It’s FINALS time again… but things are different this year.

I promise, after FINALS (!) we’ll be posting to this page more. In the meantime, if you’re on FB be sure to “like” us there (https://www.facebook.com/OaklandSlam) and follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/oaklandslam). And DON”T MISS FINALS! It’s going to be off the chain. Seriously. If you only go to one show this year this is that show.

This year, for the first time ever, The Berkeley, Oakland, San Franisco, and San Jose Poetry Slams are joining forces to send one UNIFIED team to the 23rd Annual National Poetry Slam! On FRIDAY May 11th YOU will choose the FOUR poets that make up this earth shattering squad. Nine of the Bay’s best and brightest performance poets will battle it out over three rounds of scintillating competition interspersed with fabulous musical feature BUTTERSCOTCH and the hilarious comedian Josef Anolin.

That’s right, we’re thrilled to bring you not only the Bays top poetic talent but world class Beatbox / Vocalist / Pianist BUTTERSCOTCH! You might have seen her as a finalist on NBC’s America’s Got Talent or heard about her winning one of her many championships or seen her sharing stages with the likes of Stevie Wonder,Wyclef Jean, Earth, Wind & Fire, KRS ONE or countless other musical legends. We’re thrilled to bring her unique talents to our finals stage and, believe us, you are in for a treat.

We’ll also have a special spotlight set from the always funny Josef Anolin. Josef, an Oakland native, likes to tell jokes that offer audiences fresh perspectives on “hot button” issues like race, class, gender that are simultaneously respectful and tounge in cheek offensive. He’s been peddling his humor to audiences throughout the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Oregon, Nevada, Hawaii and was probably the first comedian to do a joke about NY Knicks Point Guard, Jeremy Lin… albeit back in 2010 when he was still a Golden State Warrior and irrelevant. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD6vaXShvRg) 

The poets qualified for Finals are Sam Sax! Tim “Toaster” Henderson! Katelyn Lucas! Cam Rich! Bozz Lady! Kim Johnson! Tongo Eisen-Martin! Denise Jolly! and Lisa Evans!

Believe me, you don’t want to miss this one of a kind event. If you only go to one show this year make THIS that show!

The Bay Area UNIFIED Slam Team Finals
featuring BUTTERSCOTCH! w/ special guest Josef Anolin
Hosted by Jamie DeWolf
FRIDAY May 11th, 2012, 8:00 pm – 10:30 pm
The Lakeside Theater at The Kaiser Center
300 Lakeside Drive 
(near 21st & Harrison on Lake Merritt)
$15 – General Admission Presale
$25 – Preferred Seating Presale (limited # available)
$20 – General Admission at the door
Presale at – http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/244074

 

UNIFIED Finals

the 2012 UNIFIED Team Poster

next up Jared Paul!

Description
On Thursday January 26th The Oakland Poetry Slam & Open-Mic continues our 2012 season in revolutionary style. We’re thrilled to to present world renowned poet / activist and Prayers For Atheists front man Jared Paul!

As a performer Jared has performed internationally in over 200 cities throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe alongside legendary poets, musicians, journalists, and speakers such as Amy Goodman, Saul Williams, Sage Francis, Raine Maida (of Our Lady Peace), Paul Hawken, Jello Biafra, Immortal Technique, Anti-Flag, The Misfits and many others, Jared is widely recognized as one of the premiere performance poets in the world. His work has been featured on the Canadian Broadcast Company program, “Zed TV,” as well as in CMJ Magazine and The Providence Journal. Jared is a two time Individual World Poetry Slam Finalist and was a featured poet at the Greenbuild 2007 International Conference & Expo. He was a guest performer for the Post Secret national book tour, and the headlining act for the 2009 Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach grand opening at the nationally acclaimed Villa Stuck gallery in Munich, Germany.

As An Activist…
With over a decade of anti-war/animal rights/environmental protection organizing and a storied career laden with protest arrests, Jared Paul has become somewhat of a modern folk hero within the underground American counter-culture. His most notable run-in with the law happened during the 2008 Republican National Convention, where Jared was the victim of a mass arbitrary arrest. Fans and supporters jumped to action, creating a fundraiser via www.ConspiracyToRiot.com, from which an attorney was hired and the case was eventually dropped. His “Conspiracy To Riot” creative non-fiction series was published by the quarterly Providence periodical “The Agenda” and Strange Famous Records. These days, when he’s not touring with his poetry or band Jared can be found at Burnside Park where he’s busy working with Occupy Portland.

As always we’ll start the show with the patented WIDE-Open-Mic (singers, comics, MCs welcome). If you wanna rep The Bay at The National Poetry Slam in August in Charlotte this is where you go to qualify.

The Oakland Poetry Slam & Open-Mic
Featuring Providence RI’s Jared Paul!
Thursday January 26th 2012, 8pm – 11pm
The Oasis Restaurant & Bar
135 12th St (@ Madison)
$7 all night

Up Next – Chitown’s Emily Rose!

On January 12th (2011) The Oakland Slam & Open-Mic continues our 2012 season in fabulous style with a amazing feature from one of Chicago’s finest poets – Emily Rose! If you’ve never heard Emily then you are seriously missing out. She’ll be lighting up stages across the Bay so if you don’t catch her in Oakland make sure to see her somewhere.

Aout our feature – Emily Rose is a Chicago-born and raised poet, performer and host of many things. Named by TimeOut as one of Chicago’s Cultural Curators, she is currently a Real Talk Avenue Artist, co-slammaster and host of the Mental Graffiti Poetry Slam, Jilted Emily Rose at The Encyclopedia Show, Tournament Director for Louder Than a Bomb, member of the 2010 & 2011 Mental Graffiti Slam Teams, ranked 14th at the 2011 Individual Word Poetry Slam, a board member for Chicago Slam Works, chair of poetry for the Bucktown Arts Festival, and much much more. Her first chapbook, Cigarette Love Songs and Nicotine Kisses (Cross+Roads Press), was published in 2004. Her work has appeared in Columbia Poetry Review, After Hours, TimeOut Chicago and more. Emily Rose probably already likes you.

As always we’ll start the show with the patented WIDE-Open-Mic (singers, comics, MCs welcome). If you wanna rep The Bay at The National Poetry Slam in August in Charlotte this is where you go to qualify.

The Oakland Poetry Slam & Open-Mic
Featuring Chicago’s Emily Rose!
Thursday January 12th 2012, 8pm – 11pm
The Oasis Restaurant & Bar
135 12th St (@ Madison)
$5 before 9pm / $7 after

Joaquin and Natasha

On December 8th The Oakland Poetry Slam & Open-Mic continues our 2012 season in stunning style with a feature of AWESOME proportions! We’re thrilled to bring you one of the worlds premiere spoken-word poets (The WORLD son!). If you’ve never heard Joaquín Zihuatanejo then you are seriously missing out. He’ll be sharing the stage with tour partner Natasha Carrizosa and promises a set full of powerful multivoice work in addition to his award-winning signature solo work.

 

Joaquín Zihuatanejo is a father, husband, poet, and award-winning teacher. In his work he strives to capture the duality of the Chicano culture. The conquered and the conqueror, the Pagan and the Christian, the earth and the sky all find refuge in his voice. He has shared stages with Maya Angelou, Billy Collins, E. Lynn Harris, Saul Williams, and Alicia Keys among others. He is the author of BARRIO SONGS and co-author, along with Natasha Carrizosa, of the collection of poems OF FIRE AND RAIN. Joaquin has recorded seven spoken word CDs and is the winner of the 2008 Individual World Poetry Slam Championship and the 2009 European World Cup of Poetry Slam Championship held in Paris, France. Joaquin along with Natasha was one of two American poets chosen to represent The US at El Proyecto Poesia Slam 2010 in Madrid, Spain.  Joaquin was recently awarded the Artist in Residence Award by the National Hispanic Cultural Center and spent most of the summer writing and teaching at the NHCC in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He recently performed at the La Casita 2011 Project produced by Lincoln Center Out of Doors in New York City in early August of 2011, and joined Natasha for a feature performance at the Inspired Word Reading Series and the Nuyorican Poet’s Café.Joaquin recently became the only poet on the planet to win the $2,000 Arkansas Grand Slam three times, winning the championship in 2005, 2008, and 2011. He has two passions in his life, his wife, Aída and poetry, always in that order.

 

Natasha Carrizosa is a mother, a dreamer, and a lover of music and life. She is a poet/spoken word artist who celebrates her dual heritage (African- and Mexican-American) with works that weave an intoxicating blend of cultures, languages and impressions. She has shared the stage with Maya Angelou, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, E. Lynn Harris and countless other poets, authors, and artists. Her writings have been featured in Rhapsody, Her Mark, and x magazine (UK). She is the author of mejiafricana, a spoken word CD and nude – a collection of love and erotic poems. She recently recorded her second spoken word CD – the dreamcatcher. In 2008 she collaborated with Joaquín on of fire and rain – a spoken word CD that is a testimony of life/love that spans from the barrios of East Dallas to the ghettos of the west indies. Selections from of fire and rain were published by Poetry in Motion, and organization that promotes the work of young American poets by publishing their work alongside the work of masters from the past on trains, subways, and buses across The United States. Natasha is the 2010 Austin International Poetry Slam Champion.

 

As always we’ll start the show with the patented WIDE-Open-Mic (singers, comics, MCs welcome). If you wanna rep The Bay at The National Poetry Slam in August in Charlotte this is where you go to qualify.

The Oakland Poetry Slam & Open-Mic
Featuring Joaquin Zihuatanejo & Natasha Carrizosa
Thursday December 8th 2011, 8pm – 11pm
The Oasis Restaurant & Bar
135 12th St (@ Madison)
$5 before 9pm / $7 after

 

 

 

 

 

Oakland Battle of the Bay Recap

And so it begins…

The “Battle of the Bay” series, or” BoB”, is a long standing tradition, now in it’s 12th year. The slams that happen all year long, during the season, are individual events where each poet is competing with all of the other poes in the Slam. After each venue has their finals and picks their team the goal is to get ready for Nationals. How we do that is to have team scrimmages – that’s what the BoBs are. This is the first chance for the teams to gell and compete together as a unit. It’s also the first place that folks try out new poems they’re thinking of bringing to Nat’s, including multi-voice or “team pieces” (poems that two or more poets write and perform together).

In Oakland’s BoB we had the four teams that are going to Nat’s face off against each other. The Oakland Poetry Slam played host to teams from Tourettes w/o Regrets, The Berkeley Poetry Slam and The SF City Slam & Experimental Mic. On top of that we had a feature from NYs Jon Sands, touring his recently publised “The New Clean” (Write Bloody 2011).

The Slam was an exact replica of the “bouts” that the teams will face in Boston this August. At Nationals there ar four teams in a bout, each hitting the stage four times. Before the show starts the teams draw for the order they’ll read in throughout the night. At Nat’s (and in Oakland) the rotation goes as follows – ABCD in the 1st round / CADB in the 2nd / DCBA  in the 3rd / BDAC in the 4th. Oakland drew ‘A’, Tourettes pulled ‘B’, Berkeley got ‘C’ and SF took ‘D’ – then we got the show started.

Since this is the first real chance for the teams to practice on each other we take it kinda serious and do the best we can to provide the most even playing field possible. To that end we provided the judges with the best “Sacrificial Poets” we could find, the evenings feature Jon Sands and 2X Oakland Grand Slam Champ Joyce Lee. Once the judges figured out the scoring thing and which hand the whole number goes in, so they weren’t giving out .69′s when they meant 9.6 we jumped into the Slam proper.

Up first, after drawing the ‘A’ was the home team. They came out the gate fast with a funny two-man team piece from Jelal and The Saint about the virtues of eating healthy when on a date and were rewarded with a nice score. Tourettes followed with “-i-” who brought tears to a few eyes with the story of her dearly departed first born. She also scored well but went waaaaay over time and garnered a 2 point time penalty (in a slam you have 3 minutes to read your piece). Berkeley came next with Leo who shared an “open letter to the infant son of Johannes Mesherle” and recieved a decent score despite one of the judges doing everything short of showing her BART Police badge. SF closed out the round with Perez who explained what an “IEP” is with a personal story about her son. Oakland’s score stood up and they (we) took the round.

In the second round Berkeley opened with a duet in which WonderDave transformed into swaggerific Lucky Sevan and raised the bar, getting the new high score so far. Oakland followed with a team piece of our own, this one from Queen D and Milani on the wonders of womanhood… or one aspect of it anyway. SF came next with Lee Knight Jr. who went introspective and Tourettes closed out the first half of the competition with Stephen Meads who read a love letter from Mario to the Princess.

Then it was feature time. What can I say about Jon Sands other than BUY HIS BOOK! This man is the truth. His work stands up on the page just as well as on the mic. He had the crowd in the palm of his hands, at turns laughing and approaching tears. What you’ve heard is true – Jon is a fabulous poet.

In the 3rd round SF opened with their coach Mesej 1, filling in for an absent teammate; he told us all “some things I think you should know”. Berkeley came next with Katelyn opining on what one does willingly. Erica came next, for Tourettes, eviscerating some of the “Chubby Chasers” out there. Sam Sax closed out the round with a scary story “After the Drag Show” and was rewarded with the high score of the night.

In the final round Tourettes opened with Caitlin who talked about giving the greatest gift one can – self. SF closed out with Dre’s “Obituary” for a next door neighbor. Oakland’s last piece was another duet, this one from Sam and The Saint about “What Makes a Man”. Closing out the Slam was Berkeley with Lucky Sevans “Trying to Erase the Truth”.

In the end it was a GREAT show, fun was had by all, and the home team took the “W”! There are still BoBs to come, next up in San Jose (Fri 7/8) then SF (Sun 7/10) and Berkeley (Weds 7/13). BEFORE we get to those though we have visitors coming to town for New Word Series: The 2011 Western Regional Poetry Slam! Follow this link for info on that - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=132202660186818

On hitting the ground running…

Since finals there have been some changes. As noted previously both Leo and WonderDave dropped from the squad to pursue other endeavors. Such pursuits may or may not include other teams (we know for a fact that Leo has his eyes set on Berkeley) and either way we wish them well. Stepping up to take their spots are The Saint and Milani Pelley, who you may recognize from last year’s squad.

Since the team has been finalized we’ve met, gotten on the same page in terms of goals and priorities and started working! To put this in perspective – we’re still a week away from the next local Finals (Wednesday at The Starry Plough in Berkeley) and more than a month ahead of the last (Tourettes w/o Regrets in June). If nothing else, team Oakland will be well prepared for the tests ahead of us this summer.

The first of these tests will see us sparring with squads representing Youth Speaks, With Our Words (Stockton’s youth team) and CalSlam in The 4th Annual Oakland Poetry Slam Battle of the AGES! The kids will be honing their skills in preparation for Brave New Voices, commonly referred to as youth National’s, coming up this July right here in the Bay Area.

Keep your eyes peeled, or just check back here, because we’ll be setting up shows and features for the team all summer long. You wouldn’t want to miss out!

Dahled

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes…

After some hard decisions there have been some moves made. Both Leo Bryant and Wonder Dave have chosen to pursue other endeavors and AnthonyLemuel TheSaint Gonsalves has been added to the squad. That makes the official 2011 Oakland Poetry Slam Team: Sam Sax, Queen D, Jelal Huyler and The Saint!

And what a FINALS it was!!

Good-ness!  What can you really say about a show like last night? It was at turns heart wrenching and hilarious. It was a huge night and intimate all at once.  We had a packed house, we had dope poets, we had hilarious comics, we had the hot live band and the best DJ in the game. We consistently have the warmest crowd to be found in the Bay and for finals they were primed and ready. And they got a treat!

We opened the show with a short showcase of talented locals you’re likely to see stomping stages around the Bay. Wight Out got us off to a raucous start right out the box (he runs Mad Mondays at Maxwell’s btw). L.  Abdul Kenyatta followed him with a history lesson in verse before Poke brought it back to the funny. Once we heated the crowd up (they start off warm already) we dropped Ainsley on ‘em. If you’ve never heard this cat bust, then you really are doing something wrong with your life, you need to get on that.

Once the crowd was properly fired up we stoked them further with not one but two sacrificial poets to get the slam started right. The Saint drew the dreaded “1” and opened. That’s the second year in a row he’s pulled the ace and it’s a hard obstacle to overcome. Leo followed and managed to bump the score a bit before Jelal hit the stage and sang his way to a time penalty. Queen D came behind him and rocked the high score of the round with 1 in 3. Milani went off mic, wading through the crowd with a story of survival but was better received by them than the judges. Wonder Dave brought both Dr Jeckyll and Mr H to the stage and went into the 2nd round comfortably close to Queen D. Shai Heat brought the heat but got lukewarm scores from the fickle judges.  Sam Sax closed out the first rotation with a story about homophobia and cruised into 3rd going into the 2nd round.

After the break we came back to the hilarious Sammy KO who had everyone in stitches. Damn he’s funny. Seriously. We had to swap out a judge so we sacrificed another poet before getting into the last rotation. Queen D opened the round with a cautionary tale and was rewarded with a strong score. Would it be enough for the win though?  Wonder Dave followed with the story behind his name but the judges were torn. Sam came next and delivered instructions on building a closet, which won him the high score of the night – it’s cumulative though, was it enough to pass Queen? Shai Heat read her last piece of the evening, trying to maintain position but that 2nd judge wasn’t loving it. We drop the lowest score, that 2nd one counts. Leo got deep and earnest with his last piece and another strong score for it. Jelal had looked at the scores (they all do) and knew that he had to make up almost a whole point and at least one position. Would the power of silence do it? Milani brought a black history lesson to the stage but went overtime and suffered the subsequent penalty. Saint closed out the slam and rocked a very respectable score but would have needed allmost all 10s to make the top five.

In the end Sam Sax came from (slightly) behind to take the win, he’s the 2011 Oakland Grand Slam Champ! Queen D was right behind him with Leo on her tails. Jelal and wonder Dave managed to come up and hold on respectively and round out this year’s squad (barring any changes).

Don’t let the name “Finals” fool you… this is NOT the end! Quite the contrary, this is the beginning. “The beginning of what?” you may ask. A literal and figurative journey is the only apt answer. This summer these five poets will hone their poetic prowess to a fine edge and use it lay low all that they come across in competition. In their first test they’ll have to abuse some children… well, not exactly. In May in The 4th Annual Battle of the Ages with fabulous feature Sierra DeMulder the Oakland Slam will play host to teams from Youth Speaks, WoW (With Our Words, Stockton’s youth squad) and CalSlam. In June we’ll host the other Nationals bound teams in our 11th Oakland Slam Battle of The Bay and that other team from the Town (representing Tourettes without Regrets) in the first ever Battle for Oakland. You’ll also be able to find the team at The New Word Series, this years western regionals (right her in Oakland) and The Encyclopedia Show: Bay Edition in May, June and July. And that’s just the shows we’re hosting – if you lQQk you’ll probably find us on stage in your hood too.

Peace & Poetry

Dahled

(Battle of the Ages - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=182727408422657)

(Battle of the Bay -http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=152454428138229 )

(Battle for Oakland  -http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=100478633373823 )

It’s FINALS!!! And what a finals it is…

Here it is. THIS week! The ONE show YOU simply HAVE TO GO TO! If you’re only a casual fan of this poetic jousting called Slam, here’s the show you’ve been waiting for – all the best poets on one stage. If you’re more of a fanatic, well, HERE’S THE SHOW YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR! ALL THE BEST POETS ON ONE STAGE!!

All that to say it’s time for The 12th Annual Oakland Poetry Slam TEAM FINALS!! On Thursday April 14th we’ll bring this extra-exciting extravaganza to Oakland’s one and only Oasis Restaurant & Bar. This year’s finals show will include 8 of the Bay’s best and brightest performance poets over two thrilling rounds of competition; a Stand-Up Spotlight performance from SAMMY KO, winner of The Oakland COMEDY Slam; special LIVE musical guests DYNAMIC TRUTH; and a thrilling feature from New York’s AINSLEY BURROWS! Slam Selecta DJ MR. G will scour the crates for the perfect aural accent while everyone’s favorite hostess, that dynamic diva Nazelah keeps the crowd clapping, the show moving and everyone laughing. We’ll have all that top it off with fabulous door prizes including DVDs of “Howl” The Movie (w/ James Franco as Alan Ginsberg) and William S Burrows – A Man Within AND add the dope dance party-after spun by the one and only DJ BLACK of Ships in the Night.

You do know about Ainsley Burrows… right? Ainsley is an internationally acclaimed poet who has performed at festivals, cafés and universities across Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean, receiving numerous awards along the way. These include Best International Performer of 2001 and 2002 from the Farrago Poetry Café in London, Munich’s International Poetry Slam Championship award in 2001 and awards from the Nuyorican Poet’s Café in 2001 and 2004. In addition, Ainsley has conducted many workshops across the globe from London’s Hackney Community College to New York’s Julliard School of Music.

You don’t wanna miss this show, it’s gonna be off the hook!

The 2011 Oakland Poetry Slam TEAM FINALS!

Thursday April 14th – 8:30

The Oasis Restaurant & Bar

w/ AFTERPARTY by DJ Black 11:00 – 2:00am

$12 pre-sale (http://oaklandslamfinals.eventbrite.com/)

$15 at the door