Timeline of the
Austin Poetry Slam
October 1992
While attending the CMJ Music Conferencein New York City, Austin performance poet
Wammo wins his first slam at
Nuyorican Poets’ Café.
July 1993
The MTV Spoken Word Tour stops inAustin, exposing local poets to the work
of performers such as Reg E. Gaines and Maggie Estep. Wammo joins the tour for the final leg.
1994
January - As a qualifier for poets to compete at a Slam on the Poetry Stage at the upcoming Lollapalooza concert tour, Wammo hosts a weekly Slam series at Emo’s.July - As part of the Poetry Stage on the traveling Lollapalooza tour, a group of Austin poets slam in Dallas and Houston. Several poets join Wammo as the tour travels across the western U.S.
November - The Slam moves to the Electric Lounge as an ongoing bi-weekly series.
1995
February - Slam becomes a bi-weekly event at the Electric Lounge.July - The first-ever Austin Slam-off: Mike Henry, Genevieve Van Cleve, Wammo, and Phil West become Austin’s inaugural Slam Team.
August –
- At the National Poetry Slam in Ann Arbor, MI, Team Austin advances to the semi-finals, placing 13th out of 26 teams. Wammo advances to the individual finals, placing second in the competition, two tenths of a point behind Slam legend and reigning champion Patricia Smith
- The Austin Slam receives its first local press recognition as a photo of team appears in the Austin American-Statesman, as well as copy and a photo in the "Dancing About Architecture" column in the Austin Chronicle.
1996
March – Annual South by Southwest spoken word showcases curated by Mike Henry for APS.April - The Austin Team attends the Albuquerque Poetry Festival; Wammo wins the festival’s slam. As an encore, the team performs their four-person group piece,"Motor Red," in the street outside the theater.
May - Slam-off #2: Danny Solis, Hilary Thomas, Wammo, and Phil West become the 1996 team. Mike Henry is chosen as the first Coach for the Austin Slam program.
July - A photo of the team is featured on the cover of the Austin Chronicle with accompanying feature article, "Do They Dare" by Brett Holloway-Reeves.
August -
- Fundraising efforts culminate in a benefit performance at the Shoreline Grill, succeeding in providing Team Austin with a fully-funded trip to Nationals.
- At NPS in Portland, Austin leads the competition for the first three nights and advances to the finals, placing 4th out of 27 teams. Wammo places 5th in the individual competition. Footage of the team is shot for the award-winning documentary SlamNation, produced by Paul Devlin.
1997
February - Genevieve Van Cleve takes over the reins as the emcee of the Austin Slam, which becomes a weekly event.March -
- Mike Henry and Phil West attend the annual Slammasters’ meeting in Chicago and Austin’s bid to host the National Poetry Slam in 1998 is accepted. Phil West becomes a non-voting member of the Executive Council (EC) of Poetry Slam, Inc.
- Annual South by Southwest spoken word showcases curated by Mike Henry for APS.
June - First-year slammer Susan Somers-Willett joins veterans Genevieve Van Cleve, Wammo, and Phil West as members of 1997 Team Austin, coached by Mike Henry.
August - NPS is held in Middletown, CT. Team Austin places 7th out of 33 teams in overall competition, narrowly missing the final round of competition.
November - The Austin Chronicle prints "How I Spent My Slammer Vacation" by Phil West, a re-cap of the team’s trip to Nationals.
1998
January - A $3,000 City of Austin Cultural Contracts grant is awarded to the 1998 National Poetry Slam Organizing Committee by the City of Austin.February -
- APS hosts Austin International Poetry Festival slam, co-hosted by Mike Henry and Phil West.
- APS establishes a website for purposes of better communicating with local and
national audiences. Among the top Slam websites in the nation, it is administered by Ernie Cline and hosted at www.austinslam.com
(Editor's Note: As of January 2004, David Hendler is the webmaster of AustinSlam.com.)
- Photo of Team Austin circa 1996 is featured in New York Times article regarding the theatrical release of SlamNation.
- Annual South by Southwest spoken word showcases curated by Mike Henry for APS.
- Slamoff #4: Ernie Cline, Karyna McGlynn, Susan Somers-Willett, and Genevieve Van Cleve become the home team for the 1998 NPS. Jeff Knight is asked to coach.
- Austin wins Texas Regionals (held in Austin), defeating Dallas, San Antonio, and Fort Worth.
August - Austin hosts the 1998 National Poetry Slam. Co-Directors Mike Henry, Juliette Torrez, and Phil West and Volunteer Director Sonya Fehér lead efforts to produce the largest NPS in history, featuring events in seven different venues culminating in a sold-out finals at the Paramount Theater. The number of teams in the competition is raised to 46, eclipsing previous tournaments. A full-scale promotional campaign and numerous innovations contribute to what remains to be widely considered among the best NPS tournaments ever. Team Austin finishes 9th out of 45 teams.
October - Austin NPS is featured in numerous publications including Time Magazine, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times, as well as a fifteen-minute segment on a CNN news magazine.
November - Austin Slam Emcee Genevieve Van Cleve moves to England. APS incorporates a rotating cast of slam hosts.
1999
March - Phil West is elected to voting Trustee position on PSI EC, later named Vice-President of the Council. Mike Henry takes over West’s non-voting role.April - Slamoff #5: Vickie Charleston, Ernie Cline, Karyna McGlynn, and Phil West take the top spots to become the 1999 Team Austin in the last slam held at the Electric Lounge before the venerable slam venue closes its doors. Cline later steps off of the team and is replaced by Mike Henry.
May - Sonya Fehér hosts AIPF slam.
June - The first-ever Austin Slam Summit meeting is held, inviting the entire community to meet and share their vision and observations about the Slam.
July - Austin places 2nd at Showdown in Dallas Invitationals.
August - At the tenth annual NPS in Chicago Team Austin places 12th, narrowly missing a return to the finals after a loss to Oakland in the semis.
October -
- After a nomadic summer, the Austin Slam finds new home at Gaby & Mo’s, a new coffee house and eatery on Austin’s east side.
- The first-ever Austin Slam Council is elected consisting of Woody Baldwin, Sonya Fehér, Mike Henry, Dillon McKinsey, Aaron Sanders, Hilary Thomas, and Phil West.
2000
January - Austin wins Corpus Christi Invitational Team Slam, defeating San Antonio and Corpus ChristiFebruary - Sonya Fehér and Mike Henry host a writing and performance workshop at St. Stephens High School.
March -
- The Austin Chronicle’s Music Critics Poll names Mike Henry’s performance at the 1999 Slam-off as "Best Local Show of the Year," marking the first spoken word performance to be recognized in the poll.
- Over the past five years, the annual South by Southwest spoken word showcases curated by Mike Henry for APS have become the top performance poetry / music festival showcase in the nation, attracting dozens of well-known performers and members of the slam nation.
- APS produces the Austin International Poetry Festival Slam, hosted by Sonya Fehér.
- At the Slammasters meeting in Chicago, Mike Henry is elected President of Poetry Slam, Inc., in the wake of the retirement of Marc Smith, Slam’s founding father. Phil West reprises his role as Vice-President.
June -
- Austin slammers Jason Edwards and Mike Henry perform as part of the groundbreaking nation-wide SlamAmerica Tour, including a show in Austin at the Mercury Lounge, produced by APS. A preview article by Henry appears in the Austin Chronicle.
- San Fransisco’s Manic D Press releases an anthology entitled Poetry Slam: The Art of Competitive Poetry, featuring poems by several Austin slammers, as well as a collaborative essay written by past Austin Slam Team members focusing on collaborative work.
July - Team Austin wins the first night of Texas Regionals competition, defeating Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and Dallas.
August - NPS Y2K is held in Providence, RI. Team Austin places 24th out of 56 teams. Mike Henry and Phil West host a multi-voice showcase, recorded live for a CD released by Bleeding Edge Records (San Jose, CA). Austinite Rich Perin competes as part of the first-ever San Antonio Team at NPS, which places second in the tournament.
September - A number of High School writing and performance workshops are coordinated by Rich Perin and APS in preparation for Austin’s first team at the National Youth Poetry Slam, to be held in Ann Arbor, MI.
October - The 2nd version of the Austin Slam Council is elected, consisting of Andy Buck, Jason Edwards, Sonya Fehér, Sara Klesel, Mary Morrison, Susan Somers-Willett. Mike Henry is appointed Executive Director of APS.
November -
- APS files Articles of Incorporation with the State of Texas en route to completion of APS’s application for non-profit status.
- APS files request for non-profit status with the IRS.
2001
January -- APS is granted franchise and sales tax exemptions by the State of Texas.
- Raising Our Voices (ROV), a branch of the Austin Poetry Slam dedicated to increasing the participation of traditionally underrepresented poets in Austin, specifically women, queer, and minority poets, is established through two ROV programs:
- Trigger Happyjacks, a gay performance troupe, which will combine poetry, performance art, theater, comedy, and a variety of other live artistic mediums, aiming to reflect the entire spectrum of the queer community through irreverent scathing, intelligent, and poignant performances.
- Sirens, a monthly women’s reading series at Gaby & Mo’s, combining an open mic, writing and performance workshops, and Q&A panel discussions on issues pertaining to women in performance poetry.
- APS is chosen as a beneficiary for Club Skirt.
- Poets from APS travel to Corpus Christi to do feature performances at Texas A&M and at the CC Poetry Slam.
- Trigger Happyjacks premiere at Hyde Park Theater’s FronteraFest.
- Ragan Fox unveils his new one-man show at FronteraFest. The show is selected for the Best of Festival showcase.
- The Sulking Donut is resurrected for FronteraFest as Austin slam poets serve up poetry instead of food. Sulking Donut is also selected as one of the Best of Festival Showcases.
- Trigger Happyjacks are selected as a Wild Card for Best of Festival.
- Ragan Fox performs his one-man show at the UT Gender Conference.
- Trigger Happyjacks perform at Club Skirt.
April - At the Slammasters meeting in Chicago, Mike Henry is re-elected President of Poetry Slam, Inc.. Phil West reprises his role as Vice-President.
May - Slamoff #7: Ernie Cline, Ragan Fox, Jeff Knight, and Sara Winn become Team Austin 2001. Susan Somers-Willett places Fifth and becomes the Team Alternate/Coach.
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