This is an archived list of the teams that took
part in the 1998 National Poetry Slam.
Please check out our main website at www.austinslam.com
!
The Teams:
Albuquerque, NM
Eirean Bradley is cuter
than you could ever dream of being. And Daniel Roop wishes he was as cool as him.
Matthew John Conley: 1 1/4 oz. gin, tsp. honey, 6 oz. ginger ale. Shake
gin & honey together & strain over ice in a chilled high ball glass to surf music.
Add ginger ale & garnish w/ mint.
Kenn Rodriguez - native Nuevo Mexicano; circles "otro" on
government forms; Influenced by Patricia Smith, KISS, Sportscenter, Santana, Sesame Street
y Mr. Roarke. Thinks Taco Bell's Che-huahua es mas suave; soon to be named Poet Laureate
de la Nation de Aztlan.
Danny Solis snores like a chainsaw & cuts like a razor. He is here
courtesy of his grandmother's and his grandmother's grandmother's magic. Born and rasied
in Texas, he stalks the Nagual while the Nagual stalks him. He has eaten french fries out
of the lid of his burger box with Tom Harris.
Contact Info:
Albuquerque (4)
Kenn Rodriguez
2132-A Central Avenue SE #248 ABQ NM 87106-4004
505-767-9941 brokenn@dump.com
team selected May 25
Ann Arbor, MI
Dan Jacobs is an award-winning author
whose recognition includes the Dan Jacobs Award for Being Dan (Jacobs), The Captain Peebo
Award, Worst Poet in Ann Arbor in 1997, and Best Poet in Ann Arbor in 1997. In his off
hours, which take up most of the work week, Dan teaches speech and English all around
southeastern Michigan. Author of Bonus Time (Westside Press, $5). All book proceeds pretty
much either go straight to Dan's students or pay for the little piddly things teachers
need, like body guards, red pens, and therapy.
Steve Marsh says, “I learned early that the quickest way to a
person’s heart (note the clever non-gender specific adaptation) is through its face.
For that reason, I try to stay in your face. Confrontational poetry is not a new style,
but it is a dying art form in these oh-so-politically correct 90s. And so, I, like the
AIDS quilters, have undertaken to heighten consciousness through an anachronistic and
nearly moribund style. (Already I’m taking myself too seriously.)” Skinny Poems
and Saggy Pants, (Westside Press, $5).
Kim Webb, the 1998 Ann Arbor Grand Champion, also appeared on the 1996 AA
National Slam Team. Author of Abstract Cores (Ridgeway Press, paperback, $10). He lives
and works in Hamtramck, the epicenter of culture in a new millennium.
Lyn Coffin, has two books of poetry: The Poetry of Wickedness and Human
Trappings. She has published translations from German, Russian and Czech. Her short story
“Falling of the Scaffold” was in Best American Short Stories. She is a recipient
of the Academy of American Poets Prize. Her latest collection of poetry, fiction and drama
is called Crystals of the Unforeseen and is due for release soon from Plainview Press in
Austin, Texas.
Contact Info:
Ann Arbor (9)
Larry Francis
3874 W. Loch Alpine Ann Arbor MI 48103
734-426-3451 dogbrain99@aol.com
team selected May 5, June 2
The Ann Arbor Poetry Forum
Asheville, NC
Brett Boyce, David Schuster, Charles Sommerville, Robert Strott
Contact Info:
Asheville (36)
Allan Wolf
PO Box 1212 Asheville NC 28802
704-254-9668/704-255-7636 allanwolf@poetryalive.com
team selected May 15
Austin,TX
Ernie Cline is the 1998 Austin Slam
Champion. He has never been the champion of anything before, and kinda digs it. He is an
Ohioan by birth, a Nomad by nature, and an Austinite by choice. He divides his time
equally between screenwriting, web design, and battling the forces of evil, all with
varying degrees of success. He is the One the Legend spoke of.
*Karyna McGlynn is a native Austinite in the truest sense of the word and El
Poeta's unfortunate girlfriend. She digs wigs, fags (English cigarettes and gay
men), the tango, pedestal sinks, fat artists, footed tubs, chipotle peppers, opera, and
dead people. She hates velcro wallets, nose breathers, and kids. Meh!
Susan B. Anthony Somers-Willett is a student in the Ph.D. program in English at
the University of Texas at Austin. She aspires to one day become Barbarella.
Genevieve Van Cleve has parted the water of the Red River and led her people back
to the hot, dusty, Texas horizon. Genevieve Van Cleve fights crime as her alter ego Snot
Grrrl. (Snot Grrrl, Snot Grrrl the high school gym's on fire. Stand back kids, I feel a
sneeze comin' on!) Genevieve Van Cleve sews her own clothes, makes her own jam. She'll
give you something to cry about. Genevieve Van Cleve will travel to England very soon,
leaving friends and family behind. (Sniff.) Genevieve Van Cleve believes in the slam, is
thankful for the community, and is convinced that the slam is the very tool necessary to
dismantle mendacity.
Jeff Knight is the coach of the 1998 Austin Slam team. He has worked in a
tobacco warehouse, a haberdashery, and myriad restaurants. He has been a substitute
teacher, a free-lance writer, and officer candidate in the Marine Corps, a second-string
linebacker, a first-string plasma donor, and an all-conference hippy and Deadhead. Jeff
has settled into middle age as a full-time Dad (Hi Dylan and Cassidy!), part-time
instructor of befuddled freshmen, semi-pro writer, amateur musician, and yes, a slam poet.
Come here often?
Visit our team's homepage at: http://victorian.fortunecity.com/parkwood/437/1998team.html
Contact Info:
Austin (5)
team selected May 28
*Karyna is over 18/under 21
Bellwood, IL
Reggie Gibson- Poet, percussionist, actor,
political activist, and former armored car driver. Reggie was on the 96 Berwyn team, and
won the money slam at the 97 nationals in Conn. He wrote most of the poetry for, and
appeared in the movie LOVE JONES. He hosts weekly readings at Rituals in Chicago, and at A
Touch of the Past in Bellwood.
Chuck Perkins competed for Team Chicago in Portland in 96. He is a
regular at many venues in and around Chicago, a native of New Orleans, and an ex-marine
who says "Let's just dance".
Kent Foreman is a veteran actor, performance poet lyricist and occasional
screenwriter whose poetry has been featured in two professional stage productions directed
by his mentor, Oscar Brown Jr. He has toured as a jazz poet with Max Roach, and performed
with Amiri Baraka and Allan Ginsburg among others. His awards include the Chicago
Historical Society's Carl Sandburg Award.
Daniel Ferri Teaches 6th grade in Lombard Il. He likes words.
Contact Info:
Bellwood, IL (2)
Daniel Ferri
417 West Road Lombard IL 60148
630-620-5508 dferri@kiwi.dep.anl.gov
team selected late May, Aug 11
Boston, MA
Brian Comiskey Brian has been called
America's favorite son, Son of Conan, and other variations on the word "hunk".
But ABOVE ALL---he insists, he'd rather be known for what he is: a ROOFER!-----------above
all.
Gary Hicks is black by birth, red and christian by choice, a
revolutionary by necessity. he has been a political activist for over
thirty years. he has been an active poet for over 15 years. gary currently works as a
tenant organizer. he has a master's in american studies (u.mass. boston) and is the author
of a first book of poetry, " a pen is like a piece. you pick it up. you use it."
he has two grown children. he is a deacon in his church. he occasionally remembers to
clean his house.
Jeff Paris has a BFA in creative writing from Emerson College, has been slamming for a handful years now and doing poetry much longer than that, has a manuscript of poems whose fate he is pondering, and a number of other credentials likely to impress people who don't write. He is the co-editor of New Genre Magazine. In addition to his home, the Cantab, he has featured at numerous Boston/Cambridge venues, and performed at local schools. He is looking forward to representing in Austin.
Michael McIntosh left MIT with a Bachelor of Science in Poetry (an Institute first). He has published in the Cumberland Poetry Review, Mississippi Valley Review, New York Quarterly, Southern Poetry Review, etc. Awards include the Eloranta Fellowship, which funded a residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre for the Arts in Ireland. He lists his occupation as Poet on IRS form 1040.
Contact Info:
Boston (8)
Gary Hicks
MAHT 353 Columbus Avenue Boston MA 02115
617-268-1703 ercoli2@juno.com
team selected June 3
The
Boston Poetry Slam Homepage
Brockton, MA
Al Howe, Slam Daddy of the "Shoe City
Slammers" is back for his 2nd Nationals. When Albuquerque knocked out Al's Boston
Team with the last poem in 97, he whimpered and shaved his moustache of 25 years plus. He
still holds a grudge against Danny Solis over that. If it happens again this year, he
say's he'll pierce some (innocuous) part of his anatomy. We'll believe that when and if he
lets us see it. Al is ultra modest; his motto is nobody can be really cute till they reach
his age, not even Daniel Roop.
Philip Hasouris- started reading in public 6 years ago, people started
listening about 3 years ago- during the listening years he started the poetry theater
group Spiritous - Where the language of words, music and light intertwine, has been a
feature at many venues, co-champion of the Brockton Slam in 97- and for his punishment is
now co-hosting the slam-- Along with his teammates he hopes to add the Austin experience
into his marrow- Damn is this fun or what!!!!!!
Irene Egan Bright, Performance poet, playwright and member of Spiritous,
brings to the Shoe City Slammers her background in writing, teaching,acting,and dance.
Bright received a grant in 1983 from The Massachusetts Foundation For Humanities and
Public Policy for a series of writing workshops she created and taught for sexual abuse
survivors. Her work has appeared in various magazines and literary journals including Ms.,
the Haight Ashbury Literary Review, Rouges' Harbor, Sojourner, and Blank.
Louisa Clerici - is a well-known undercover aliien beamed aboard
spaceship earth. An observer of the human condition and collector of data, she hides in
her cover identity, hypnotherapist, psychic and author of "Sparks From The Fire Of
Time" a best-selling work of non-fiction. Her poetry is often cosmic and trance-like.
Reisitance is futile.
Contact Info:
Brockton, MA (44)
Philip Hasouris
33 Park Road Brockton MA 02401
508-584-1287 soaringsky@aol.com
team selected April 9
Chicago, IL
MARIA McCRAY has a B.A. in Theatre &
Literary Arts. She has worked with Patrick Henry & David Schein at Free Street Theater
for 12 years. An actor, director, teacher, poet, Vietnam Vet, and the proud mother of
three great children, she says, "Poetry is therapeutic & political. I am thrilled
to be a member of the GreenMill Slam team for 3 years in a row."
BOB CHICOINE was raised Catholic -- a Tory in a Catholic-Communist ward
of Chicago. In the 1970's he translated Erza Pound into Yiddish. In the 80's he translated
Rod McKuen into English. Poet in residence to the Trilateral Commission,1990.
Writer/narrator of the Emmy-nominated film "The Wrecking of Comisky,: 1991. Offcial
aphorist to Pat Buchanan's 1996 campaign for President. Sonnetteer Emeritus to the NRA,
1997. One of the sentences above is true. Now, there are two.
DENNIS JOSE -- America celebrated his birth with picnics, speeches, and
fireworks on July 4th, 1957. A few years passed and he got good grades in citizenship and
personal hygiene. A few more years passed and he wrote a poem for a terrific girl named
Nancy. She kissed him and thanked him. He decided to write more. AFter doing easy time (at
the University of Wisconsin and U of Oregon) and hard time (as a homeless guy who slipped
through the Reagan safety net) he wrote left-of-center tripe for publications with names
like "The Psychedelic Dumpster " and "The Big Reach." He has about 700
pages of fiction and poetry. Titles in print include "Trout Fishing in Texas"
and "Hello, My Name is Dennis Jose."
JOANNA MARSHAL is a third decante Virgo who is a loud Jewish American
princess with a tendency to be hyper active so she stays away from sugar, love, leopard
prints ... and when she grows up she wants to be a mermaid.
Contact Info:
Chicago (1)
Marc Smith
1829 Euclid Berwyn IL 60402
708-484-2009 slampapi@wwa.com
team selected July 12
http://www.slampapi.com/
Cleveland, OH.
Lisa Citore sells her soul writing
greeting cards. Mother of ferns and bratty 7 year old daughter. Lover of lizards. Baker of
killer chocolate chip cookies. Messy house-keeper and full moon freak. Shower poet. Sugar
fiend. Never been published or to Africa.
Ray McNiece is a poet, playwright, performer, and directs Page to Stage
Productions, an educational theatre company. He is the author of two solo theatre pieces,
Dis-Voices from a Shelter and Us?-Talking Across America. He has been member of two
National Poetry Slam teams (Boston and Cleveland) and has performed extensively across the
United States. His forthcoming book, Road that carried me Here is soon to be published by
Bottom Dog Press.
Michael Salinger - Three time captain of the National Poetry Slam team
from Cleveland. Slum poet with the 1994 Lollapalooza tour, founder and director of the
Nova Lizard Project performance troupe and Grand King Daddy of all poems that reference
fish. He has spawned two boys and spurned two wives.
Sarah Holbrook - By day she works tirelessly among the prisoners in
public schools across the nation, dedicating her time and talents to increasing the ranks
of Slam -- The Next Generation. A haphazard gardener. Lavender, daisies and 8 books. One
pink peony.
Contact Info:
Cleveland(26)
David Snodgrass
3 Lakeside Walk (The Maze) Cleveland OH 44110
216-481-4158 davidhoot@aol.com
team selected June 13
The Cleveland Slam Homepage
Connecticut
Eileen Albrizio earned a BFA in Theatre,
graduated from the CT School of Broadcasting and studied playwriting at Weslyan. She won
the CT Associated Press Best Newscast Award, works for CT Public Radio and hosts All
Things Considered. Eileen’s plays, What’s a Mother For? and Rain,
were recognized by Writer’s Digest. Her book of poetry, Messy on the
Inside, is available through Ye Olde Font Shoppe Press. She is a member of the
prominent writer’s circle Artemis Rising.
Born on an island off Africa, El Extreme gained notoriety in the late 70s
while on tour with the seminal Jesuit R&B group Sweet Richard and the Candy Balls.
He moved to CT after serving six years as a missionary following allegations that
he’d been involved in cloning an Elvis lookalike and attempting to pass off the
artificial being on unsuspecting Romanians as the real King.
Scott Goetchius was an alternate member of the 1997 CT Team. He assumes
many characters and many moods in the course of presenting his material, holding many
audiences enthralled. He has rarely entered a slam he didn’t win and often appears as
a featured performer. He is also a well-known warrior for universal enforcement of the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Nick Stargu wishes to lose some hair and gain some weight, which is odd
since half the male population wants just the opposite. During his last trip to the moon,
he was found in a rocky trench listening to Yes and ranting about how all
creativity is linked interdimensionally with higher beings. (Don’t be intimidated by
his muscles; he’s mushy at the core.)
Coach K. Ann Cavanaugh moved to CT in 1977, studied at Hartt School of
Music and has since made writing her focus. In 1997 she was a member of the CT Slam Team
and co-authored a commissioned poetry-jazz work entitled Love, Loss and the Lunar
Eclipse. She is a member of Artemis Rising and collaborates with
neoclassical/romantic composer Shawn Evan Beard on orchestral works for poetry.
Contact Info:
Connecticut (29)
Faith Vicinanza
203 Hanover Road Newtown CT 06470-1103
203-426-3388 faithv@aol.com
team selected June 4
Nick is under 18
Dallas, TX.
Jason Edwards is currently a queer UPS
grunt but he is sure he will be in between jobs again soon. He spends most of his time at
home hiding from the papparazzi which allows him plenty of time to be a best selling
author. Afterwinning worldwide acclaim for his literary talents he has settled down
anddevoted most of his time to slamming in Dallas.
Jason Carney - Making his second apperance at the national slam, Jason
Carney is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Having to deal with the shallow arrogance
of Jason Edwards and the drunken stupers of Clebo Rainey have brought his hemriodal tissue
to an angonizing flare. Besides dealing with the other members of histeam he is enjoying
his new found sobriety, and looking forward to the birthof his first child. He is quoted
as saying “I don’t know if we will do verywell. I just know I am tired of seeing
Clebo’s amazing physique.”
GNO is the president of the “Kill Whitey Coalalition”, is
currently beatingup white people in Jasper, Texas, and has no time for your honky bio
stuff.Bitch!!
Clebo Rainey is the founder of Dallas’ weekly slam competition at
ClubClearview in the Red Room, and has been its slam master since its inception inOctober,
1994. This year’s Nationals will be Clebo’s fourth appearance on theDallas Team.
Clebo is not known for holding things back in either his poetryor its performance, and has
given himself more then one nose bleed for thebenefit of his art. Clebo has been a full
time poet for many years now andwhen he is not hosting the local slam, he is organizing
some poetry event ortraveling the country side performing and teaching. He loves his wife,
Noemi,and all their pets. As to his team members, he had only this to say,
“someonehelp me!”
Contact Info:
Dallas (18)
Clebo Rainey
434 W 12th Street Dallas TX 75208
214-942-6812 clebor@aol.com
team selected March 13
Detroit, MI.
Sonya Pouncy was born and raised in the city of Detroit. She holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University. While at Purdue, Ms. Pouncy joined the Hanka Writers, a performing writers workshop. After leaving Purdue, Ms. Pouncy participated in various writers collects including the Midtown Writers In Indianapolis. Upon returning to Detroit, she has joined The Sisters of Color Writers Collective.
Renee Tambeau is the 1997 and 98 Detroit Poetry Slam Champion. She is an actress and writer living in metro Detroit. She has been an orginal member of two advant garde acting groups and two performance groups.
Scott Klein was found in 1965 at age 5 in the Mark Twain National Forest. He was suckled at a wolf teet and taught the ways of the pack while hunting white tail deer. He was sold to a Natural History Museum where he lived for the next year before being kidnapped by gypsies. They taught Scott the fine arts of violin, fortune telling, and pickpocketing. Scott returned briefly to the real world in 1992 but soon there after, he found himself living and working with wolves and gypsies again.
Saladin Ahmed is an Arab/Irish poet who grew up in the shadow of the Detroit Ford River Rouge plant and writes about the contradictionsand curiosities arising from the juxtaposition.
Contact Info:
Detroit (6)
Scott Klein
2992 Roosevelt Hamtramck MI 48212
313-365-7551 (Renee Tambeau) dtwpo@aol.com
team selected April 19
Fargo, ND.
James Leon Walsh:
Born: September 9th 1974
James L. Walsh, protector and scavenger of the upper Midwest, performed his first original
poem on Grandparent’s Day in sixth grade in Wykoff, Minnesota. Formally educated in
computer science, he seeks to creatively use his education for humanitarian purposes.
Failing that, he would like to make a lot of money and own the world’s supply of
little plastic useless widgets.
Lyska Janecek:
Born: November 11th 1979
Lyska is an 18 year old poet often seen running around Fargo’s streets. She writes in
the restrooms of fast food joints, and is recognized by her hair color experiments.
She’s been in and out of writing groups since the age of 13, and stumbled onto the
slam scene in 1997. She writes autobiographical poetry and works for minority causes.
Charles H. Hinton
Born: July 13th 1965
I lost my parents when I was young. My aunt raised me in Cleveland, Ohio. We were poor in
status but rich with life. My aunt encouraged me to attend college. I soon earned a
Bachelor’s in Mass Communications in 1990. Now I work. Now I write. Now I live.
Robb Ryan Q. Thibault
Born: April 23rd 1965
Robb is a campus programmer, waiter, and host of "Slam on the Plains"-the Fargo
Slam. He pokes holes into the Culture of the Many, seeks a benevolent purpose for his
useless master’s degree and is hot on the track of a corporate sponsor for his life.
Born in Battle Creek, Michigan, he has lived in Indiana, Vermont, New York and
Massachussets. "Civility is Sexy" is his battle cry.
Read this Article on the Fargo Team.
Contact Info:
Fargo (22)
Robb Ryan Q. Thibault
820 Broadway #1 Fargo ND 58102
701-231-8566 (w) 701-235-6378 (h) thibault@plains.nodak.edu
team selected May 18
Lyska is over 18/under 21
Fort Worth, TX.
Kirsten Macy, William Bryan Massey, Sean Pool, Jena Weatherly
Contact Info:
Fort Worth (41)
Jena Weatherly
6009 Ross Avenue Dallas TX 75206
214-826-3005 no e-mail listed
team selected June 23
Greenville, SC
Kimberly Jane Simms was born in Concord,
MA. in 1975 to English immigrants who brought her to Greenville, SC at age 4. She is
presently pursuing an English degree at Furman University in Greenville, SC where she
received the 1997 L.D. Johnson Award in Creative Wrting. Ms. Simms formerly attended the
College of Charleston where she studied under Paul Allen and was a member of Sigma Tau
Delta, the national English honors society. While in Charleston, Ms. Simms was director of
the Charleston Poetry Slam. Presently, she is a member of the Greenville Poetry Slam Team
which took second place at the 1997 South Eastern Southern Fried Slam. She has been
published in AIM Magazine, Women's Insight magazine, Echo '87 & '98, The Miscellany,
The Greenville News, and The Upwith Herald.
Vera Gomez - ALubbock-born West Texas native, Vera uprooted from Austin Texas and
moved to Greenville, SC in 1993. A member of the Greenville Poetry Slam Team, she enjoys
performance poetry and often features for women's groups and organizations. Slam
enthusiasts consider Vera's work "in-your-face." She thinks they're just small
observations on Life -- leading her to self-publish two chapbooks, "Street Corner
Truths" and "Heartfelt Songs." A Texas Tech graduate with a Bachelor of
Arts in Television and a minor in English, Vera pays a mortgage as a writer/producer in
local television and believes "Poetry is for all people!"
Glenis Redmond Sherer - A former counselor turned poet, Glenis Redmond Sherer is
alight withrighteous rage and feels poetry is a vehicle to healing. She is the 1995winner
of the Carrie McCray Literary Award at the SC Writers Workshop. She ismost recently a
recepient of a writers grant to study at the Vermont StudioCenter for one month. Glenis
has studied under the reknown poet, SoniaSanchez. She tours nationally performing her
works. Her first full lengthbook is entitled, Mama’s Magic. As a communtiy activist,
mother of twins anda volcano....Glenis believes creating is the only way to forge new
grooveways. To all the poets she says, “groove on.”
Rana M Taylor - orignally from New Jersey, Rana relocated to South
Carolinatwo years ago to continue her work in adult literacy. In addition to writingand
performing poetry, Rana enjoys her dogs: Jack and Mackenzie, hiking andsoccer. This is
Rana’s first National Competition.
Contact Info:
Greenville, SC (28)
Glenis Redmond Sherer
516 Laurel Avenue #2 Black Mountain NC 28711
704-669-4852 poetica11@aol.com
team selected May 13
Hot Springs, AR.
Marck Beggs is the author of Godworm (Mellen Poetry Press). When he is not writing poetry, he is doing other things...things that are none of your damn business...things you are neither smart enough nor strong enough to comprehend...keep away...unless you have money...
Angela Black - There once was a girl
who had a little curl
right in the middle of her forehead.
And when she was good,
she was very, very good.
But when she was bad,
she was horrid.
Frank Edwards took up poetry when his therapist retired. Now, audiences across America participate in his ongoing journey of self-actualization. Frank knows what is best, and has a perfect plan for your life, which he is happy to share with you, no matter how you've been victimized. Frank loves you just as you are; especially so, if you are scum.
Bud Kenny - "I never wanted to grow up to be like my dad. He was a salesman for Sears, and as un-American as it may sound I don't want to follow those foosteps. I'm going to be a vagabond poet instead. Spring 2000, with a wagon and two mules, I'm going to start walking down the road peddling my poems."
Coach Maria Kuntz -
Contact Info:
Hot Springs, AR (38)
Bud Kenny
498 Cedarglades Road Hot Springs AR 71913
501-623-3951 bud@antiquesar.com
team selected June 13
Here is the Homepage for the Hot Springs team: http://www.hsu.edu/faculty/beggsm/slam/open.html
Hyannis, MA
Joe Gouveia is an award-winning poet for
both his Spoken Word & Written Verse. He has a BA in Lit. from the University of
Massachusetts where, with much controversy, he was awarded the University's Literary Award
for Poetry, the first Performance Poet awarded such. A founding member of The Sarasota
Poetry Theatre in FLA, he moved back to Cape Cod to also start up The North Ground Poets
of Cape Cod Community College and The Cape Cod Poets Theatre. With one book of poetry
published, WHAT WE DO, he also runs/started Poetry Slams, a Visiting Poets Series, Poetry
Readings, Performance Workshops and tutors. Joe was the Performance Poet-In-Residence at
Cape Cod Community College this past year and organized that college's annual Tilden Arts
Festival. Joe was on the Cape's first slam team last year. He works as a carpenter and has
dedicated his life to Poetry & Power Tools.
Tim Mason is a veteran slammer and award-winning poet hailing from
Cambridge, MA. He is the most often featured poet of The Visiting Poets Series of The Cape
Cod Poets Theatre and The Prodigal Son Coffeehouse, the Cape's Slam venue. He travels the
country often with his poetry, performing at coffeehouses and major folk festivals. His
latest book, GENTLY, LIKE WATER, CRACKING STONE, has widely received high acclaim. Tim
Mason is one of the key veteran slammers instrumental in getting Slams started on Cape
Cod. As coach of the '98 Cape Cod team, he continues in supporting new slam teams while
nurturing up and coming poets.
Earle Collins is a graduate of Cape Cod Community College (4C's)and
currently attends the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth in pursuit of his B.A. in
English Lit. He has the reputation of being the "Charles Bukowski of Cape Cod".
He has been featured regularly at 4C's annual Tilden Arts Festival, and was the alternate
for the Cape's first Slam team, Hyannis, in '97. He's featured regularly at the Prodigal
Son Coffeehouse, the Hyannis slam venue, and at open mics across Cape Cod and New Bedford.
He's been published in The North Ground Poets Journal and SeaChange (4C's), and TEMPER
(UMass Dartmouth). He is an original charter member of The Cape Cod Poets Theatre.
BeWheelah is a dynamic poet and an activist for the African-American
Diaspora hailing from Boston. Some of his tributory poetry to Malcolm X has been published
in NEWSWEEK. He possesses a powerful voice and uses gripping words that create
cutting-edge poetry. He was a member of the championship 1992 Boston Slam team. He was the
highest scoring slam poet competing in Hyannis this year, and has been featured twice at
The Prodigal Son Coffeehouse, the Hyannis venue, as a part of The Cape Cod Poets Theatre
Visiting Poets Series. He is a Cape crowd favorite.
Contact Info:
Hyannis (23)
Joe Gouveia
9B Adrienne Drive South Yarmouth MA 02664
508-394-3983 capepoet@hotmail.com
team selected Jan 2, Feb 6, April 3
Kalamazoo, MI.
Drachen A. Birch - Born Kalamazoo1956,
cofused, frightened, bullied, Public Schools, Kalamazoo College, less confused, dropped
out, bad move, blue collar, metal crafts, armor, car bodies, custom blades, arthritic
hands, started writing badly 1982, 8 years in California; work, beer, work, speed, work,
got heathen, got better, moved back to K-zoo for love, started to writ better, bucking for
public irritant #1, strife!
Chris Trudell - Born: before computers took over the world. Currently
residing in a conglomeration of varying states of insanity & decay. Occupation:
average day gob followed by the usual ocean of mid western American hum-drum interrupted
only a few seconds by clarity. Avoiding college the rest is a blur I bring to focus with a
damn pen and paper.
Linsay Kelly, is a convicted felon and recovering Catholic and drug
addict. She’s well known through out Kalamazoo for her valiant efforts in the
“Indy Rock” community. When she’s not reading poetry, she can be found with
her musical partner and favorite sexual escapade, Dan Stevens, playing their music at
open-mics or panhandling in the park. Linsay would like to thank her parents, the Pope
& her probation officer for the opportunity to call herself a poet.
Jenifer Matheney I was born in Stockton, California. My daddy was a
minister, and I was raised and educated pretty much ACE in an Evangelic Christian church,
uniforms and all. More than anything in the world, my parents wanted a normal daughter who
would grow up and become the next Barbara Walters or Katie Couric (yech), but instead,
they had a daughter who wanted a Ph.D. in British Literature and Philosophy and had aims
on being the first and last female writer to top Burrouhgs, Angelou, Kerouac, Ginsberg,
Dante, Goethe, Joyce, Miller, Emerson, Sexton, Buddha, Jesus, and the Devil while still
being accepted into their ranks.
Contact Info:
Kalamazoo, MI (14)
Tracey Smith
3125 Vanderbilt Portage MI 49024
616-324-1672 freesector@earthlink.net
team selected June 5
Knoxville, TN.
Pat Storm - the name says it all.
Daniel Roop is retiring from slam this year as a result of continual
mismanagement by Knoxvillians, who refuse to hire Phil Jackson as slam coach, or pay
Scottie Pippen the money he so obviously deserves. Dennis Rodman's return isn't an issue,
as Pat Storm is enough of a discipline problem himself.
Marianne Russell is a premenopausal virgin/whore compassionate bitch
terrified of the fact that she has struck the motherlode.
Kenny Mostern spent six years in grad school learning to write humorless
300 page essays about interesting things. He has spent the last year learning to write the
same things in three minutes ten seconds, with jokes.
Contact Info:
Knoxville (35)
Kenny Mostern
120 S. Gay Street #502 Knoxville TN 37902
423-637-4964 kmostern@utk.edu
team selected April 17
Laguna Beach, CA.
DERRICK BROWN has won so many awards for
poetry that he's had to melt them all down to make a solid gold bath-tub. He recently
revealed on KUCI radio that his source of inspiration is Lisa Welchel, from the
"Facts of Life." He's served in the military, and is a college forensics champ,
but that doesn't mean he's not a whacky guy.
MINDY NETTIFEE studies Politics in Orange County, which is a bit like studying
Psychology at the Carnival. Gets routinely accused of being a Communist by major Orange
County political figures. Is secretly a spy for [CENSORED FOR REASONS OF NATIONAL
SECURITY.]
CHRIS TANNAHILL is theatening to defect and form a Palm Springs team. It'll
consist of himself, Bob Hope and the ghost of Frank Sinatra. They won't even need a fourth
member, Frank'll go twice. Who's gonna tell Sinatra's ghost "No."
VICTOR D. INFANTE keeps wondering why the rest of the team keeps making him test
their food.
Contact Info:
Laguna Beach (15)
Victor Infante
2700 Peterson Place #27D Costa Mesa CA 92626
714-437-9303 nimue@ziplink.net
team selected June 22
Long Beach, CA
James Bolt combines poetry, dance,
theater, rock & roll, physics, advertising, spiritual passion and sensual immersion in
equal parts to create a powerful, lyrical and dramatic communication with his audience.
The Los Angeles Times, in a review of his one-man show said, "There are feww
performers anywhere who can match his creativity, range and energy. He has appeared on
MTV, performed at the Lollapalooza alternative rock & roll tour, won several Slam
Poetry competitions, wrote and produced his one-man show, "You Are Here" (A
Personal Tour of the Universe in Seven Magnitudes), was the opening performer in Portugal
for Lisbon's Art Expo, and is currently involved in the filming of an adventure movie.
Mack Dennis, LA's very own "Louisiana Legend" is an inveterate
storyteller, poet, author, and broadcaster and hails from Vacherie, Louisiana. After
graduating from high school he spent 20 years in New Orleans and then 20 years in San
Francisco. After a disabling accident in 1994 forced him to quit working as a DJ/Producer,
he took creative writing classes and won first prize in the 14th Annual Victoria Alvarado
Short Story Awards and was subsequently published in "Talisman". In 1995 Dennis
won first place in Crerscent CIty's annual Poetry Slam, at Cafe Brazil and in Poetic
Expression's Poetry Slam. He had two short stories published in "Fertile
Ground", an anthology of poems, essays, and short stories by prominent and emerging
black poets. The following year Dennis moved to Los Angeles. While living here, he has won
first place in the "SlamTasTic" Slam and competed for the San Francisco Slam
team where he made it to the semi-finals. Last year he was a member of the Long Beach Team
for the Nationals in Connecticut, but the team was dropped because of a need for teams to
in multiples of three. Dennis has had one book published, "The Old Vacherie
Road" and will soon have a new book out soon as part of a series featuring SoCal
poets.
William Mclain is the venerable '"Dirty Old Man" in Southern
California. The 87 year old master has written thousands of poems, skits, short stories,
and one novel. Since first burst onto the poetry scene eight years ago, he has appeared at
over a hundred venues more than a thousand times. He has been featured over a hundred
times in night clubs, comedy stores, espresso bars, book tsores, and a variety of other
venues. He co-starred with Kennon B. Raine in the stage play "The Naked Word"
and had a speaking part in the movie, "Goodnight Mr. Parker". McLain has won
many slams and has placed in the finals of Lalapalooza at Dominguez Hills. He is a veteran
of the Nationals, having competed in Portland in '96 and Middletown in '97. He says,
"Poetry and the young people associated with it (especially the girls) is what keeps
me going and keeps me young."
Crystal J. Waterford is the youngest member of the Long Beach Slam team
but she brings a wealth of mature insight to her work. Ever the optomist/revolutionary,
her poetry knocks you to your knees and then gives you a helping hand up while filling you
with hope.
Slam Master/coach/alternate/and all around sweetie-pie, Patricia A. Bowser
is a publilshed poet and has been a Slam Master for the past two years. She has a degree
in theater and comes to the wonderful world of poetry with over thirty years of acting,
directing, and production experience. She switched careers a few years ago and went into
full time writing. She now has a Sci-Fi novel in the hands of a major publisher and a
movie screenplay in final rewrites. Bowser is a host and writing teacher for the Christian
Writers Guild in Los Angeles and was one of 100 poets documented at the LA Spoken event a
few years ago. Currently, she makes a living as a freelance writer and editor. Her claim
to fame is that she is the Poet Laureate of Fluff & Mush Neurotica. With all the
powerful poetry that is being created today, there needs to be a balance. It's a tough
job, but somebody's got to do it. Rage on Hallmark & Rod McKuen!
Contact Info:
Long Beach (34)
Patricia A. Bowser
843 S. Mariposa Avenue #12 LA CA 90005
213-387-8253 patricia_bowser@hotmail.com
team selected June
Los Angeles, CA.
Gerrie B. Quickley, was Playwright in
Residence at the Tiki Ti Theatre Company in Manhattan in 1992-93. During that period he
also directed a series of one acts. Jerry was a member of both the 1996 and 1997 Los
Angeles Slam teams. He has performed poetry throughout the United States and abroad, as
well as on the LifeTime cable network series The Mens Room. His work has been published in
several anthologies, magazines, and newspapers, including Faxploitation, and the LA
Weekly. His poetry also appears in the book Soul of the Game (New York: Melcher
Media:1997) and in his solo book, Core Samples, to be published in the fall of 1998.
Jerrys most recent completed work is a play entitled Color of The Day. Jerry runs a Poetry
in the Prisons workshop at LAs Central Juvenile Hall, through the "Movement Works
Dance Company, and is helping to implement Mentor 2000, a mentoring program for young
detainees developed by Los Angeles poet El Rivera.
Poetri is a writer, rapper, actor, and commercial producer, as well as a
performer of hard-hitting spoken word poetry. His company, RAZZOP Productions, has
created, arranged and produced nearly a hundred national and international radio and
television commercials for Nike, BET Movies and NFL Films. Both Adweek and Shoot magazines
ranked his "Supernatural" and "Action Jackson" TV spots as the Best of
1995. Poetri conceptualized the idea of combining rap and spoken word for the Nike
East/West "Whos the Best" radio campaign and was the key performer in the spots.
He will be continuing this style, called "Po-Hop" (from poetry and hip-hop), in
his soundtrack compositions for the Broadway-bound play "Stickman." He is a
regular on the Los Angeles scene, and won first place in the 1997 Inner City Cultural Fest
Poetry Competition.
Deborah Edler Brown is a freelance journalist, author, poet and
performer. She was born in Brazil and raised in Pittsburgh, where she started writing at
the age of eight. Her poetry has appeared in several publications, as well as in her two
chapbooks, Red Long Hot Peppers and Haiku Volcano. She is a regular on the Los Angeles
poetry scene and was the alternate & acting-slam master for LA's 1997 National Slam
Team. She was also the 1997 Head-to-Head Haiku Champion. Deborahs journalism credits
include Time magazine, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, and she is the co-author of
Grandparents as Parents: A Survival Guide to Raising a Second Family (New York: Guilford,
1995). But poetry was her first passion.
Dr. Thea Iberall writes short fiction and poetry, besides being an expert
on human brain function. Thea has had her work published in Rattle, Spillway, Common
Lives/Lesbian Lives, Peregrine XVI, Next... magazine, and the Lesbian News. She has
studied writing with Terry Wolverton and with Jack Grapes, and is currently studying
writing at U.S.C. Over the last eight years, Thea has given numerous poetry and fiction
readings in Southern California and New England. In addition to her creative writing, Thea
has a Ph.D. in Computer Science and has written or edited three scientific textbooks and
numerous articles on human and robotic hands. Thea also likes to juggle, be a clown, play
tennis, make videos, and play the piano. She says "writing a poem is a challenge to
tell a big story through a little window." She is a grateful member of the 1998 Los
Angeles Slam Team, and she adores her teammates.
Robert Carroll is a family psychiatrist and poet in private practice in
Westwood, CA. He is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA and has published
professional articles and chapters and a series of 20 chapbooks of poetry, including
Cherish and What Waiting Is (both from InCorpus Press). He has both edited and been
published in a series of Call and Response Chapbooks from Bombshelter Press, including A
Dialogue between Poets, Alphabet City, and Night Games. He has published poems in Rattle,
Spillway, and ONTHEBUS. He is Assistant Editor for Call and Response Poetry for Spillway.
He hosts weekly readings in Los Angeles and was a member of the 1997 Los Angeles National
Slam Team. As co-slam master, he was the driving force behind the the 1998 team.
Mark Pomeroy was the founder of the Los Angeles National Slam Team (aka
LosSlamgeles or Team LA) and one of the main forces behind bringing the slam movement to
Los Angeles. In addition to writing poetry and sharing slam master duties with Robert
Carroll, Mark is a teacher of ESL (English-as-a-Second-Language) in the Los Angeles area.
He is the author of over twenty short stories and two screenplays. His work has been
published in ONTHEBUS and Spillway. And he co-produced and performed in "The Naked
Word," a performance poetry showcase
Contact Info:
Los Angeles (10)
Robert Carroll
1314 Westwood Blvd. #211 Los Angeles CA 90024
310-475-2990 noprblm@pacbell.net
team selected June 6
Los Feliz / Hollywood, CA.
Sista Yo - Mission…to fill the
universe with love. Motto…Peace Love & Happiness, By Any Means Necessary.
Origin?…the distant star Orion. Why Spoken Word?... We are the scribes of every
generation. Here to tell our story until we get it right. Who am I?.. Sista Yo! Superhero,
Karate chop expert, Spoken Word Artist. Influences…The Scribe of the Book of the Dead
of Ani.
Nathan Green. poet. pasadena. sierra nevada pale ale. the coup. u.c.
berkeley. los feliz. the fugees. shelly. shakespeare. family. friends. good food and a
fine massage.
Josh Millican. UC Santa Cruz. 1996 Santa Cruz Slam Team. 1997 Los Angeles
Slam Team. The Square Root of Doom. North Spaulding Sick Boys. Pet snake. Paranoid. LA
Times. Hollywood,CA. Peace Corps drop-out. Dorothy Parker's Spoken Word Hour. ONYX. Sexy
mother finger.
Milo Martin. b. Carmel by-the-Sea, California. San Francisco State
University. Double Aquarian. Vegetarian. Jesus. Servant-leadership. Anne Sexton. Vicodin.
Elizabeth Bishop. Raymond Carver. Herman Hesse. Ginsberg. Hemingway. Frank Zappa. Fugazi.
Drums. Newcastle Beer. Dry martinis. Willie Mays. Willy Wonka. Co-founder w/ Ben Porter
Lewis of PROJECTOR Spoken Word Congregation at the ONYX in Los Feliz/Hollywood.
Tri-editor, ONYX Poetry Anthology.
Coach Ben Porter Lewis. Saigon boy. Ithaca, New York. Drop-out.
Poet-Warrior- Refugee. Demon Colossus. Semi-Automatic Spoken Word. Upstart kid. Libra
Buddha. Hype-XL. Big Audio Dynamite. Public Enemy. ONYX. Los Feliz/Silverlake/Los
Angeles/California. Milo's baked Fruitcake w/Nature Green. Jumbo's Clown Room. Down on
Jones Street. James Baldwin. Ho Chi Minh. Neruda. Rage Against the Machine. Pele. Michael
Jordan. Muhammed Ali. Go Knicks!
Contact Info:
Hollywood/Los Feliz (45)
Milo Martin
4525 Russell Avenue #6 Hollywood CA 90027
213-662-4187 nedbojo@yahoo.com
team selected July 27
Manhattan, NY
Cristin Aptowicz, Evert Eden, Amanda Nazario, Beau Sia
Contact Info:
Manhattan (33)
Bob Holman
516 W. 25th Street NYC 10001
212-645-0061 nuyopoman@aol.com
team selected by July 21
Mesa, AZ.
Danielle Carriveau, Patrick Hare, Josh Ostrander, Holly Samulcek
Contact Info:
Mesa (40)
Bob Nelson
PO Box 4411 Mesa AZ 85211-4411
602-461-8200 anthology@juno.com
team selected April 23
Minneapolis, MN.
Diego Vázquez Slammaster. Author of the
novel, Growing Through The Ugly (W.W. Norton-97. Henry Holt/Owl Books-98). Teaches
creative writing in Minnesota schools through COMPAS Writers and Artists in the Schools. dvazquez@mr.net
Loren Niemi Legendary storyteller and teacher to storytellers. Niemi was
recently awarded a Bush Foundation Leadership Fellowship which will place him in Chicago
for seven months beginning this September. drbuzz@isd.net
Thein-Bao Thuc Phi A recent graduate of Macalaster College in St. Paul,
Bao has discovered that his magnificent gift for poetry has failed to get him admitted
into a graduate program. Vázquez advises the baby of the team to make poetry a priority
and use grad school as a hobby.
Patrick McKinnon A founder of the Duluth based "Poetry Harbor"
and editor of the incredible literary journal, "Poetry Motel." The recipient of
awards too numerous to mention, mckinnon says, "that if God wanted poets to have
money he never would have given us businessmen."
Kate Peterson Coach/Team alternate. Kate lives and breathes with a pair
of "38s" that have become the fuel for great poetry. She has also been lucky
enough to travel to some pretty exciting places, not the least of which has been Roseau,
Minnesota. kpeterso@artsmia.org
Contact Info:
Minneapolis (13)
Diego Vazquez
c/o Kieran's Irish Pub 330 2nd Ave. S. Minneapolis MN 55401
612-339-4499 fitz@wavefront.com
team selected May 20
http://www.pioneerplanet.com/columnists/docs/GROSSMAN/docs/021774.htm
Mission District-San Francisco, CA.
Nancy "Throat" Depper's favorite
Spice Girl is Ringo. She is the author of three chapbooks including "Mouthing"
and "Bodies Of Work" (Manic D Press). She was a member of the 1993 and 1997 San
Francisco Slam teams and has read her work throughout the Bay Area and in Los Angeles,
Portland, Las Vegas and New York. Her poems have been published in "Berkeley Poetry
Review", "OXYGEN", "Disability Arts Magazine" (in the U.K.), and
in the anthology "Signs Of Life". Strange and dramatic things happen to her all
the time: Just go up and ask her.
Daphne "Is That Real Fur on her Chapbook?" Gottlieb's favorite Spice
Girl is Lorena Bobbit. Her first full-length book of poetry, "Pelt," will be
released by Odd Girls Press in Spring 1999. Daphne's work has won awards from the
"San Francisco Bay Guardian" and "Spillway" magazine, among others,
and has appeared in numerous print and online periodicals, including "Rag",
"Feminista!", and "SpokenWar". A writer and editor by trade, her
cultural criticism is included in "The Covert Culture Sourcebook 2.0," by
Richard Kadrey (St. Martin's). Daphne's sordid past includes an appearance on
"Geraldo," which never aired due to network censors, and spots on "Jerry
Springer," and HBO's "Real Sex" and "Sex in the '90s." For a
whisky, she might tell you why.
Liberace is the favorite Spice Girl of Eitan "12 Inches of"
Kadosh. He (Eitan, not Liberace) has been writing and performing for the last
four years. He recently graduated UC Berkeley with a degree in The Spoken Word and Poetry
in Performance (a major he kustom-krafted by combining English, art-practice, and
rhetoric). He has performed at various locations across Los Angeles and San Francisco,
though his favorite place to read and listen remains the Green Mill, in Chicago. In his
spare time he works as a freelance arts journalist. He currently spends most of his days
cruising I-5 between SF and LA, in search of housing and a caeer.
Lauren "Big" Wheeler's favorite Spice Girl is her mother. Lauren is a
young poet who's horrible at self-promotion and a big fan of short bios. She has lived in
the Bay Area since January, will be returning to Cornell University as soon as the
Nationals are over to finish her Bachelor's degree in English, and is happy to be a member
of the SF Mission District Team.
Slam Mistress Tarin "Hilton" Towers' favorite Spice Girl is Gary Mex
Glazner. A practicing ex-Catholic, she would like to note that the all-Jewish lineup of
Team Mission District reflects no conspiracy, Zionist or otherwise. She is a member of the
1997 & 1998 San Francisco Slam Teams.
Contact Info:
Mission District, San Francisco (32)
Tarin Towers
PO Box 40764 SF CA 94140
415-621-4665 spit@tarin.com
team selected June
Missouri Ozarks
MICHAEL HOERMAN recently organized
Missouri's first Slam Series and the Southwest Missouri Poetry Festival, for which he
received a grant from Bravo: The Film and Arts Network. In 1997 he was awarded a grant
from the Missouri Arts Council to publish The Portable Plateau: Journal of the Ozark
Writer. It included poems and prose by Joplin native Langston Hughes and the 1996 Clinton
Inaugural Poem "Of History and Hope" by Miller Williams. Hoerman's most recent
project is the creation of Pulitzer nominated poet Red Hawk's official website.
http://www.ipa.net/~bebop/redhawk.html
BRIAN COLE has finished at the top of the heap at several recent slams.
His new poetry, crafted with an ear tuned for performance, adds another diminsion to his
earlier work, which was written strictly for the page. Cole, one of the organizers of the
Southwest Missouri Poetry Festival and the Missouri Slam Series, has read his poetry in
Fayetteville at Uncle Gaylord's and featured with the OPWC at The Grind, a Joplin coffee
shop.
MARK SWEET has performed his poetry in Arkansas at Uncle Gaylords, Ozark
Mountain Smokehouse, and in Missori at Spiva Center for the Arts, The Grind and Los
Amigos. Sweet is one of the organizers of the Missouri Slam Series and the Southwest
Missouri Poetry Festival. He was editor of Missouri Southern State Colleges literary
journal 3 years.
PAMELA POSTAI sprang from the loins of John Wayne and the Prom Queen.
"I believe my parents thought that there had been a mix up at the hospital. If wasn't
for the fact that I look and walk like John Wayne and have the prom queen's attitude, they
probably would have investigated. Imagine their surprise when they realized they had given
birth to an agnostic, left-wing radical, who for major portions of her life has been
anti-everything, which can be directly attributed to a strict Catholic upbringing. I found
release by pretending to be other people living other lives (translation: lots of theatre
work, some radio and video, in Kansas City). After 13 years in the big city, I ran home to
the Ozarks. I've been writing since puberty and am now in menopause and experiencing
another writing spurt. It all has something to do with the hormones. This is my first
national slam, so if you see me walking down the street, like John Wayne, having a hot
flash, with my makeup running, say hi."
Contact Info:
Missouri Ozarks (25)
Michael Hoerman
PO Box 755 Joplin MO 64802
417-782-8474 bebop@ipa.net
team selected June 10
The Missouri Slam Team Homepage
Montreal, PQ
Debbie Young is a Jamaican born and raised
Dub Poet. This Nappy-Haired, Flat-Nosed, Thick-Lipped, Afro-Centric, Beautiful, Black
Sistah believes that she can and does affect social change through her art. A new-comer to
Slam Competitions but an old-timer of the stage; at 21 years old Debbie knows Revolution
has already begun.
Dayna McLeod was hatched from an alien egg in the great farmer's fields
of Three Hills, Alberta and has barked her way into the hearts of many a cowgirl and boy
since that day. She rides her horse with spurs, thank you very much, and will always buy
that last shot that puts you under the table.
Johnny Cheesecake is a plant doctor, a baker and a mover 'n shaker. He's
a new wave court jester that done got scrambled up real good in some freaky time machine
experiment. Making it onto the Montreal Slam Team is one small part of Johnny's New Year
Resolution to break into show business.
Alexis O'Hara - After spending years looking for horseshoes, Alexis
O'Hara has come to realize that nothing comes easily to capricorns. A native of her
nation's capital, she has travelled extensively, lying masterfully through many a country
and compromising situation. She can be mean and downright bossy but she'll always let you
know when you have food in your teeth.
Contact Info:
Montreal (39)
Alexis O'Hara
5850 Esplanade Montreal PQ H2T 3A3 CANADA
514-270-8549 dyslex6@cam.org
team selected March 29, April 19, May 24
New York, NY
LYNNE PROCOPE is an Elemental Woman. Most of
the time she is a poet; the rest of the time she's afraid that she has simply been
possesed by the spirit of some other woman poet. She is a co-founder of the lil bit louda
workshop, as well as curator of the monthly House of Woman reading series..
STEPHEN COLMAN: In between working with developmentally-disabled adults
and negotiating labor contracts as a ship steward in his local union, Stephen Colman
writes, reads. and performs poetry. An activist by history and historian by training,
Stephen has spent the last few years finishing graduate school, writing rhymes and other
poems, teaching at a homeless shelter, and organizing unions. He will appear this fall as
the Poet-in-Residence on a new PBS television series focusing on adult literacy. Raised in
Englewood, NJ, Stephen currently lives in a Brooklyn apartment that he shares with his
roommate, two spiders and a stray mouse. Contact info: (917) 430-4766 or libitlouda@aol.com
GUY LeCHARLES GONZALEZ: Bronx Native, of Puerto Rican, African-American
and Scottish descent, Guy is many things to many people. He is the co-founder of the lil
bit louder workshop and reading series, but in Austin, he will be a poet, seeking closed
minds to pry open and plant seeds of revolution. He is madly in love with his new wife,
Salome and his new job as Membership Coordinator at the Academy of American Poets.
ALIX OLSON: Raised in rural Pennsylvania with the soul of a native New
Yorker, left Alix with no choice but to move there - violently. Bludgeoning her way onto
the team in a first place tie in the run-off slams with Guy Gonzalez, Alix promises to
light Austin on fire.
ROGER A. BONAIR-AGARD: (coach) Roger Bonair-Agard is an upper 'Generation
X' graduating student of Hunter College. He is a poet and has been writing since the age
of 13. His incarnation as a performance poet is about three years old and he has been
featured at various venues throughout New York City. He was the runner-up in the Nuyorican
1997 Grand Slam Finals qualifying him for a trip to the National Poetry Slam as a member
of their team. (He is the reigning Nuyorican Poets' Cafe Fresh Poet of the Year).
Co-founder of the writers' collective, l'il bit louda, and founder of Priceless Spear
Productions, Roger has also been responsible for producing several poetry
readings/performances in the New York area. He is at work on his first major collection of
poems "... and chaos congealed". His one man show of the same name premiered on
June 13, 1998 to a packed house and rave reviews. His work has appeared in Phat'itude
Literary Magazine, The Envoy & The Spheric. He teaches workshops extensively
throughout the tri-state area. He will also appear on the soon to be released CD, Latin
Jazz Poetry, from the Nuyorican Poets' Cafe and the anthology Voices from The Nuyorican Poets Cafe
Contact Info:
New York (27)
Roger Bonair-Agard
c/o Poets and Writers 72 Spring Street New York NY 10012
212-226-0045 x226 roger@pw.org
team selected May 15, 22, 29
members: Stephen Colman, Guy LeCharles Gonzales, Kayo, Alix Olsen
Oklahoma City, OK
Tracy Townsend is a dysfunctional
twentysomething dissatisfied with divorce, death, and the name given to her generation.
Nursery rhymes, Dennis Miller, Lewis Carroll, Pantera, Tori Amos, Judas Priest, and Jan
Brady influence her. Tracy doesn't like asking for directions, her old job back, or for
condoms sitting behind the counter from some retired school bus driver working at the
local convenience store.
Lord of the Vibes has been all over the nation, but calls OKC home. He is
a thick brooding fellow who's searching for the Zen-like qualities found in vaudevillian
one-liners. He is also a poet.
Jack Craddock is a native Oklahoman, but his work has led him to jobs in
Texas, Chicago and New York, with work-related travelling that took him to 35 states and
17 foreign countries. That work was in journalism and public relations. Since retirement,
he keeps busy writing and building and operating a miniature railroad system that is big
enough to ride on. He is married and has three children.
spontaneous bob has, in his quarter-of-a-century on this planet, been a
poet, a photographer, a member of the Performance Art group "SOME OTHER TRiBE",
a political disident, a victim of society, a being with supernatural powers,and a guy with
a bad haircut. He has danced with wolves, borrowed money from the government that he
cannot pay back, and spent three years in the jungles of Europe communing with the lost
tribes of England; a primitive, cave-dwelling people who bestowed upon him his tribal
name: "Pays-With-Checks".
Contact Info:
Oklahoma City (37)
Tracy Townsend
1718 NW 15th OKC OK 73016
405-524-2599 tcrow13@aol.com
team selected July 7
Check out our website: http://www.okclive.com/slam/
Ozarks, AR
Brenda Moossy has worked as a nurse so
long she is crispy fried around the edges. But as a Texas native, she figures she'd rather
be deep-fried than half-baked. She is co-founder and co-chair of the Ozark Poets and
Writers Collective. Her third time at the Nationals, she is a sore loser, owns a condo in
Hormone Hell, and knows how to use firearms.
Bob Haslam has considered careers in aviation, medicine, law, quantum physics,
marine biology, forestry, oil exploration, psychoanalysis, international diplomacy, and
cultural anthropology, but believes all of these fields to be "unreasonably time
consuming." The poet, currently unemployed, adores fiction and despises books on time
management and self-help.
Pat Jackson writes her life, and the lives of those around her, in the
vernacular of her Arkansas/Oklahoma childhood. Jackson's poetry is more reflective than
observational, a tying together of event and emotion from the female perspective.
Lisa Martinovic´ won the Ozark Grand Slam for the third consecutive
year, thus continuing her reign as SlamQueen of the Ozarks. The salubrious effects of
sobriety, meditation, tai chi, and shocking quantities of tofu are all that save
Martinovic´ from the ravages of her otherwise relentless pursuit of instant fame,
commercial success, crass celebrity status and world domination in general.
Contact Info:
Ozarks (3)
Lisa Martinovic
PO Box 3717 Fayetteville AR 72702
501-443-7575 poemedy@aol.com
team selected April 8
1998 Ozark National Slam Team Home
Page
Pittsburgh, PA.
Christina Springer crosses disciplines
like busy streets in Manhattan, using poetry, theatre, dance, music, film, and other
visual expressions. Recent performance work includes: Licking the Knife's Edge, Life
Rites, and Mary Magdeline and the Apostles. Publications include: Mothering Magazine,
Shooting Star Review, The Pennsylvania Review, Drumvoices, Amethyst, and The New Voice.
Guest editor Volume 5, Issue 4 of Street Beat magazine. Film work includes: Creation of
Destiny, A Powerful Than, and Out of Our Time. Forthcoming video project Package.
Ersula D. Cosby - contact: ecosby@transarc.com
- Cofounder of Cusp WorldWide, a grassroots arts organization that presents, publishes,
and promotes the original work of local artists, including Urban Aesthetics. Technical
writer in corporate Amerika. Poet, organizer in other worlds. Pittsburgh Slam 98 helper.
Sun Crumbs member and participant. Kuntu Writers Workshop advocate. Crossing Limits
project coordinator. Carnegie Mellon University graduate. Her chapbook Whether Love
Matters is available in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn local book stores.
Jaime McClung - contact: raynebobryt@hotmail.com
- A young poet who likes to feel special. Member of Sun Crumbs productions. She is new to
the whole poetry scene. She's been published in a few anthologies - a scholastic magazine,
and the Thomas Merton Center newsletter. She hates to write bios annd has nothing else to
say except Yay for poetry!
Dimented Wordsmiff aka Igneus D. Lloyd
- Information gatherer
- Actor/poet/artist/author
- Cusp WorldWide associate
- Urban Aesthetics member
- River Valley dweller
- "Hue" man who stays incognegro
- Album: Who Killed Choked On Ink
- Chapbook: Chattalog Volume 1, Number 1
- Film: The Meticulous Caress
Contact Info:
Pittsburgh (42)
Lisa Stolarski
614 Beechwood Avenue #2 Carnegie PA 15106
412-276-9601 lisappoet@aol.com
team selected July 11
Portland, OR
John Dooley is made of the same stuff
other poets are made of, only there's an extra helping of funny gravy. "Seriousness
is taking a back seat at the slam this year," Dooley says. Dooley's poetry and prose
has been published throughout the US, and in the U.K., Finland and Australia. He has three
mainstream books published, and over 30 chapbooks of poetry, and has over a million words
in print. Dooley's spoken word group, Hydropods, has just released their second
collection, "Ruth," which is available from Dooley's new fangled pocket
distribution center. This is his third year as a member of the Portland Slam Team.
Rob Hibberd - Host of Good Virtue: Ultimate Spoken Word - Portland's most
progressive reading series. Hibberd is a resident of Northwest Portland because
"Eastside feels like burbs." This is Hibberd's first year on the Portland Poetry
Slam team but he adds "I'm a real gamer!" Copies of his "Flooding the Gift
Shop" Chapbook are rapidly moving out of his backpack and into the hands of
unsuspecting Portlanders everywhere.
Jeff Meyers came into this world naked, bloody and screaming and if he is
very lucky that is how he will go out. He is a four time member of Portland's slam team,
the organizer of the 1996 National Poetry Slam, a playwright, theatrical director and just
had his first screenplay optioned. His work has appeared in Playboy, Exquisite Corpse,
blah blah blah. He misses his dogs, has 2 chapbooks, eats too many pretzels and remembers
when pasta was called noodles.
Joe Cronin -
Contact Info:
Portland (12)
Reuben Nisenfeld
1624 SE Stark Portland OR
503-232-2042 rn@dotten.com
team selected May 27
http://www.portlandslam.com/
Providence, RI
David Blank is a midwestern boy at heart,
who early in his life moved to the east coast. A constant senior in college working on his
Bachelors in Social Work or Psychology (he hasn't decided yet.). He was a featured poet in
the 1997 Austin International Poetry Festival, has featured all over New England, and is a
Co-Host of the Providence Spoken Word Poetry Series. David has slammed in Providence,
Boston, Austin, and Worcester, but this is his first National Poetry Slam.
Dawn M Gabriel - In this sequel to the Academy Award nominated hit of
1997, there is no stopping everyone's favorite hero as Dawn embarks on a journey that
takes her to a faraway storybook city, where she encounters an incredible assortment of
animal friends, experiences the joy and sorrow of life and learns how a kind and steady
heart can heal a sorry world. Directed by Ray Davey. Hear what the critics have to say:
"A triumph of the human spirit!" - Boston Herald "I laughed! I cried! It
was better than 'Cats'! I'll see it again, and again!" - Andrew Lloyd Weber "I
don't care how you feel about gynecologists, you need to get a pap smear." - Dawn's
Mom
Laura E.J. Moran - winner of the Jean Garrigue Award for Writing,
Providence's first slam champion, founder of the Denver Slam 1992, proud mama of Asheville
girl Corinna, and Seattle grand slam champion, she returned to her homeport of Providence
as co-captain and captain of the 1997 and 1998 slam teams. Author of two chapbooks Where
We Live and Exodus, she has been published in various and asundry small presses and has
performed in bars, universities, churches, pre-school classrooms and the occasional porch
of dear friends. If you find her asleep in nasturtiums--don't wake her.
Paul Landry
Contact Info:
Providence (24)
Ray Davey
129 Wentworth Street Cranston RI 02905
401-785-1749 (h) 401-275-9371 (w) raydavey@aol.com
team selected Jan 1, June 4
Roanoke, VA.
Patricia A. Johnson, born and raised in
Elk Creek, Virginia caught the slam bug in 1994 and has been on Roanoke's national team
each year since. Patricia's work is being published in numerous publications this year
including Obsidian II, Phati'tude, Rhapsody in Black, The Temple, Lonzie Fried Chicken and
others. Patricia has won the Sonia Sanchez Award and an interview with her appears in the
fall issue of BMa: the Sonia Sanchez Review. Ausdoh Press of Philadelphia is publishing
her second book: STAIN MY DAYS BLUE.
Nick Glennon -Variously published, a previous member of Roanoke National
Teams. He lives on Bent Mountain with his wife, three daughters, and a garage filled with
surfboards and salten memories.
Ian Mack [aka Nopletone Crusty]- Brother to Bowlweevle Crusty. Enjoys
spray painted astro-turf sunsets and the centrifugal force of tire swings.
Mark Skelley- Brand spankin' new slammaster of the Roanoke scene. Mark
has managed to raise the Roanoke Slam cash prize from $10 to $50 and initiate a rockin'
house band by the name of the Fashion Smoothies [just ask former "Smoothie"
Eriean Bradley how good they are]. As far as poetry goes Mark writes some pretty good
stuff and has performed for high schools and middle schools in the area. Mark hasn't tried
publishing anything yet because "THAT SHIT IS SCARY MAN".
Contact Info:
Roanoke (21)
Mark Skelley
3715 Parliament Road #13 Roanoke VA 24014
540-343-9819 skelley42@hotmail.com
team selected June
Salt Lake City, UT.
David Stevenson: Has never published a
single literary piece of work,except for his research on Neurofibromatosis Type one which
can be criticized on the overuse of the word "therefore." Host of the coffee
house series, open-mic, he was crowned 1997 Salt Lake City Poetry Slam Champion and has
the golden football helmet to prove it. Current ambition is to convince women of the utter
sexual power of short, balding men. Future plans: Support minority causes. (So far he has
found three of them in Utah. Update pending)
Rob Carney: Teaches at Utah Valley State College. His writing has
appeared in dozens of journals, been strenuously objected to in dozens of countries, not
to be read in Kalispell, Montana, without first securing the proper permits.
Tom Harris: A one time resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was lured to
the Utah border by doe eyed women bearing promises of Salvation and jello salad. Nothing
say’s "Mother," like jello salad. And so Tom moved to the land of Zion,
hoping to land a job as a baggage handler for Delta. Tom is the founder of the
organization of "P.M.S." (Poet Mafia Sucks) and is frequently seen waxing
nostalgically about his penchant for words such as campake, duh, and poo.
Melissa Bond: founded the Salt Lake City Poetry Slam in 1995. During her
three year tenure as emcee she has been called everything from "fascist dwarf,"
to "poetic cherub," to "gruyere." Her somewhat unhealthy obsession
with Freud has seeded many a poem , as has her fascination with Sylvia Plath , cheap
hollywood movies and short bald men. She hopes to acquire her MFA in Boulder Colorado
through a program which alternates bouts of meditation with bouts of writing and where she
swears she will never again write anything about Freud.
Contact Info:
Salt Lake City (7)
Melissa Bond
275 N Street Salt Lake City UT 84103
801-359-4796 mbond@xmission.com
team selected June 27
San Francisco, CA.
J. Tarin Towers is a freelance writer and
editorial consultant. Author of The Dreamweaver Visual QuickStart Guide and Yahoo! Wild
Web Rides. A founding member of 9x9 Industries, the last MC of the Chameleon, and current
editor of The SF Poet. Her broadside, "Mission Poem," will appear in the
Puschart Prize Anthology XXIII, Fall '98. First full-length poetry book, "Sorry,
We're Close," forthcoming from Manic D Press. Visit www.tarin.com to see the inside
of Tarin's fridge.
R. Eirik Ott is a travelling performance poet disguised as a journalism
student in NorCal, hitting stages all over CA. His style mixes comedy, poetry and
storytelling. Published zines and chapbooks for over five years, with poetry, short
stories and essays in many mags and web sites. Type "Eirik Ott" into a search
engine, you'll find nearly 100 hits. Eirik has a tattoo, which means he's punk rock, you
shoudn't get in his face or he'll fuck you up and write a poem about you.
Russell (Gonzaga) - No bio yet submitted.
Omolara performed poetry in competion since Kindergarten, won many
prizes, including KPIX's "Share The Dream" for a $10K scholorship. Majored in
Speech/Theater at Clark-Atlanta University. Extensive travel, both as a Motivational
Speaker and performer of "Poetic Rhythmatics," a mix of poetry and rap. She has
opened for: Betty Shabazz, Tupac Shakur, KRS 1, and Rakim Lallah. Her first CD is in the
works. Reigning Slam Champion of SF.
Coach Charles Ellik is the geek with big ears in SlamNation. Don't be
fooled--the ears are just for show. An Assistant Floor Broker at the Pacific Stock
Exchange. Current SlamMaster of SF and Berkeley, formerly Long Beach, winner of "LA's
Best Open Mic" '96 and '97. A Founder and contributor to SoCal's Next Magazine.
Published in 15+ journals, including: Pearl, Sheila-Na-Gig, and Yummy Hussy, with three
books so far. Featured/performed in 22+ States, most of them geographic.
Contact Info:
San Francisco (16)
Charles Ellik
PO Box 5022 Berkeley CA 97405-0022
510-654-3693 cellik@aol.com
team selected June 7
Poetry in the San Francisco Bay Area
Santa Cruz, CA.
Meliza Bañales is a
ferocious-femme-spoken-word-poet and performance artist in Santa Cruz. Originally from Los
Angeles, CA Meliza has been published in many places, including her own publications. She
is currently in the Santa Cruz-based performance troupe "Animal Farm", an active
Xicana Feminista, and a Creative Writing Major at UC Santa Cruz. She has just released her
first spoken-word album "Beauty Queen", a collection of angry thoughts and words
with some skirts and lipstick to match.
Kelly McNally writes compulsively and is in the habit of inflicting her
work on close friends and total strangers... she is regretfully a native of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, but fled that city as soon as she was able. She now lives in the Santa Cruz
mountains, and is working on her first novel.
Joya Winwood. Joya's recovering redneck inner male, Dixon Cummings,
offers thrust to her vision of a human race that senses joy and creates more of it. Sure,
it's a challenging mission, but it got her to Texas, YEE HAW!
Julia Ann Delbridge is an Appalachian Storyteller currently living on a
free-range farm in Corralitos, CA watched over by Mount Madonna. In Susan Kaufman's words:
"She's a spit & vinegar down home no holds barred angel in no disguise who's got
one hell of a lot to say."
Contact Info:
Santa Cruz (30)
Julia Ann Delbridge
PO Box 2155 Santa Cruz CA 95063
831-763-2373 juliaann@cruzio.com
team selected May 31
Seattle, WA.
Bart Baxter - After touring for four years
with the tradtional Irish dance troupe, Bart Baxter has retired his tap shoes to pursue a
career in poetry and movies.
Micheal Ricciardi - You may recall Michael Ricciardiís greatest feat,
making the Statue of Liberty disappear, but he appears at the National Poetry Slam to try
his sleight of hand in the magic of wordsmithing.
Marta Sanchezís most recent album, Ray of Light, comes on the tail of
the controversial birth of her daughter, Lourdes. NPS marks a rare spoken word performance
for this shocking pop culture icon.
Dave Caserioís name has been changed to protect the innocent and abate
his parole officer.
Contact Info:
Seattle (17)
Allison Durazzi
1122 E. Pike #894 Seattle WA 98122
206-860-0797 durazzi@rocketmail.com
team selected April 29
Urbana-Champaign, IL
Tim Rauschenberger is a senior in English
and Rhetoric at the University of Illinois. He has participated in poetry workshops with
the Red Herring poets and readings sponsored by the Montage, a student fine arts joural at
the University. He is serving a second semester as publicist for Montage and has also
served the magazine as prose editor.
Paul Kompanowski was born on November
5,.1975 in Chicago, IL. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois. He attended
Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, IL where he helped found Sequella, a student run
literary journal which lasted three years. He then served as editor, then editor-in-chief
of Little America at U of I. Paul helped found it's successor, Montage in 1996 and served
as Editor-in-Chief, Business Manager, and prose editor. He currently resides in Chicago.
Parna Mehrbani is a student at the University of Illinois, and a first
time slammer. She is on the staff of Montage, a literary journal on campus, and takes part
in monthly poetry readings. She strives on her obsession with confessional and beat poetry
and has a habit of subjected anyone who will listen to her own. Her words to live by:
"I'm just a human being with a lot of shit on my heart." (courtesy of her hero,
the great Mr. Jack Kerouac.)
Miss Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai will be a junior at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign studying Urban Planning and Comparative Literature. Initiated into the
wonderful world of slamming by her Fremd H.S. teachers (particularly Mr. Henry J.
"The Bearded One" Sampson), she will be Fall '98 Editor-in-Chief of Montage, a
campus fine arts journal, and professes that many woes of urban decay just need a little
mo' poetry.
Contact Info:
Urbana-Champaign, IL (19)
Kelly Tsai
647 Thompson's Way Inverness IL 60067
847-202-0827 ktsai@uiuc.edu
team selected May 14
Kelly is over 18/under 21
Vancouver, B.C.
Angus Adair aka The Svelte Ms.
Spelt - a.k.a. Angus Adair took the 1997 Vancouver Salmon Slam by storm with his
intensly evocative brand of storytelling. Angus boasts a racy style and a fabulous
wardrobe. He's the only poet In North American who can skateboard in a taffeta skirt.
Hugh McMillan has been published in Zygote Magazine and The White Water
Journal, is a VP of the Shoreline Writer's Society without portfolio, and has
self-published a children's book, a small chapbook, and two ransom-note-type visiual story
books. Most famous for taking a puck in the chin and living to slam that same evening.
Cass King is a cabaret artist whose review in the 1997 North by Northwest
Festival program reads "...a certified drama queen ...a true entertainer." She
scats out a rhythmic hybrid of jazzy spoken word that has come to be known as "Hep
Hop." She is emcee of the Blue Lizard Cocktail Cabaret and a returning member of the
Van Slam Poetry team.
Andrea Thompson performed at the 1996 and 1997 National Poetry Slam. She
is the director of TelePoetics
Vancouver. She is one of the city's most loved poets.
Contact Info:
Vancouver (43)
Cass King
2232 E 27th Avenue Vancouver BC V5N 2X2 CANADA
need phone number swing@bluelizard.com
team selected May 28, June 10, 17, 24
http://www.edgewisecafe.org/
Venice Beach, CA.
Ellyn Maybe is the author of The Cowardice
of Amnesia (2.13.61 Publications), which was edited by Exene Cervenkova. She has been
featured recently at Bumbershoot, the Albuquerque Poetry Festival, and South by Southwest.
June Melby has performed at venues up and down the West Coast, including
a nudist colony, an air force base, and at the John Forn Anson Amphitheater. Her work has
appeared on KCRW and in the LA Weekly, and she was the voice of an evil alien in the movie
Space Jams.
Jeffrey McDaniel is the author of Alibi School and The Forgiveness Parade
(Manic D Press). His poems have appeared in Epoch, Ploughshares, Best American Poetry, New
(American) Poets, and on National Public Radio's "Talk of the Nation".
Michael Niblock is the author of Hello, My Name Is Aberdeen (Inevitable
Press), lead singer of the band Clear, and editor/publisher of Sacred Beverage Press.
Contact Info:
Venice Beach (31)
Jeffrey McDaniel
4470 Sunset Blvd #736 LA CA 90027
213-644-0031 no e-mail
team selected June 13
Winston-Salem, NC.
Chris McCorkindale - Culture-shocked
ex-Londoner studies computerscience in hope of future wealth and writes to stay sane. In
search of endorphin high through ultimate dance experience. Musical tastes include: acid
jazz, techno fusion, trance, psychedelic rock, salsa, flamenco, African drums, etc.
Refuses to act her age, but is presentable.
Jon Williams is the founder of the Raleigh Poetry Slam ( www.schizoid.com ). He started shaking nervously at
the open mic in 1994, started shaking up the open mic in 1995, started slamming
in 1996, and started the Raleigh Slam in 1997. Jon is the author of Back Talk, a
collection of poetry guaranteed to be tax deductible in 1999. (He is currently seeking a
sugar daddy/momma to help fund future additions to his poetry resume.) Rumor is, he's
"got a mouth full of gasoline." Further bulletins as events warrant.
Lynn Felder is stunningly ordinary. She goes to work, pays her bills and
tries to behave herself. Other than that, she does pretty much as she pleases. She loves
to dance, and her favorite color is turquoise.
Christine Toole (Xine) the amazing pregnant poet (who is
NOT JUST FAT, dammit), has recently returned from 2 years living in Mexico City, Mexico,
and otherwise filling the pages of her passport. She is intent on proving that she is, in
fact, the goddess that she has always claimed to be, even if she turns out to be the
goddess of ... um ... fertility.
Contact Info:
Winston-Salem (11)
Linda McCorkindale
109 Piedmont Avenue Winston-Salem NC 27101
336-724-5904 lcm@nr.infi.net
team selected May 28
Worcester. MA.
ED FUQUA was first sighted in a cornfield
near Dayton, Ohio in 1970. Since then there have been several unconfirmed sightings along
the Eastern Seaboard. Blurry photographs depict him as a full-fledged librarian. His
dental records are unattainable. He is a Midwestern boy at heart.
KYRIA ABRAHAMS has not given a live performance in over 15 years in order
to concentrate on studio work. Once owned a diner outside Roswell, NM. Aardvark aardvark
aardvark. She is a Midwestern boy at heart.
DAVE EYE aka: Link, aka: Crystal Evelyn, aka: Chollie, aka: Blade, aka:
Marilyn Townhouse, aka: Ktashal-Tarbin, aka: Millard Fillmore. He has a degree in
Poli-Sci. Weapon of choice: steel chair. He is a Midwestern boy at heart.
BILL MACMILLAN has access to ancient and untracable weapons. Despite his
appearances on three national slam teams, he still maintains his sense of humor. Plays
well with others. Once housed the NPS trophy on top of his fridge. He is a Midwestern boy
at heart
ALIXA (Coach/ Alternate) obtained her covert operations training in
Langley, VA. She has successfully infiltrated a Massachusett high school for the purposes
of mind control experimentation. Cross her and your body will never be found. She is a
Midwestern boy at heart.
Contact Info:
Worcester (20)
Bill MacMillan
PO Box 3094 Worcester MA 01613-3094
508-755-LORE javabunny@earthlink.net
team selected May 17
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/1270/woosta.html
INDIVIDUAL COMPETITORS:
Paul Bullock (Lubbock, TX.) has been
performing on Lubbock stages for six years. Singer/songwriter Cary Swinney offered his
stage and audience and helped to move Paul from barroom poet to performance poet with a
one man show, which debuted in 1994. Swinney continues to offer his stages around the
state of Texas. Work on two CDs is in progress.
Paul Bullock
PO Box 53531 Lubbock TX 79453
806-763-7425
Gayle Danley (Silver Spring, MD.)
Gary Drilling (Tampa Bay, FL.) has been writing poetry since the late 80's, and
performing since the early 90's. He is a member of the Sarasota Poetry Theatre, which
performs a multi-voiced, musically driven poetry. This organization is also active in
promoting poetry within the community and has developed a workshop program with at risk
children in the community. He is also a co-founder of the performance group
"Performance Anxiety". The work of this group features poetry combined with
dance, yoga, and body sculpture. Gary also does numerous solo performances in the Tampa
Bay Area, and was the 1997 winner of the Tampa Bay Poetry Council's Midwinter Oral Poetry
Contest. In his other life, Gary is a Physical Therapist.
Gary Drilling
46 St. Lucie Avenue Sarasota FL 34232
941-378-9719 drilboat@gte.net
Tony Gallucci - (Kerrville, TX) - Teacher, Coach, Writer. Undefeated championship
soccer team was named the 1997 Academic All-American Team. Featured on syndicated TV
documentary "Texas Tales" as the "coach poet" and also on a segment of
NBC News. Widely published, most recently had a collection of poems selected for Native
American Poetry Anthology. Formerly with Lyle Lovett.
Tony Gallucci
PO Box 6 Camp Verde TX 78010-5006
830-792-8196 no e-mail
Adam Gottschalk (Bellingham, WA) began as a performance poet in New York city. He
was a regular at the Seattle Slam for several years, vying for the national team in 1996.
He has been featured at many events, including the 1998 Seattle Poetry Festival. Adam
currently hosts and organizes the Bellingham Slam in Bellingham, Washington. He is also a
guitarist and jazz singer.
Adam Gottschalk
1668 Marine Drive Bellingham WA 98225
360-714-0249 riproject@memes.com
Al Letson Jr. (Jacksonville, FL) has been a performance poet for two years, and
has been writing poetry as long as he can remember. Born in new Jersey, Al moved with his
parents while he was still a child to Jacksonville, FL where he has been ever since. With
this his first appearance in a National Slam, Al hopes to place and join the national
poetry scene.
Al Letson Jr.
8441 Bluestem Court Jacksonville FL 32244
904-771-1409, DP 1-800-980-0701 alfred@southeast.com
Jasim Mohamed (Sweden)
Bredbyplan 15 BV, 16371 Spanga SWEDEN
46-8-7959754 jasim_m@hotmail.com
DJ Renegade (Washington, D.C.) Originally from Pgh. PA. Renegade has dwelled in
DC for the last 16 years. This year he will appear in the movies Slam and SlamNation. In
the 97 Nats he finished 2nd in the Indie Comp. and is a four-time Individual Finalist.
This year he is slamming with three new poems.
DJ Renegade
2006 1st St NW Washington DC 20001
202-462-2550 djrenegade@hotmail.com
Rusty Russell (Madison, WI) R. Russell
is MC-for-life of the Cheapatanyprice poetry series in Madison. He is suffered by one
daughter, 27. His poetry & fiction have been rejected by some of the finest magazines
in the business. Some was accepted. In 1994 he produced a poetry cassette, Jungle of
Roses, with a WI Arts Board grant. Anything can happen. e-mail: BRuss12008@aol.com . web site (for Madison Slam) www.paleo.net/poets
Rusty Russell
317 N. Brearly Street Madison WI
608-255-9430 BRuss12008@aol.com
Rolf Springer - (Phoenix, AZ) (Born: 1/14/1951 - Buffalo, NY.) depending on who
you ask, is a son, lover, father, brother, co-worker, asshole, nice guy, lazy bum,
eclectic personality, schizoid personality, and-- by his own admission-- poet. His
influences are Kenneth Rexroth, Steve Kowit, Muriel Rukeyser, Ezra Pound, Sappho, Robert
Graves, Jack Gilbert, Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, Edwin Denby - GOD! - No wonder he's
confused . . .
Rolf Springer
4501 N 60th Avenue Phoenix AZ 85033-2132
602-846-5846 rolf.springer@mci2000.com
Garland Thompson - Currently known as the Monterey Slammaster, his most recent
work was producing, and hosting, the 1998 West Coast Regional Poetry Slam at the Henry
Miller Library. He's a former Austin Slammaster who produced "Shoot-out at the
Planet: Garland's Poetry Slam and Rent Party". Before that, he produced, and
hosted, many Spoken Word events in Los Angeles dating back to 1990. He has worked in all
areas of the Entertainment Industry for the last thirty years. Whether it be Spoken Word,
Theatre, Music, acting or producing events of all sizes, he has been blessed with a
well-rounded, and fun career. At the Slammasters meeting in Austin he will present, along
with Magnus Toren, Director of the Henry Miller Library, a proposal to bring the Nationals
to Monterey in the year 2000.
Garland Thompson
476 Cortes Street Suite B Monterey CA 93940
408-644-0908 dancingpoet@prodigy.net
Stephanie Tillison
663 Washington Avenue #9 Santa Fe NM 87501
505-995-0769
ciro (Seattle, WA.) - born in cuba too long
ago to mention ciro most likes writing with no punctuation or capitalization an example of
our increasingly degenerating educational system his worst subject was always ingles so
its ironic that years later he's winning slams all over the place and touring with Poetry
Alive! visit http://www.geocities.com/bourbonstreet/bayou/1500/
for more info
Ciro Viamontes
c/o Salon Productions 1122 E. Pike #977 Seattle WA 98122
206-689-8661 cirov@speakeasy.org
The MCs:
Jill Battson tried to make slam happen in Toronto and would have been chased
out of town if the Canadian audience wasn't so apathetic. She ran the border to be on the
Ann Arbor team at the 95 Nationals. Her new book Hard Candy will be on the merchandise
table - buy a copy if you want her to sway the judges in your team's favour! Jill's the
host with the plummy English accent (it's real!!)
Kim Holzer, currently from somewhere in Indiana, is a genetic engineer
involved in the cross-breeding of Beanie Babies, Barney the Dinosaur, and Tickle Me Elmo.
Preliminary studies show that the new species does not fare well while soaking in large
vats of battery acid. People have been offering to buy the collectable creatures anyway.