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very tired but happy. just returned from the iWPS & let me tell you� if you did not go you missed one hell of a weekend! in short, this is what the poetry slam can & should be like� a gathering of poets pushing themselves & each other to do the best they can in a friendly & supportive environment. no fighting, no yelling, no protests, no ego� just poetry. there were so many high points that i can�t even start to scratch the surface, but i�ll try to give you some of the moments that stand out for me� ** the iWPS finals were one of the best evenings of poetry i have ever seen. those 12 poets blew away 99% of what i�ve seen at the NPS finals the past few years. no kidding. knowing what they were like, i would have paid $100 to have seen them. that evening alone made the whole trip worth it. ** rachel mckibbens. God damn, it has been a long time since a poet moved me to tears like that. pure poetry performed flawlessly. as someone described her, it was like watching a fireworks display� the whole crowd breaking out in oooooo & aaaaaahhhh at every other line. ** the final four of rachel, ed mabrey, celena glenn & buddy wakefield showing what slam can be like. they raised the bar higher than i think it has ever been. it went beyond entertainment & became art. ** corbet dean speaking from the heart & setting just the right tone for the rest of the evening. look up class in the dictionary & you�ll see corbet�s picture. ** the vibe among the poets was outstanding. to watch poets shouting themselves horse for the poets they were �competing� against was wonderful. it truly felt like a family. i think the only real competition going on was with poets trying to outdo themselves, not each other. i think everyone left feeling like they had been a part of something special. ** sarah sapienza, j*me, alvin lau, logic, chris johnson, anthony douglas, jerad paul & so many others who humbled me in all the right ways with their words. ** mike mcgee is just cool. penguins follow him around, he is that cool. ** hanging with nick fox. (even if he did steal the covers) there were so many people & moments that stand out for me that i can�t cover it all in just one post. this is just the tip of the iceberg; i�ll talk a lot more about this over the next few days. there are so many things running through my head, but right now sleep & my sick son are at the top of the list. (too much driving & the boy has a cold & pink eye) in the next day or so i want to talk more about what happened at iWPS & what it could do for NPS. as for now, i just want to say thank you to everyone who was there. more later. be well. |
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