Individual World Poetry Slam, presented by Slam Charlotte, Charlotte NC December 10-13

All hooped out, I packed my new pink suitcase after a another hurried trip to the laundrymat and RAN to the BART station to catch my flight. Somewhere in that run, I dropped my beloved red velour hoodie... farewell, red hoodie. I'll see you in my dreams!

I arrived in Charlotte... AND COULD NOT GET TO SLEEP. Seriously. I felt exposed, vulnerable...I just couldn't settle down and relax. For the whole week, even after yoga, bedtime hovered between 4am and 6am.

In a way, I was better for it! IWPS didn't have any scheduled events in the morning, anyway- the good stuff was at night.

So yeah. I flew to Charlotte to volunteer as a Bout Manager for the Individual World Poetry Slam. I managed bouts when Charlotte hosted IWPS a few years ago and LOVED it. There is a different flavor of camaraderie at IWPS that only exists among long-time friends at the National Poetry Slam, and I really enjoy the sense that, even though it is an individual competition, the poets are all in it...together? Weird, but that's the feeling I get.

It has been 2 long years since I participated in an major poetry slam in any capacity. I felt so welcomed upon returning! And anytime I get the chance to see such HIGH QUALITY ART is an honest blessing. I am SO blessed.

I met some poets that I now adore: Esme Vaandragan, Laura Yes Yes, Cheryl Maddalena, Tara Hardy, Jason Mcbeth, Christopher Johnson, 6is9, One Truth, Colin...and had the good fortune to see some old and not-so-old friends (and not so friends) perform their guts out: Blair, Bluz, Alex Charalambidies, Lizz Straight (to the 7th power!), Cuban, Stacie Boshma, Billy Tuggle, Jadon, Joshua Bennet, Ed Mabry, Be Young, Curtis, Karen Finnyfrock, Pilote le Hot, Joaquin, Buddy Wakefield...

For the first time ever I participated in the Improv Slam. Gutsy and fun as hell.
I also had the mixed fortune to manage a bout that included perhaps the most unusual protest EVER.

So, this poet named fatalprose gets up to perform his last poem for the preliminary bouts. We are in the McGlohan Theater of Blumenthal Performing Arts Spirit Square, and it is that second day of IWPS... he gets on stage, and proceeds to perform a poem relating to his life, his girlfriend... ending with the words: "Marry me. Marry me." and I think to myself "WOW that was really heartfelt." And then I go back to doing math, or something. I hear a ROAR from the crowd and immediately stand up to see that fatalprose has lept off the stage to ACTUALLY PROPOSE TO HIS GIRLFRIEND IN THE FRONT ROW...AND SHE SAYS YES! Of course, he's literally still engaging the audience now, right? AND he has a ring?!?! THAT'S A PROP! Buddy Wakefield, who was watching this bout, comes over to the scoring table to indicate, "Hey, that was a rule violation," specifically referring to the TIME KEEPING: we had stopped keeping time after he stopped speaking on the mic, which was incorrect. As long as he was engaging the audience, the clock should keep rolling. So, now what? Well, at the conclusion of the bout fatalprose came over to the table AND PROTESTED HIMSELF. Seriously. It was bananas.

God bless the hosts I worked with: Bob Whoopeecat Stevenson, Brother Said, Cuban... and Mike Mcgee. Ok, so Mike McGee is a genius and hilarious. His hosting of the final round is one reason I plan on buying the DVD of this event. The hardest part about keeping time and score during finals was the abdominal squeezing I had to do in order to not wet my pants during the first two rotations. After I had a chance for a bathroom break, though, it was great!

In an ironic twist of fate, Mike McGee (IWPS champ by virtue of a time penalty on the same stage a few years back) officially awarded the championship trophy to Joaquin Zihuatenejo- the same poet who lost to Mike on that time penalty in 2006. Watching him best the field (which was verily incredible) was an awesome rite.

The competition was amazing, night after night of poet tag was amazing... lack of sleep makes you say things like "amazing" over and over again. Big up to the SlamCharlotte CREW: Inkera and Jina and Q, for real. Thanks for a kick ass time.

Some pics: