already told Jared what I thought about his last poem the best way I could at the moment that night, but you should all be aware that the gift that he gave the family with this decision in the third round of finals GÃô when he easily could have done the kind of work that traditionally works well in these types of situations GÃô is a bucket of love and guts most of us donGÃÃt have. Most of us refuse to see the victory in getting to the Finals stage at all in an event of this caliber. No matter what any of us think, it doesnGÃÃt belong to any of us by right; it is not anyoneGÃÃs stage except he who has the scores. Kudos to Jared for recognizing THAT win, and honoring the win with his heart and passion for the Slam family and poetry. His decision was, of course, less about paper and more about the poem, but I know some people wonGÃÃt see beyond the paper, so this all bore mentioning.)
Finally,
PSI
I can generally tell how things are going with one of our events by watching Steve Marsh. If heGÃÃs fuming, somebody dropped a serious ball. If heGÃÃs amused, somebody dropped a ball, but it didnGÃÃt hurt the event. If heGÃÃs smiling, we might actually be making money off of one of these things, but more likely weGÃÃre all having a good time. Coming into the host hotel Friday night, I saw a happy Steve.
This is key, because without Steve handling every single poetGÃÃs registration, a hundred midnight phone calls, everybodyGÃÃs money, archiving footage as it comes in from every piece of every event, the ECGÃÃs constant head-thumping, hauling boxes of product across multiple state lines and about a million other things GÃô without Steve doing these things, THERE IS NO EVENT. No NPS, no iWPS, no PSI. IGÃÃm occasionally prone to overstatement, but this is not one of those times. Sure, somebody could come up with these events, maybe scare up some of the stuff to make it happen, but Steve handles so much of this stuff in such a consistently professional manner that I think heGÃÃs a cyborg. Kudos to Steve for being monumentally instrumental in shaping this event, and our organization. His commitment to Slam and PSI is unparalleled.
(Ask his wife and kids, whom I hear have, during the week leading up to one of our events, taken to wearing shirts around the house that say, GãI am not a Slam poet. Shoot someone else.GÃÂ¥)
Kudos to the EC who have been tinkering on this thing for the past year. Only you guys know just how hard it really was.
Finally, extreme gratitude must go to our phenomenal Tournament Director, Erik Daniel. Erik runs a tight ship, and our shows were on point from beginning to end because of his leadership on this event. I tip Steve MarshGÃÃs ever-present hat to you. Now all I have to do is get you on the ECGê
All in all, it was a great event, one of the best. We say this every year anymore, and itGÃÃs because weGÃÃre putting on great shows at every turn right now. WeGÃÃre fixing the holes and checking the tires. Expect more of this kind of magic on and off the field in the coming year.
See you in Vancouver!
Scott Woods
President; Poetry Slam, Inc.
SlamMaster; Columbus, Ohio
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