Poetry Slam, Inc.

Artists Don't Make Mistakes

By Ashley Catharine

Ashley Catharine writes poems, obviously. She was a member of the 2011 Los Angeles slam team, has a degree in fashion design, never keeps her room clean and is addicted to diet coke. She's performed at Inkslam (2011, 2012), the National Poetry Slam, and the Costco employee break room. Catharine is the host of "The Library Open Mic", and is excited about featuring her work in the upcoming documentary "Damn Wonderful". For booking/contact/stalking look for her on facebook, twitter @mermaidnamedASH, instagram @thatstarvingartist or email Ashley@thatstarvingartist.com

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Brush of Inspiration

By Midge Potts

Midge is a 44 year old poet/activist from Springfield, Missouri who competed at WoWps in 2011. She regularly participates in MO Poetry slam.

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October 28, 2008

By Red

My name is Jessica Gypsy Dyatlov. I am a socialized foreigner from Israel, currently living in Sacramento, CA. I began writing poetry to heal.

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Rum n Peppa Sauce

By Giselle

Giselle Robinson was born in “Rock City”, St. Thomas, USVI. Giselle’s voice and her words, her stories and her style, reflect the deeply ingrained West Indian values and traditions she was raised with. She is as warm and smooth, deep and as vibrant as the Caribbean Sea. DFW’s own Island Girl, Giselle is a member of the 2011 and 2012 Fort Worth Slam Teams as well as the 2011 DFW Gladiator Slam Champion. Giselle represented Dallas at the world at the 2012 Women of the World Poetry Slam Championship. She has also released her first collection of poems, “Cadence” in 2012 along with a CD and DVD of poems from that collection. Giselle says she writes because she has to, is compelled to, but she performs for that moment of personal connection; shared pain, shared purpose. She’s still amused by reactions to her accent; after all, it’s just “Me”.

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Traffick

By Sacha Jacobson

Sacha was hatched from an egg in Houston, TX where she grew wings and flew away into adulthood. There she searched the skies for meaning, found it in a pen, etched it in the clouds and called it Truth. She currently lives in Austin, TX where she periodically performs at Austin Poetry Slam and Neo Soul.

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7 Sins of the Father

By Cyn Thompson

Cyn Thompson is a teacher who has learned to hold her own in Brooklyn and the lower east side. She landed nose first into the poetry scene because her art therapist told her she had a good turn of phrase and should try writing. Now her 27 years of living won't stop talking, as if every experience needs to be learned over again to remind her of how to be am eternal student. Her poetry is about how to live after survival, as well as how to heal in the middle of suicidal tendencies. Her poetry is her cliff jump into an ocean of living inviting you to join in, the water is beautiful once you adjust.

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Heaven's Key

By X Blu Rayne

Poets are songwriters, spoken word artist are performers, authors are literary artist, and speakers are catalyst. X Blu Rayne is the perfect combination of all four. Her poetry matches where you are, speaks on those hidden things never spoken, and gives insight and direction on who you want to be. Her poetry isn't just words spoken to appeal to the ear, but they are solution based, emotionally driven, and written with the objective of speaking truths from the heart. She moves your frequencies and isn't shy about speaking on anything to anyone at any time. She can shape your reality into words so that you can see yourself properly. Her education is life experiences, talking to those who are hurting and happy, and gaining knowledge by listening to everyone from college students to the elderly, and maintaining an open soul to voices that have never had a place to speak. Her goal, simply put, is that through her poetry and speaking she helps people be the best they are designed to be. She doesn't write for cliques or poetic competitions, she writes to change lives and enhance humanity by taking the issues in this world and capsulizing them into a digestible method. Helping all of us swallow the bitter pills of life and appreciating the possible sweetness thereafter. She has a story. Performances include: *National Poetry Awards (TX & MO)2011 and 2012 *Missouri Black Expo: A Taste of Spoken Word 2012 *The Juice Box Diaries 2011(MO) *Real Men can Cook Father’s Day 2011(MO) *Taste for the Cure & Silent Auction 2011(MO) *Urban Woorden 2011 (Leuven, Belgium) Awards *2013 MLK Spoken Word Slam Champion (Dallas,TX)

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For Those Girls

By Anna Binkovitz

Raised in Ohio, Anna Binkovitz now lives in Saint Paul. A junior at Macalester College, she was on the school's CUPSI 2012 team, where they were ranked 2nd in the nation. She also represented Saint Paul's Rustbelt Regional Poetry Slam 2012 team. She just finished her first chapbook, and is currently working towards being a member of Macalester's CUPSI 2013 team.

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SoHo

By Camonghne

A New York City grown cupcake enthusiast and college sophomore with neurotic tendencies, Camonghne was featured on HBO's Brave New Voices as a member of the Urban Word 2010 team, who became the 2010 National Brave New Voices Champions. She is a 2012 Pushcart Prize Nominee and the 1st Runner-Up of the 2010 NYC Youth Poet Laureate Program. In November of 2011 she was profiled in The Forward as a Young Jewish Philanthropic Hero. The fall of 2012 will feature her as a cast member of the upcoming HBO documentary Damn Wonderful, directed by Nelsan Ellis of True Blood. You can find her work in various publications, including Pank Magazine, Kill Author Magazine, Specter Magazine, The Well and Often Reader and Sinister Wisdom. While being the reincarnate brown version of Baby Spice, she is working on her first book "The Fisherwoman", anticipated to be released sometime in 2014. She writes about the small things that happen when we’ve stopped looking.

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Suicide Note

By Kali

Kali is a teacher and spoken word poet. Over the past five years she has taught writing at Virginia Tech, University of Tampa, University of South Florida, and as far abroad as Darmstadt, Germany. After discovering spoken word in February of 2012, Kali also started working with youth poets through high school outreach programs. In addition to her passion for writing and speaking, she has an insatiable hankering for froyo. And has likely been to every self-serve frozen yogurt shop in a 30 mile radius of her home in St Pete.

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I Remember

By Sarah Woolsey

Sarah Woolsey is a mother of three children, a nurse, and a poet. Fairly new to performance poetry, she hopes to attend the Women of the World Poetry Slam for the first time.

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at the bank machine

By elizag

I live in Cohoes, NY and met slam about a year and a half ago. I made the first-ever team Albany sent to nationals, and also got to go as a storm poet to WOWps and IWPS. I teach writing as an adjunct at Northampton Community College's online campus. I'm the oldest of 5, aunt to 9 nieces and nephs, and godmother of triplet boys. I write about (re)claiming my voice/center/light; opening to nature and grace; and calling out the injustice and ignorance attacking those I love, and love itself.

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It Gets Better

By Joy

Joy is a poet out of Phoenix, Az who attempts to offer a uniquely queer perspective on every topic she touches, from politics and gender, to the rantings of drunk girls and the Hamburglar.

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Couch

By Emily Weitzman

Emily Weitzman writes artichokes and eats poems. Raised in New York, she is currently a junior at Wesleyan University. She is a two-time member of the Wesleyan slam team, which took seventh place at the 2011 College Union Poetry Slam Invitational during the team's first year, and won the "Best Writing by a Team" award at CUPSI 2012. She has won many awards at the college level, including "Best Female Poet" (Yale Regionals 2012), "Funniest Poem" (CUPSI 2012), and "Best Persona Poem" (CUPSI 2011). This year, she will be coaching the Wesleyan slam team and writing about more pieces of furniture.

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Lottery Winners

By Rachel Rostad

Rachel Rostad is currently a sophomore at Macalester College, where she studies English and Human Rights. She was a member of Macalester's 2012 poetry slam team, which took 2nd place at CUPSI.

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Aztec Jade

By Angela Skye

Angela Skye Kardos is a spoken word artist and mentor from Miami, Florida. Her passion in poetry is deeply rooted in her belief that art can heal, inspire, and generate change.

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Drunk Math

By Lauren Banka

Lauren Banka is a poet and printmaker living in Seattle, WA. She has competed in five national slams in the last four years; currently she is sitting under two comforters, watching Netflix and working on her first full-length book of poetry, forthcoming this fall from Red Beard Press.

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The break up -or- how to move into a house that is on fire

By Tatyana Brown

Tatyana Brown is a poet and teaching artist based in Oakland CA. She has previously appeared on IWPS and Group piece finals stages. Tatyana is the founder of The Lit Slam, a San Francisco-based, live audience curated literary journal--the only show/publication of its kind. The first volume of the Lit Slam's journal Tandem was recently published. For more information visit http://www.tatyanabrown.com/ Thanks for watching!

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