I found myself Walking along a distant road Covered in pure, sparkling snow Looking for something I had lost long ago One night, in a dream I dreamt I stopped only to pick lovely flowers And gather them in my arms I felt a warmth spread into my bones And as I gazed upon them, I felt oddly clean I touched their velvety petals And allowed myself to cry I laid them softly to rest Buried beneath that virgin snow And I continued on Feeling so lost and very alone I came upon a small house That beckoned to me Promising me shelter and protection I struggled to the door The snow now around my knees Gathered all the strength and courage I could muster And gave a soft knock on the door The door opened And I trudged in Longing for something I knew My breath caught in my chest For sitting there was you I felt happiness sweep away the cold And I ran to embrace you I whispered lightly in your ear All things I had always wanted to say And felt you pull me closer An understanding passed between us Took my words away and left me calm and assured I knew you must of felt the same Because of those three words you had uttered Tears came to my eyes Because I knew no longer would I walk that snowy path alone Searching for something I thought I would never know I found what I was searching for I found you I awoke With lovely sun caressing my face And a smile touching my lips I knew that it just wasn’t a dream I knew it was all to real And for that I must remember to thank you For making my dreams and my reality as one
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Meine Freundin Vera stellt ein Poetry Slam in Neustrelitz auf die Beine -
Flyer einfach mal durchlesen, Info´s weiterleiten und dann am besten mitmachen! :)
Jede Art der Unterstützung ist herzlich willkommen!
Download Flyer als .pdf
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So, my dears, long time no see. Obviously the San Jose Poetry Slam has been undergoing some serious changes. We’ve now officially moved to once a month for the slam (2nd Tuesday) and once a month for the open mic (4th Tuesday). What does this mean for you? Well, hopefully it means that you will make sure to come those two Tuesdays and make sure to tell your friends, because poets need an audience to feed off of. On our end, we are going to do our best to make these two shows incredible. Just for you!
Our next slam is this Tuesday! We are going to be featuring two of the members from the Berkeley College Team who just got back from college nationals, where, I’ve heard, they did an amazing job, and got into finals. I’m not sure what happened from there, but I’m sure they’ll fill us in on Tuesday. You will be experiencing the awesome talent of Miguel Peraza and Abe Becker. Miguel brings raw energy to the mic. When he speaks on topics of family, nation, and matters of the heart, it is delivered with a hip hop beat and naked emotional intensity. Abe Becker is a published author in the cal literary arts magazine. He came onto the slam scene and made a team after doing slam for only 2 months. If you want to see the future of slam, don’t miss this feature!
In other important slam news, we’ve schedule the San Jose Poetry Slam finals for May 11th. This, ladies and gentlemen, means it’s crunch time. As you can see by the standings (below), the eight that will be in finals is still up for grabs. This means that this, the second to last slam before finals, will be HOT. The rankings could change considerably, depending on who shows up to try to steal a spot. Most of the poets listed below have a genuine shot, so the finals line up is still very far from determined.
As always, we will have poets, poetry, and beer! We look forward to seeing you again.
~Kat Dietrich
San Jose Poetry Slam
Brittania Arms
173 Santa Clara St . San Jose , CA
$6 at the door Every Tuesday
www.sanjosepoetryslam.com
San Jose Standings:
Name Point Total
Bundy 17
Tristisima 13
G. Wilikers 10
Kat 8
Drew 8
Bill Peckham 7
Andrew Love 7
D. Silence 6
Verse 6
Chris Lok 4
Kyle Houston 4
Joel Valdez 3
Lynn 3
Caramel 3
veRse 3
Daniel Rollings 2
Kim Johnson 2
Khalil 2
Jennifer 2
Big Nate 2
Mac Dennis 2
Lucky 7 2
Frohawk 2
Max 2
Gerard 1
Antoine Moore 1
Charles Ellik 1
LSD 1
Rob Nevel 1
Paul Sawyer 1
Chris Barnes 1
Amanda 1
Open Mic 1 point
Hosting 1 point
1st place 4 points
2nd place 3 points
3rd place 2 points
Bar Brawl (win) 2 points
Belt Battle 2 points
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| Poster: |  aura218 |
| Date: | 2010-08-16 21:28 |
| Subject: | |
| Security: | Public |
Mods: I posted this to the wrong journal in error. Please delete it.
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hey everybody, i'm a newbie...
I've started writing my own material recently and was looking for some feedback on it.
If you wanna take a look at a fresh face, take a look behind the cut, and ANY comments would be greatly appreciated (from great to brutal, be honest, I know you will)
( Read more...Collapse )
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Memorial Day Mayhem certainly made an impact as the world of poetry-entertainment came to Auburn this last Monday evening!
As the WPF crew rolled into town to dig our trenches and prepare for our takeover we were welcomed by rolled up sidewalks and closed signs in all the storefronts. Sure, some might blame the holiday weekend, but our hearty poetic warriors knew it was more akin to the main drag in a spaghetti western just before the showdown begins....
We found our way to The Club Car to discover a slowly growing crew of local poets and fans overseen by none other than Kyle "The Mortician" Bowen. A few locals took to the stage in the open-mic and then the time had come...
"Let's get ready to muuuuuummmmmmmbbbbllllleeeeeeeee"
:crickets:
Hrm 
Obviously all in attendance were shell-shocked by this first volley, but they roused as the evening's competitors were introduced.
Torsion was first to the mic and his battle cry of "How many people here are fucking nuts?", combined with the appearance of a bearded lady in a purple gown, aka Stacey Everheart, definetly let them know this wasn't their mother's poetry show!
Knockouts were traded in the first two rounds, the first going to Torsion's Club 5150 and the second, for Stacey's Punch Me, but Torsion took a decisive lead in round three scoring the third straight knockout in a row!
Sniping amongst the competitors and the introduction of Little Knutzy Foofoo helped the audience understand a little more of what was expected of them and by the time we got to round four they were trading commentary with the stage as if they were born to it.
And then things started to get weird...
(yeah, I know, you're shocked that a WPF show would get weird)
Stacey took round four, evening up the bout, but Torsion got disqualified for attacking the ref, leaving us in a it of an odd spot competition wise.
The bout went on with only Stacey remaining and just as Ref Aahz was awarding her the bout and thanking the audience for their renewed energy, an impassioned plea (and a crossing of the ref's palm with silver) got Torsion back into the bout. Good thing too, as he managed to eek out another victory, taking not only the final round, but the bout as well!!
By the time it was over the audience had been blown away not only by the amazing work of both competitors, but by th possibilities of poetry-entertainment as well. Both competitors had encore performances throughout the evening (both onstage and off) and a handful of Auburnites may well be making the trek to SJ to attend future WPF events as well.
All in all, this may have been our most succesful Invasion to date!
-Aahz
WPF General Manager
_________________
What Don't You Get?
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Are you ready for Memorial Day Mayhem?!?
Monday, May 31st WPF: Invasion comes to Auburn!!
That's right folx, the World Poetry Federation will be invading the sleepy little conservative villa of Auburn north of Sacramento!
We'll be at mentula's bi-weekly open mic with a standard bout between two of the hardest working competitor's ni the world of poetry entertainment:
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| PARENTAL | | ADVISORY | WPF: MELEE CONTAINS
EXPLICIT LYRICS |
From Go-Quiz.com
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Saturday, June 19th @ WPF: Melee -
Eight performers will run The Gauntlet to win the ultimate prize.... The WPF Melee Championship Title!!!
What that's not enough of an ultimate prize?
How bout if I remind you that the WPF Melee Champion will not only have proven themself to be the best performer at WPF: Melee, the hottest performance poetry show in town, but they will also get free admission to all WPF events as long as they hold the title?
What? Still not ultimate enough?
How about a $100 cash prize as well?
I've got your attention now, don't I? Yeah, I thought so.
If you're interested in running The $200 Gauntlet then just sign-up at the Bay Area Spoken Word Forums. First come, first serve.
( WPF $200 Gauntlet FAQCollapse )
-Aahz
WPF General Manager
_________________
What Don't You Get?
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It's hours to show time and the trash is still bein' talked over in the WPF Forums:
From Caligula 6 and The N.P.O.:
- The NPO is COMING!!
and you still havn't
Now go home!! 
I must not fear,
Fear is the mind killer
Fear Is the little death that brings total obliteration
I will face my fear
I will permit my fear to pass over and through me
And when it has gone past I will turn my inner eye to see its path
Where the fear is gone there will be nothing
And only I will remain.
~The Bene Gesserit Litany against fear, Dune
Okay suck asses, this is Caligula 6Waiting for someone
Anyone To challenge the GRIP that The NPO has on the WPF!
-
Does anyone have the guts to face the wrath of Caligula 6!?!?!
Can anyone stop the NPO????
   
The answer is:
Oooh HELLS NO!! 
(yes, I said ‘hells’)
Come tonight and see what The NPO has cooking! 
Anthony is going to cook and baste ratpack into
Rat stew!
And Caligula 6 is going to turn ‘CC’ into
BCC 
Cause they won’t see us coming
( what what??? See the E-mail pun?? What???) 
Tune is true believers
And see what surprises we have in store.
From Ratpack Slim ratpackslim :
- HardLuck King...or whatever you call yourself...
I worked retail for many, many years. I've slammed seriously for only two. The difference between working for a corporate record store and facing you in the squared circle...
...is that i won't sell for you.
I've taken bumps from some of the best in the business. I handicapped against the entire LA Slam Team, and I'm still here. I drank more than Shane Hawley in a Bottle vs. Bottle Match. Jamie Kennedy put me through a table (or that's what i choose to believe) in a latenight kitchen freestyle. I've even endured a "hanging out in Rite Aid in the makeup aisle" I Quit Match with Kat Sanford.
I may be the Small Green Machine, but that's not indicative of my in-ring skills.
The Most Electrifying Man in Poetry Entertainment vs. The Sparkiest SOB in SoCal. The only thing you need to worry about killing...is the absurd notion that I will lie down and give in like a poetry groupie at Nationals.
Oh...and have a nice day.
I'm hardcore! I'm hardcore! I'm hardcore!
From Anthony R. Miller, The Heartbreak King:
- 5 hours...
In JUST 5 hours Anthony R. Miller will make his last performance before hitting the road on a two month, 34 date national tour
IN JUST 5 HOURS!!!!
RatPack Slim... all your fame, everything youre known as...
will be erased.
you will be reduced to being known as the guy whoS MONKEY ASS GOT KICKED ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL OVER SAN JOSE ONCE AND FOR ALL.
You will be just another poet brought down by THE MOST ELECTRIFYINGMANINPOETRYENTERTAINMENTTODAY!!!!!
IN just FIVE HOURS
there will no longer be any doubt to who the greatest superstar in the WPF is, the lights will go down , the music will start and alllllllllll the DORKAMAINIACS WILL RUN WILD!!
Because tonight the WPF fans will see two people who have been underestimated by thier peers, PUSHED ASIDE as the headliners
RATPACK on this night we will show everyone what we can do. we will put on a show that no one will forget.
but only one can win
and that man is none other
that the pot smokin
beer drinkin
ass slappin
heart breakin
not afraid to sweat
NOT AFRAID TO BLEED
GONNA BEAT THAT GLASSES WEARING BASTARD FROM LA GUARANDAMNTEED!!!!!!!!!!!!
and when the smoke clears, and the dust settles, Dorkamainia will be inside your soul brother
youll be taken over brother
we will stand side by side like brothers brother
and thats the truth
because Anthony R. Miller said so
Where will YOU be?!?
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First up we've got the most fun anyone's ever had at a poetry show:
WPF: Melee!
WPF: Melee features head-to-head poetic battles, top notch spoken
word, and joy of the theatre all rolled in to one amazing show! Not
only that, but YOU can be a part of it as well since this is an open
sign-up event!!
Not sure you can afford to go out tonight? Well at WPF: Melee EVERY
PERFORMER GETS PAID, so come on down, sign-up and take home some
cash!!
We have two Main Events tonight:
First off is the battle for Tag Team supremacy, pitting Palo Alto's
Caligula 6 against the East Bay's Cuspicious Cuspodians. These two
teams are currently sitting in the top of th ranking charts and both
are hoping to earn their way to gold!!
Then, the event you've all been waiting for. The WPF's very own
Anthony R. Miller (of tables, ladders & chairs match fame) squares
off against his arch-nemesis from Los Angeles, Ratpack Slim in a five
round, no holds barred spoken word extravaganza!!
Plus we're sure to have other amazing bouts with local heros,
traveling performers and maybe even you! Over $150 in cash prizes
will be awarded!!
Doors open and sign-up begins at 7pm
Show starts at 8pm sharp
Cover: $5.00 / Members $4.00
MACLA's Castellano Playhouse
510 S. First St.
San Jose, CA 95112
Soda, Beer, Water, and Munchies will be available as well!!!
Full details on the WPF are available at http://www.poetrybout.com
And if that's not enough spoken word for one night, don't forget:
Aural Tradition and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream are proud to present...
Verbal Flavors Open Mic
Poetry, spoken word, rap, beat box, whatever!!
Come on down for your opportunity to perform or to see the South
Bay's best new artists!
FREE admission!!!
Ben & Jerry's
Mercado Center
3155 Mission College Blvd.
Santa Clara
Sign-up: 11:00pm
Show at: 11:30pm
Details: http://www.auraltradition.com/verbal.htm
Discussion: http://forums.auraltradition.com
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What is it about the  wpf that the first show in a venue never gets the tech side done right? One wouldn't think it was that difficult, but technical difficulties abounded once again at the start of the show. A few key lessons were learned though, so next month should be smoother...
Overall recap....
Audience and performers all seem to be reporting another fun and successful WPF event. Congrats to Sheriff Dee-Monik for successfully expanding the WPF's borders!
Overall, not a very good night for factions, as both The Cusp and The N.P.O. took losses to their overall rankings.
A good night for comebacks, Los Angeles poets and plushies though 
What's that mean? Check back after midnight for the full Bar Brawl report!!
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Wow! What a night!!
The WPF invaded Palo Alto's first slam of the summer season this night and what a show it was... dope ass slam poets, an amazing feature from the Southland and, of course, what you've all been waiting for, right there on that very stage.....
WPF Invasion of Payadas Poetic Battles!!!!!!!!!!
Unfortunately (despite the bout being booked a full month in advance) our main event performers pulled a no-show giving Sherriff Dee-Monik and Knutzy The Bunny the dubious honor of receiving the first forfeit's fo the year.
On the brighter side this left more time for the premiere of Geek-Ku!!
You've heard of haiku
You may even know lo-ku
But this is geek-ku
Yes, you read that right, the first ever Anime Haiku battle occured this very evening during the WPF Invasion of Payadas Poetic Battles. Four souls were brave enough to blend the ancient Japanese art of haiku with the modern Japanese entertainment of Anime as poetry-entertainment expands its borders ever further!
The first bout faced format originator and Palo Alto Co-SlamMaster Lee Knight, Jr against WPF virgin and last minute geek-ku recuit Chevelle Supersport Wiseman. Unfortunately Lee's many hours watching Anime were, indeed, wasted, has Chevelle easily took him down in this preliminary match eliminating him from his own format in one fell swoop.
Our second bout featured another WPF virgin, J Moon against Palo Alto's other Co-SlamMaster and undefeated WPF Cruiserweight Melissa Rose, making her first appearnace in the short form division. The ladies definetly had the audience in the palm of their hands, however, as Melissa not only took the round, but scored her first ever WPF knockout!
This brought us to the finals bout in this geek-o-rama....
Chevelle was struggling to find enough material to handle another full three rounds. As if Melissa's cool confidence wasn't intimidation enough for the newcomer, referee Aahz quickly realized that Chevelle was a Palo Alto homegirl as well and declared that this final bout would be fought out not only for fabulous geek-worthy prizes, but for the title of Hometown Geek-ku Princess!!
Melissa came out swinging in round one and handily took the audience vote, but Chevelle came back hard and managed to score a near knockout herself in round two. Not willing to see that big red 1 next to her name in the rankings Melissa landed a solid knockout in round three ending the bout with the immortal words: Fuck Sailor Moon!
So give it up for the WPF's newest champion, Palo Alto's new Hometown Geek-ku Prncess, Melissa Rose!!!!!!
Not only did Melissa take home the title, but she also rocketed to the top spot in the WPF Short Form Division and has now tied Big Nate Da Poet for the best record in the WPF with an undefeated Cruiserweight Ranking of 4 and 0!! Fuck Sailor Moon indeed
I didn't get to share this geek-ku at the bout this evening, so figured I'd take the liberty to share it here. Based on a true story:
My friend Geoff Trenchard
Speaks Japanese in his sleep:
Anime room nap
-Aahz
WPF General Manager
_________________
What Don't You Get?
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Alright, so I’m doing a small paper (only 20 pages) on the general issue of why people perform, just a basic idea, more focused towards local musicians, poets/performance artist. It’s not a book, just a term paper, and I’m looking for you people as a source of info, which is valid. So please, feel free to answer these simple 11 questions, (I don’t know lj cuts, sorry)
12 questions for performers:
1-what instrument/what genre do you perform (i.e. Acoustic/electric guitar, punk, classical,
vocals etc.)
2"What's your motivation for performing?"
3- Who are your stylistic influences"? "What
other performers have influenced your own style?"
4- When did you first perform?
5- Is your family supportive of your
performing? If not, how do you handle that?
6-do you consider yourself, shy, outgoing, or other?
7- Who are your favorite local/ mainstream performance/ performers?
8- what is more important to you- a solid performance or getting your message across?
9- What aspects of your performance are you working on right now?
10- What other events do you enjoy?
11- Do you pay any attention to the audience when you're performing? Do they affect your performance, and if so, how?
(x-posted, alot)
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...as WPF: Melee approaches this Friday. The WPF message boards at the Bay Area Spoken Word Message Forums are heating up and contracts are being signed... So, what's in store? How about...
Melee's First International Bout!
Featuring WPF Canadian Champion:
vs.
Texas Slam Superstar:
PLUS!!
in head-to-head haiku
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Rumour has it that the one and only mikemcgee has joined forces with the New Poetry Order.
Will the Mighty One be the final nail in the coffin of the East Bay Collective?
Only time will tell....
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Friday, Friday, Friday April 2nd 2nd 2nd
The Main Event has been booked!
Battle of the Superstars!
The Shane vs.  Michael Guinn
See The WPF Canadian Champion, Shane Koyczan, in his first WPF appearance in the states!!
| Shane's bio: |
Shane Koyczan is the first international performer to win the highly coveted Individual Championship title at the National Poetry Slam 2000. He has also been a national finalists 4 times placing in the top 6 of north america every year he has competed.
Shane bested over 250 competing poets from all over North America at the world's largest performance poetry competition. In addition, Shane is the only non American Slam Champion in the history of the competition.
Born in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada , Shane attended the Creative Writing program at Okanagan University College. He is the winner of the Leonard Cohen Award for Best Song, the James Elroy Award for Best Voice and the W.B. Yeats Award for Best Poem, all while working in a video store to support his writing habit. Shane has performed with such notables as Maya Angelou, Quincy Troupe, Utah Phillips, sage francis... he has opened for Ani Difranco, Spearhead and Saul Williams.
"Read Shane Koyczan... the future of poetry is in good hands" -- Maya Angelou
|
He'll be facing off against the Michael Guinn in one of his last performances before returning to his Texas home!
| Michael Guinn's bio: |
Michael most recently performed in the 2003 Martin Luther King Theatre Project Keeping The Dream Alive and the 2004 MLK Production "And The Dream Goes On" in Sacramento Ca. Michael has also done work for television, radio and commericals.
Michael currently ranked 20th in the Nation in Chicago this year at the 2003 National Poetry Slams as a member of the Fort Worth Slam Venue he founded in 2001. The Team ranked 23rd. Michael also placed 3rd in the New Word Series in Berkeley Ca, and 3rd in the 25,000 Step To The Mic Spoken Word Competition in Stockton Ca.
Michael began writing poetry as an outlet for the stress and frustration shared by all workers in Child Protection and now his craft has blossomed into an instrument of inspiration, which serves as a passionately poetic voice for both adults and children.
Michael's history of poetic achievements include: Co-Founder of Spoken Images(An African-American Performance Troupe), Actor, Slam Poet and published author of 10 books of poetry. Including a self-published collecton of poetry called Back Talk and has released two Spoken Word CD's. Member, Slam Master/Coach and Founder of the Fort Worth National Slam Team, Featured poet for a number of venues all over the nation. Worked with a segment for T.V. nominated for a local Emmy (2001) and has edited, organized and published an anthology of poetry about the 911 tragedy called FREEDOM, among numerous other literary achievements.
|
BE THERE!!
-Aahz
WPF: Melee Ref
_________________
What Don't You Get?
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Wow! Melee is SOOOO getting outta hand!! In every good way possible!! More poets, more show, more money, more exhausted ref 
Let's start out with By The Numbers:
10 bouts!
22 poets!
52 haiku!
21 full poems!
1 title change!
12 knockouts!
11 WPF virgins!
1 masked wrestler!
$140 in prize money!
1 special guest referee!
The night started out much smoother with a brand new official Melee scorekeeper/tech person: Anna Baucus. We all owe a BIG thanx to Anna for helping things run smoothly! I'd have given her a big hug after the show last night but I was too weary after refereeing such a monstrous night of poetry to even lift my arms!
( Click here for full report...Collapse )
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groggy
accomplished
anxious
jubilant
busy
indescribable
enthralled