And that's not all. We also...

• Hosted 50+ open mics.

• Held more than 20 slams, a dozen of which were used to choose the 2003 Worcester Slam team. The remainder were just-for-fun slams, some with themes, including a Cover Slam or two and the popular Goth Slam.

• Supported the Worcester performance of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" on February 14th in celebration of VDay.

• Published our second annual anthology - "As We Do Most Sunday Nights".

• Participated in the annual "Celebration of Worcester Poets".

• Held the annual Poets' Asylum Auction, our major fundraiser in support of the slam team. Thanks to everyone who participated.

• Sent a team to NPS '03 in Chicago, IL to represent Worcester.

• Won the bid to host the 2004 Individual Poetry Slam Championship in 2005.

• Hosted an adult slam as part of First Night Worcester 2004.

And what a feature it was. Performing a fiery and passionate round-robin set Iyeoka and Oz pulled the audience into their poetry, making us a part of the words. Moving effortlessly between pieces they offered new work and well practiced pieces. Iyeoka called us to slam the microphone down / and take your voice back. Oz showcased the pain of a time traveler giving Michaelangelo a 500 set of crayolas only to discover that time travel turns all colors grey. With haunting vocals Oz and Iyeoka closed with a dual voice piece echoing the Chinese proverb may all your dreams be satisfied, except for one. They drew the audience into their rhythm throughout the night and earned a standing ovation for their efforts. Thanks.

Following the open mic 8 poet competed in the 2 round open slam for fame, glory, points towards semis and $10. It was nice to see some new faces in the slam too - adds a little variety and spice to the mix. Thanks to the judges for their efforts and to the audience for keeping the judges on their toes. At the end of the night Jon Wolf came in first, with Bridgewater's Erin Feeney taking second and Gary Hoare earning third. A good night of poetry all around.

Details from this slam (and all the slams this year) on the Slam page.

Following the open mic our features, F. Omar Telan and Edward Garcia took the stage. They delivered a well crafted set offering up a dual voice piece about not being noticed (hardly) and after about 15 minutes said they were wrapping up. The audience was incredulous. See the Poets' Asylum expects 30+ minute sets from our features. We want to really hear what they've got to say. After getting over the shock Omar and Edward were like kids in a candy store, grabbing pieces and sharing them with an excited delivery that showed they really loved the work they were doing. It's hard to pick favorite pieces when there are so many good ones but Edward's "Ontology" and Omar's "The Secret Language of Fucking" brought appreciative gasps of delight from the gathered. They wrapped up their expanded set with another dual voice piece about confused identity. Wonderful work from 2 excellent performers.

Kicking things off was the slightly shorter than usual open mic which included the diverse voices of Worcester poetry. Special welcome home to Sean Shea, member of '96 championship slam team out of Providence, who is back in the area for a while. And a shout out to all the newcomers in the audience, we hope you'll come back again real soon.

At the end of the first half our host, Bill MacMillan, introduced the surprise feature, Vancouver's own C.R. Avery. C.R. was in Providence performing with Sage Francis at Lupo's last night and Bill snagged him for a last minute mini-feature. His beat boxing, harmonica playing, improv slinging style heated the place up and energized the audience.

And then we had the Slam. Six competitors hit the stage in the hopes of earning points towards a spot in semi-finals. Thanks Tony Brown for being our sacrifice, to the judges for their honest work and the audience for their support of the performers. Kudos to Aaron, Ed, Jon, Louie, Seren, and Shana for their hard work and enthusiastic performances. When all the numbers were tallied Seren Divine captured first, Jon Wolf grabbed second and Ed Fuqua came in third. The details from this slam (and all the slams this year) have been posted on the Slam page.

Following a slimmed down open mic Jon Wolf took the stage in an energetic performance of new work and the signature pieces that earned him a place on the 2002 Worcester Slam team. His set flowed smoothly and Jon was equally at home behind the mic and walking among the audience. Included in the 10 poem set were a pair of poems about the two sided coin of psychotropic drugs that pushed the energy level in the room through the roof. Thanks Jon.

The night kicked off with a cover of Yolanda Wilkinson's amazing poem Circa Valentine's Day and just kept getting better. New and interesting work from many poets plus 3 new voices braved the Java Hut stage. There's nothing to fear, we don't bite unless asked. We hope you'll come back often.

And then the Slam kicked the energy into overload as eight poets took part in a 2 round open slam. What was on the line? 10 bucks and points towards a spot in semi-finals (plus some pride too I suspect). Dave Macpherson decided to drop out after finishing his 2 rounds to allow more folks to earn points towards semi-finals (ain't he a peach). With him out of the way the top 3 finishers were within 6/10th of a point of one another. When everything was calculated and double checked the Jon Wolf came in first, Daniel MacLean snagged second and Gary Hoare finished third.

Thanks to all those who slammed (Aaron, Coppo, Daniel, Dave, Ed, Gary, Jon, and Shana), to our judges (Ed, Joel, Katie, Marissa and Mike) and the always excellent audience.

After a stimulating open mic this dynamic duo kicked the energy up a notch or two with their exhilarating 30+ minute set. Alternating poems they shared a mixed bag of poetry, ranging from topics like getting a job after 9/11 to dealing with people who hurt us to poets who talk about listening to jazz in their poetry to the pain and drama of the custody fight they find themselves embroiled in. Separately George and RAC offer an amazing body of work. Together they complete each other, both poetically and in life. We're glad they were able to join. We hope you think so to (judging by the brisk book sales I'm guessing you did).

Founder Bill MacMillan led to gathered through an open mic of poetry and anecdotes about the "old days" when the Asylum was young, wild and untamed. Other than being somewhat older things haven't changed much. Co-founder Lea Deschenes, Victor Infante, and Dave Gibbs, folks who have seen the Asylum change over the years (though sometimes from a distance) all shared great work. Covers of work by Asylum semi-regulars Tony Brown and Jack McCarthy added to the mix. Plus the voices of a regulars and newbies a like joined the chorus. It was lovely.

And then 6 competitors face 5 tough as nails judges in the Open Slam. How tough? They were still giving out 4.2s at the end of the second round. A time penalty forced one competitor to share first rather than take it outright. All in all a great Slam. Thanks to our judges for their hard work, the audience for keeping it going and slammers (Kazin, Jon, Aaron, Daniel, Coppo, and Seren) for the words and energy. In the end Jon Wolf and Seren Divine shared first place with Daniel MacLean coming in third.

Seren Divine took the stage as hostess tonight and kept things moving as 20 or so poets took the stage during the open mic as video captured their performances for a local access program. She did a great job in her first outing as ring master. Hopefully it won't be her last.

Regie Gibson then took the stage for the main event. He offered up an eclectic set featuring both his own work and the work of poetic voices that should not be forgotten. He pulled the gathered into his poetry with "All Praise is Due" and set the room on fire with a pair of poems on the life of Jimmy Hendrix. Regie also spoke of the importance of learning the work of other great poets and sharing those words so that they aren't lost over time. He covered work by Kent Foreman and, when called back to the stage for an encore, he shared "The Shalimar" by Guy Line Kane. A great set from one of the best. Thanks Regie!

The 100 minute open mic featured poets with a diverse range of ages, genders (we were pretty evenly balanced women + men tonight, keep coming back ladies), orientations and agendas. Welcome to Jason and Sarah, 2 first time readers on our stage; come on back y'all.

And then Lynn Procope and Roger Bonair-Agard took to the Java Hut stage and broke the joint wide open. If the applause was lively during the open it was positively thunderous as they nailed poem after poem between the proverbial eyes. They kicked off their set with A Poem for Rita Marley, a stunning dual voice piece, and then shared their words and works on topics such as lynching, domestic violence, scorned lovers, the struggle of itinerant workers, and much more. Lynne shared a piece she and Roger are collaborating on with students from the Juilliard School about a village where sleep has been banished. They effortlessly shared the stage, moving from piece to piece with an easy manner, leaping into their dual voice offerings with vigor and, in the process, sharing a part of what makes them 2 of the strongest poets of our day.

As we do most Sunday nights we had a feature. This week was no exception as J * me took the stage for a fun and energetic set. His sexually charged words flowed through the room, setting fire to minds and other random body parts. He paid tribute to Bessie Smith in one poem and the legendary Janis Joplin in another (Little Girl Blue). He shared a poem he wrote for an anti-slam that generated howls of laughter from the audience as it poked at the stereotypes often found in Slam poetry. He closed up his 35 minute set with what he called a "booty call poem" which explained his thoughts on why poets shouldn't date editors. Thanks J*me!!!

This was the last last open slam to earn points towards semi-finals. 5 competitors stepped up to the mic - Gary, the silent one, James, Ed and Aaron. Time penalties hurt one competitor in a major way; you'ld think the folks who have done this a while would know better but sometimes you get caught up in the poem and then ** blam ** you run into the stopwatch. Thanks to our able judges for staying true to themselves and avoiding the dread score creep. Thanks to the audience for their enthusiastic applause and support of poetry (and for letting the judges know when you thought they were wrong).

At the end of the night Ed Fuqua took first place (and $10), the silent one snagged second and newcomer James nailed third. Standings can be found by visiting the Slam page (button to the left). The top ten finishers move on to semi-finals on April 27th - we'll have the official line up in a couple of weeks once we touch base with those qualified to verify they do indeed plan to slam in the Worcester semis.

And then the our feature took the stage. Thou no stranger to Worcester poetry it's been a while since Sou MacMillan has been able to join us on a Sunday night. For the regular and first time visitor alike her feature was a delight. Sou offered up a fabulous set. Mixing new work, older favorites plus a trio of songs accompanied by her green guitar (not only is she a poet, she's a rock star). Closing her set with the high energy and highly popular "Girlfriend" she received a well deserved standing ovation. Awesome stuff from one of Worcester's best.

Three students from Assumption College were in the house filming the open mic and slam as part of their class work. Let's see, you sit around a coffee house, sit a latte, listen to some poetry and get a grade for it... how cool is that. The three students said they enjoyed themselves and asked when semi-finals was (psst... they take place on April 27th) so hopefully they'll come back to join us.

First up we had a dynamite open mic with Mr. Bill was back at the helm tonight. A new voice or two graced the stage, Nina Simon offered up some awesome poetry after being away for some time and the growing crop of regulars offered up some excellent words as well.

Following the open Dave, Ted, Matty, Bobby, Rakhil, Becky and Dr. Chris competed in the Last Chance Slam for a spot in the semi-finals on April 27th. Scores were all over the place tonight, the dread score creep didn't show it's face, and for once there weren't any time penalties. Thanks to Nina Simon for sacrificing and the judges for their scoring. At the end of the night Becky, Bobby and Rakhil moved on to semi-finals.

You can check out the scores by visiting out Slam page.

Following the open mic 7 hearty dark souls took part in the Goth Slam. On the line was a $25 prize, enough to buy some new eyeliner or make a tanning salon appointment. This slam was a hoot with a mix of serious and silly poetry offered up. A three voice piece from Tim and company about proper etiquette ran 4 minutes and 53 seconds for a whopping 5.5 point deduction. First time reader Christin acquitted herself darkly and we hope she'll join again. A prize was awarded for best goth costume and the CD of poetry from the the proto-goth himself, Edgar Allen Poe, went to Vo. At the end of the night, after all the points were tallied, the winner was Ed Fuqua.

Scores can be found on our Slam page.

The Asylum was scheduled to hold the semi-finals last night however only 9 out of 13 poets showed up so it was decided that this would become part 1 of the finals, with everyone taking part on May 11th. MC Bill MacMillan kicked the night off with a 17th century Moorish poem and things just went crazy after that.

The slam was 3 rounds as originally planned and the no-repeat rule is still in effect, any poems used in part 1 of the finals can not be used in part 2 on May 11th. Congrats to Dave, the silent one, Gary, Bobby, Jon, Rakhil, Ed, Christopher, and Seren for making it this far. Thanks to our sacrifice, Rebecca Henderson, and to our judges who were quick with their decisions and stayed true to themselves.

Now that it's a 2 part final it was decided to use ranking to determine who makes the team. The top finisher each week gets 1 point, 2nd place get 2 points, and so on. At the close of finals on May 11th the rankings from both night will be added together and the top 4 poets with the lowest ranking will become the 2003 Worcester Slam team (with the 5 ranked poet getting to primo spot of alternate). Here are the rankings after part 1 of the finals...

	Dave            1           Rakhil          7
	the silent one  8           Ed              6
	Gary            4           Christopher     2
	Bobby           9           Seren           5
       	Jon             3
	

All that can change in the blink of an eye or a few clicks on the stop watch so plan on being their on May 11th for the exciting conclusion of the Worcester Slam team final.

Following a robust open mic where covers of Billy Collins mingled with rants from departing for the summer Paul Gagnon our feature, Jack McCarthy took the stage. More nimble than many performance poets he changed his set when he recognized lots of faces in the audience, tossing away his list of crowd pleasers and offering a set of lesser known pieces such as Potato People along with classic McCarthy works such as a pair of poems from the beloved Car Talk series.

Jack's new book of new and corrected poems is titled Say Goodnight, Grace Notes and it is available from EM Press. Or better still catch Jack at one of his numerous public performances. You won't be sorry; schedule and more info at http://www.standupoet.net/.

Thanks to everyone who slammed throughout the year, our fine judges, the excellent audience, Bert for a place to slam, the servers for food and drink to make it all yummy, to able assistant Rebecca (catch her feature on June 8th) and to slammaster Bill for a good season and awesome slam.

Members of the 2003 Worcester Slam team are Dave Macpherson, Jon Wolf, Seren Divine, Ed Fuqua and alternate Gary Hoare. Rock on boys and girls!!!

Then there was the feature... Steve Bizel, a local poet and sometimes regular of the Asylum (I guess that makes him an irregular) gave us a tight set starting with the words of Garcia Lorca and ending with a cover of Buffy Sainte-Marie's Cripple Creek with mouth bow. In between were his own words touching on Tina Turner's legs, technology, a pair of poems on waiting (one at an airport and another in a juvenile court) and more. In Melody for the Mausoleum he offered a litany of reasons why he writes poetry, ending with the line "I write the poem for which I have no words". That wasn't the case tonight and we were happy to hear those words. Thanks Steve.

Throughout the night we sold off donated items to benefit the 2003 Worcester Slam team. From donated art work (including an amazing photo collage of Sou MacMillan's feature at the Java Hut which Bert purchased) to more books than any one person should have to carry to an obscene Grinch doll to edged weaponry the auction had something for everyone. Special thanks to all those who donated items; we couldn't have done it without you.

Bert, the owner of the Java Hut, generously donated some gift certificates that we used as incentives throughout the night and as 2nd and 3rd place prizes in the raffle. And speaking of the 50/50 raffle the winners were Steve Bizel ($5 gift certificate to the Java Hut), Andrew Watt ($10 gift certificate to the Java Hut), and... drum roll please... Tony Brown, who won the grand prize of $108.50 (50% of the raffle proceeds). Tony donated the prize back into the coffers of the Asylum. Yet another reason Tony has a special place at the Asylum - be sure to catch his feature on July 6th.

That about wraps it up. Oh yeah, all told, between the raffle, the bucket and the auction we raised a little over $1000 for the Slam team. Many thanks to everyone who made this a great night!

Following the open our feature, Rebecca Henderson, took the stage. She's had a busy week - in addition to preparing a great set she released her first CD, title Grow, completed the 2003 Asylum Anthology (more below), assisted with the 4th annual Celebration of Worcester Poets on June 7th and bought her first home. Of course what we are most interested in is her poetry.

Rebecca gave us a sampling of the poetry she has written over the past decade. Her tasty set included hard edged works like Tattoos and Bite my Tongue, a reflection on Time and the story of the efforts of curator of the Kabul Museum to save priceless artifacts. Her tributes to 80s musical groups and television shows brought groans of appreciation. Her half hour set flew by, leaving the audience wanting more. Not a bad way to cap off the week. Thank Rebecca.

And then our features took the stage. What to say about Steve Ramirez and Ben Trigg??? They gave a fabulous, high energy feature that's what I can say. This pair of poets share an easy comradiere that shines through in their polished performance. And this wasn't a fluff show. No they brought the good stuff offering a thank you poem dedicated to Jack McCarthy, great words from the king of the sea himself, Aquaman, and stunning imagery in Golden Gate. They capped their set with a pair of dual voice pieces that were everything multi-voice work should be. Full of emotion they shared their hearts and a grateful audience accepted their offering. Thanks guy, stop by anytime.

This week's feature was the 2003 Worcester Slam team. Team member Ed Fuqua was unable to make it tonight so our host with the most, Bill MacMillan, covered Ed's Slices and My Girlfriend's Penis to kick off and close out the open mic. Following the open the rest of the team took to the stage in a polished performance that shows what practicing as a team can do for already great words. Dave, Jon, Gary and Seren each performed 3 pieces each plus a new multi-voice version of Dave's At a Poetry Reading that kicks much a$$. Lots of laughs and loud applause greeted the team.

In addition to practicing their pieces the team has put together a CD of their work (that's the cover on the left). There are 29 tracks on the CD, for over an hour of material and it includes both "studio" recorded poems as well as live ones from the Java Hut. And you get to hear a few recordings of the team discussing group pieces and possibly a surprise or two. The CD went on sale Sunday night and is selling quickly. They are priced at $10. We'll have them at team features and on Sunday nights. Online ordering will be available soon. Get one while they're hot.

The Cover Slam was a hoot with the words of Thomas Lux, Zilla McQue, RC Weslowski, Juliette Torez, Ashalia Park, Bukowski, Morris Stegasaurus, Steven Dobyns, Michael Cirelli, Taylor Mali, Amiri Baraka and Seren Diven gracing our stage. The judges made full use of their arsenal scoring from 1 to 10. Time penalties effected a pair of poets, bumping them out of first to second and third respectively.

Congratulations to our winner, Jon Wolf who won with Jenica by Roger Bonair-Agard and a LiveJournal entry of a friend. Thanks to Dr. Chris, Bobby, Vicki, Gary, Alex, Jack and Tony for pariticpating and to our judges for their hard work.

Sunday was a hot, hot, HOT night in the Asylum. Jack McCarthy came with his wife, Carol, to say goodbye to us, and to read a remarkable poem about the quality of our writing as we get older and more experienced, as reflected through a concert by Guy Clark. Do we get better as we get older, or simpler, and which (if either) is better for our writing?

Bobby got up and roused the rowdies to thunderous response with a challenge to our mis/conceptions and assumptions. Ryk MacIntyre did a wonderful blues piece, at Tony's request. And, as usual, host Bill MacMillan and the audience occasionally visited some very strange territory between performers ...and then Tony Brown, our feature, took the mic.

Tony chose to perform a set of some unfamiliar pieces, and some pieces he has only rarely read before. Several pieces, Jack and the Colonel and Cats, were taken from his chapbook 1Spark . Others I had never heard before. His theme, if you will, was influences and reflection -- how small incidents in one's life can cause large changes that may only be perceived years (or decades) later. A great feature, exploring anger, regret, and loss resulting from life choices forced upon us. He ended by singing Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez, and accompanying himself on a vintage 1920's era guitar.

Following the open mic members of the Worcester County Poetry Association took our stage for the feature. Performing in a round robin fashion they kick out an wonderful set with a mix of styles and voices. They started off with a 5 person strong multi-voice piece named Gothic I for 5 voices. Other crowd pleasers were Eleanor Vincelette's It's Simplistic and Dan Lewis' three part poem titled The Face that won't come off. All told the seven poets gave us a splendid sampling of the diversity of Worcester poetry. Thanks to Franice D'Alessandro, Carle Johnson, Dan Lewis, Anne Marie Lucci, Laura Menides, Paul Szlosek and Eleanor Vincelette for sharing their talents.

That is until our feature, Tim Mason, took the stage. Tim gave us a wonderful set, mixing new pieces, older work and covers fluidly. He kicked off with Bloodlines and closed out with a suite of poems about growing up in Utah. In between he covered Coy Cain, central Mass. native Jacob Knight and Phil Oaks. Snaps echoed for Like Water Cracking Stone. Purple images filled our minds in a poem for a neighborhood in Dorchester. Thanks Tim for giving us a great feature.

By the way, Tim has a new CD out - you should chase it down when you get a chance.

The entire 2003 Worcester slam team was in the house but alas only one non-Worcester team member joined us for the scheduled New England slam team open mic. Host with the most Mr. Bill seized the opportunity and pulled together a pick-up team to slam against the Worcester team. The pick-up team consisted of Gary Hoare (our alternate), Bill, Alex Charalambides (team Providence) and Rich Boucher. Victor Infante took on the hosting duties. Five able judges where located and the slam was on.

It was a fast paced slam, done in just 35 minutes. Awesome poetry from all those involved. The judges were off the hook, granting high scores all around. It was a tight race with just 1/10th of a point separating the teams as we entered the last quarter. In the end the pick-up team pulled ahead with a crowd pleasing favorite from Alex, winning the match by 2/10th of a point. Scores can be found here.

Thanks to all those who stuck around for the impromptu slam. We'd be nothing without our audience.

Following the open mic the 2003 Worcester Slam team showed us one more time the stuff they'll be bringing to Chicago. Jon Wolf, Dave Macpherson, Ed Fuqua, Gary Hoare and Seren Divine represent Worcester this year and are equal to the task. Their feature included poems we've come to know well including a pair of Dave Mac's pieces transformed by multiple voices. It sounded to me like they are ready to take Nationals by storm.

And then the first qualifying slam of the 2004 Worcester slam season took place. Eight hearty competitors took the stage before 5 incredibly tough judges for their 6 minutes of glory. Thanks to Christina, Aaron, Ryk, Chris M., Bobby, Tim, Alex and Victor for their well worked words. In the end there can be only... two people heading to the December semi-final. Congratulations to Ryk McIntyre for clinching first and Alex Charalambdies snagging second. Visit the slam page for all the scores.

And then our feature took the stage. Peddlar gave us an energetic set of rapid fire words. He included a couple of favorites that are covered at the Hut - Fred and Poet Love. Over the course of his feature he touched on bikers, relationships, family, the life after and being a poet. He included a humours short story about family vacations that had the audience doubled over in laughter. He was also made the poet laureate of Connecticut Bike Week and he gave us this poem to share on the website.

And then the Cover Slam hit the stage. 8 competitors slammed with poetry as diverse as Shane Koyzcan, Celena Glenn and lyrics by Brittany and the Man in Black (may he rest in peace). At the end of the night Tony Brown took the win with Urban coming in second.

Then the man of the night, Ryk McIntrye, took the stage for his feature. Ryk did what he always does when he takes the stage, gives us what we want, good poetry and great performance. Classic pieces such as Touch Creatures stacked up against the Godzilla pseudo-rap and a great new piece that started and ended with "So there I was, in the bunny suit, again." Ryk covered Bill's Memphis poem and followed it with his tribute to Elvis. A great night of poetry from one of our favorites.

All the scores and time penalty info can be found on the slam page.

And just when we thought things couldn't get any better our feature, Morris Stegosaurus, hit the stage with his animated and mesmerizing poetic performance. His set included a trio of pieces from the Big Man series, each of which brought howls of laughter from the assembled, a response poem which included a dozen plus words that rhyme with genitalia, the simply stunning poem he performed at the 2001 Nationals featuring Father Tractor Brush, and a haunting dual voice piece where he played his words off of his on CD recording of the poem. Amazing work from one of the greats in performance poetry today.

First up was the packed open mic. We welcomed several new readers to the fold; please read again. Eleanor Wilmot was wonderful as always with an inspiring piece about being a women. A rare visit from Sou MacMillan, great to have her on the stage again. Plus we tasty covers by Raphael and Jon Wolf.

And then the main attraction took over the mic as Big Poppa E and Hilary Thomas fired up their words as our feature. So much great poetry was fit into their set. Alternating turns at the mic each of them gave us a glimpse at the depth of their work. Hilary touched on the things that change, and the things that stay the same, in Born Here. BPE shared his first poetry road trip in Rod Trippin'. The Asylum audience witnessed a marvelous Haiku Deathmatch which BPE won in sudden death overtime. Both poets included a cover in their set - Hilary read Fred Had Watched A Lot Of Kung-Fu Episodes by Tony Hoglin and BPE covered Jack McCarthy's wonderful Careful What You Ask For. The other poems in their set were equally fantastic, making for a great night of words. Brisk CD and chapbook sales followed the feature.

The head-to-head slam pitted Dave Mac against Urban. Urban took the win with a killer piece of about a lost sock which Dave Mac couldn't counter. In the team qualifier Bobby, Dawn, Raphael and Dave Mac hit the stage. Bobby and Dave Mac took the number one and two spot respectively and will take part in the team semi-final in December.

Then Shane took the stage and blew our socks off with a strong 45 minute set including a few favorites, a handful of new pieces, a world premiere poem and a silly little story that we can't talk about. Shane's poems have always been a mix of humor flavored by reality, making you laugh at one moment and contemplate serious issues at the next. This set didn't fail in that respect and the standing ovation at the end showed the audiences appreciation for words well wrought.

Wetting the appetite was the open mic, packed with something to fit every ones taste. The silent one offered an experimental piece while next weeks feature, Linda Warren, gave us a taste of what's to come in In the House of Nomads. Corinna Bain reminded us why we wish she would come around more often. And the poetic contingent from Providence brought us surreal and pirate prose. Thanks to all of our open mic readers.

For our main course Celena Glenn, fresh off her CD release event in NYC, kicked it up a notch as our feature. Her set was a mix of poetry and social commentary. Her poetry is filled with lines that grab your mind and her fluid performance entrances the eyes. She spoke about carrying the universe and the roach motel behind heaven's gate. In between poems she offered up her thoughts of society and what needs to change to the world a better place.

And I hope you left room for dessert 'cause the Asylum served up one of the best slams in recent memory. Ten hearty performers competed for 3 spots in a regional slam-off on December 7. The prize each of these wordsmiths was reaching for? A place on the opening night stage of Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam when it hits Boston on December 9th. Competing were Jaff, Rushelle, Gary, Alex, Sou, the silent one, Ed, Ryc, Jon and Seren. These poets brought their tried and true recipes in search of poetic greatness. At the end of the night Alex, Gary and Ryc topped the slam pyramid and will move on to the slam off.

Many thanks to the folks from Def Poetry Jam and JAM'N 94.5 for stopping by, to our judges for their skillful numeration, the audience for making their opinions known and to our competitors for their great words. If you didn't leave with a mind full of poetry you just weren't listening.

Following the stellar open mic Linda Warren took the stage for a dynamite set. Her work is diverse and smooth with a little something that makes you think. In The Image In Clear Water see talks about the soul a southwest Indian tribe believed was found in our reflection in. Black Ghost told the story of a fishing guide in Maine. And in The Argument she spoke of the argument taking corporeal form which "looks like Winston Churchill" in a blue suit and bowler. The crowd cried for more poetry when Linda had finished her set so she gave us one more - a delightful poem full of mathematical references. A great feature from one of the areas best poets.

Following the open mic 4 poets took part in the open slam. Our thanks to Ed, Tim, Raphael, and Shanna for their words, the judges for their rapid fire scoring and the audience for keeping the energy level high. At the end of the night Ed took first place with Raphael coming in second. They'll join Ryk, Alex, Seren, Vo, Bobby, Dave Mac, Mahogany and Rakhil in the 3 round semi-final slam on December 14th.

You can check out the scores by visiting our Slam page.

The Cover Slam features the works of Noel Jones, Big Poppa E, T.S. Elliot, Terry Jacobus, Mellisa Guilett, Corrina Bain, Sani, Jack McCarthy, George McKibbens and Bernard Dolan as performed by Tony Brown, Tim Faught, Ted Blackler, Mollynda, Rushelle Frazier and Jon Wolf. The judges were on the same wavelength for much of the night and the competition was pretty tight. At the end of the night Jon Wolf won the slam. He donated the prize (half the bucket collection) back to the Asylum.

Thanks to our judges, slammers, the crew of the Java Hut and especially our audience. Small though they were we wouldn't want to do this without you.

Vo, Ryk, Ed, Rafael, Rachel, Alex, Dave and Bobby all competed. You're probably asking yourself what became of the other 2 competitors? Seren Divine is moving to NYC and decided to forgo to the semi-finals. Mahogany, who won the Women's Slam in November, had a conflict due to the semi-finals being rescheduled. She'll take part in the spring semi-finals. Congrats to everyone who competed and thanks to the judges for their hard work. At the end of the night Alex, Ryk, Ed and Bobby earned the top 4 places.

The scores and relevant time penalties can be found on the Slam page.

Bill MacMillan is no stranger to Worcester poetry. He's been making noise and performing poetry longer than many of us have been trying to assemble coherent metaphors. This year he produced a new chap book titled Be Well, a collection of poetry and entries from his online diary. His feature included both plus a cover from the Slam Anthology and a reading from Winnie the Pooh. A first-rate feature to close out the year. Thanks Bill!