Monday, August 25, 2008

The New Capital Slam Season is Nearly Here!

We are inching ever closer to September 6th and the staert of the new season of Capital Slam, Ottawa's premiere Slam series!

With the poetry scene in and around Ottawa growing by the day, it is time to check back in with the big show, Capital Slam!

Come out to get started on trying to make the Ottawa Team which will represent the nation's capital at the 2009 CFSW in Victoria, B.C.

Or come out to watch some great poets throw down!

Or come out to see the feature performer, Matt Peake!

Or come out to see the talented hosting of John Akpata!

You just can't go wrong!

September 6th, Mercury Lounge in the ByWard market in Ottawa.

The sign-up list starts at 6:30 and this year it will be first come, first served, so if you want to slam, get signed up!

The show starts at 7:00 and goes to 10:00.

I think I am still below my exclamation point quota, so help me out and show up!!

Monday, August 18, 2008

New Poetry Slam Series Starting in Ottawa - Bill Brown's 1-2-3 Slam

Can you throw down with Bill Brown?

Cytopoetics presents the newest poetry series to grace the local Ottawa spoken word scene – Bill Brown’s 1-2-3 Slam. The inaugural show takes place at Umi Café on Thursday, September 18, hosted by Ritallin and Hyfidelik. Sign-up at 7:30 p.m.; show starts at 8 p.m. Cover is $5.

At Bill Brown’s 1-2-3 Slam, each spoken word artist in the competition (to a maximum of 12) will perform a 1-minute poem in the first round, with the usual grace period and time penalties of a classic slam format. The top 8 performers earn the right to move on to a second round with 2-minute poems. The four best scorers in the second round qualify for a Showdown Round with standard slam-length 3-minute poems. The highest scoring poet in the final round wins Bill Brown – a $100 bank note complete with a picture of the 8th Prime Minister of Canada, Robert Borden. Each round wipes the slate clean on the scores, so you just never know who’s going to come out on top!

Poets – get writing your 1- and 2-minute poems and then come down to Umi to be part of Ottawa’s newest poetic experience!

Bill Brown’s 1-2-3 Slam takes place at the Umi Café (610 Somerset St. W. at Percy) on the third Thursday of each month. Check www.umicafe.org for updates and information.

Can you throw down with Bill Brown?

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Who is Bill Brown?

As mentioned in the previous post, there is a new monthly poetry slam series starting in Ottawa in September. After spending time focused on national and regional organizing, I am throwing my hat back into the slammaster's ring. On Thursday, September 18 inside the Umi Café (610 Somerset St. W.) in Ottawa's Chinatown neighbourhood at 8 p.m., the world will be introduced to Bill Brown.

Who is Bill Brown? More details to come.

September cometh ...

The beginning of many poetry series, both new and established, is rapidly approaching. As August degenerates into "jacket weather" wholly unbecoming of a full month of summer, poets across the province are getting keyed up for the resumption of poetry writ large.

I am anxiously awaiting updates and postings from slammasters and poetry organizers in Lanark County (which has started a new poetry organization, LiPS), Kingston (where the new Kingston Slam gets started at the Grad Club at Queen's University), Guelph (with what looks like a combo poetry/hip-hop show in the offing), Peterborough (with a full season of slam about to get going at the Spill), Windsor (where rumour has it a hot poetry slam is gonna lift off) and Ottawa (with Capital Slam and the Oneness Poetry Showcase getting underway again, plus a new monthly slam series about to get started). Combined with the series already running in Burlington, Toronto and London, spoken word in Ontario has never been hotter.

A September bulletin will be posted on this blog at the end of the month. Organizers should submit their shows for posting by Monday, August 25 to ensure the posting is as up-to-date and accurate as possible.