2004 started out with a bang, ended with a shout and had a whole lot of tasty poetry in between. If you missed any or all of the past year here's a summary of the year that was.
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In addition we held over a dozen slams where we selected a rep to iWPS '04 in Greenville, SC (that was Bill MacMillan y'all), chose the 2004 Worcester Slam team (Alex Charalambides, Ryk McIntyre, Morris Stegosaurus, and Urban) and crowned not one but two reps for iWPS '05 (congrats Lea Deschenes and Corrina Bain.
But that's not all... we also took part in the New England Slam League, assisted once again with the Worcester performance of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" on February 14th in celebration of VDay, published our third annual anthology - "What You Are About To Witness", 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 the team to St. Louis, MO to represent Worcester at NPS '04, and hosted an adult slam as part of First Night Worcester 2005.
And let's not forget the ongoing planning efforts for iWPS '05, taking place in Worcester from February 10-12 in 2005.
For those of you who dwell in the details here are the specifics.
| 01/05 | Neither rain nor snow nor sleet was able to keep area slammers away
from the Poets' Asylum last night. Hosts Rebecca Henderson and Dave
Macpherson led the gathered through a shortened open mic and a 4
round slam. This wasn't our average slam though - each round had a
different time limit and at stake was the opportunity to representative
Worcester at the first annual Individual World Poetry Slam Championship.
Ten slammers competed for that honor. There was a lot of great poetry and our stouthearted panel of judges had their work cut out for them. A very vocal audience let them know what they thought of the scores they proffered. At the end of the night eight tenths of a point separated first and second place and 3 points separated first and sixth (we dropped four poets after the second round). Excellent work from all of our slammers - Adam, Morris, Sue, Bill, Corrina, Urban, Rafael, Ruff Draft, Ryk and the silent one. Plus a round of applause for our judges and audience, we couldn't do this without you. The winner of the slam and the Worcester rep to the 2004 iWPS is... drum roll please... Bill MacMillan. Congratulations to Bill!!! The scores for each competitor and info on time penalties can be found here. |
| 01/11 | A very fine evening was had at the Poets' Asylum this week. Dave Macpherson relinquished the opening spot tonight and served as our feature. Dave decided to mix it up a bit, having 6 people cover their favorite Dave Mac pieces, to kick off the set. Among the covers were Blue Light, performed by Melissa Guilett, and the new hip hop sensation A New Sound, covered by Alex Charlambides. As the last cover faded Dave took the stage himself, launching into Suburban Housewife. He closed the night out with the sing-along favorite of 2003, At A Poetry Reading. It was a great feature from a great local poet. |
| 01/18 | A good crowd and good poetry took center stage at the Poets' Asylum
this week. Stunt host Bob Gill took over the mic this week to lead
the gathered through the open mic and on to the promised land of
qualifying slam. New voices in both the open mic and the slam this
week. Thanks for sharing your words - please join us again.
The main event for the week was an open qualifying slam. Five slammers competed in our standard 2-round, 3-minute time limit slam with the top 2 finishers moving on to the spring semi-final (in early May). Competing this week were Corrina, Jonny Cake Street, newcomer Bryan, Urban and Morris. Our mixed panel of judges gave it their all this week with the highest score of the night going to the sacrifice. No time penalties this week though and we were done in record time. When the dust settled and the final scores were calculated Urban came out on top with Corrina taking second place. Thanks to our judges, the audience, our slammers, and scorekeeper Ted Blackler. Visit the Slam page to check out the scores. |
| 01/25 | It was a night mixing the odd and the out of this world at
the Poets' Asylum this week. First up was the weird open mic
with our poets sharing some great poetry and some really bizarre work
too. At the end of the open Chris was awarded the wierdest poem prize
for his fly eater performance piece.
Following the open mic we held a Prop Slam. Six poets brought their work to our stage - thanks to Johnny Cake Street, Bling Bling, Dave , Noizy 1, Daniel and Morris for sharing their poetry. The three judge panel were encouraged to base their score on both the quality of the poetry and how well the poet incorporated their prop use into the poem. When the dust settled Morris took second place and Johnny Cake Street won the slam, taking home the first place prize, the world's ugliest sword. |
| 02/01 | It was a quiet night at the Poets' Asylum this past week, what with the Patriots in the big game and all that. Still 20+ dedicated souls gathered at the Java Hut for a feature by Victor Infante. Those who kept the faith heard some great poetry. Those who didn't got to see Janet's star-shaped pasty. I think the poets won out. Thanks for the feature Victor! |
| 02/08 | The Poets' Asylum was jumping with Jon Wolf taking over hosting duties
for the night while our iWPS rep, Bill
MacMillan, journeyed home from South Carolina. There was passionate
poetry in the open mic. There were a couple of new voices, please join
us again.
Following the open mic Barbara Adler took our stage. This fiesty Vancouver slam poet gave us an amazing feature. Her 35 minute set touched a mix of subjects including love, politics, and the nature of self. For her efforts she was rewarded with a standing ovation and hearty sales of CDs + books. Catch her if you can. |
| 02/15 | It was a busy night at the Poets' Asylum. Melissa Guillet, fresh off
Saturday nights V-Day production, served as host this week. She kept
the open mic moving before the full a house bring up an array of poets.
She filled in the gaps with horoscopes a la
Weird Al.
Following the open mic our feature, Jon Wolf, took the stage. Alas there were a few equipment problems so to cover the time Jon convinced his friend Aaron to recite a poem with no warning. Then Melissa retook the stage and read from her book Nose Pickings. At last Jon was able to offer up a unique mix of electronica and words. He performed 3 pieces in quick succession - Blested Be, Pretend and Death Where is Thy Sting. Then Alex Charalambides joined Jon to read along with a drum machine. Jon closed the night with straight words, kicking out I Redirect Birds, Ripcord and Heaven Arriving. |
| 02/22 | It was a slammin' Sunday night at the Java Hut this week as 6 competitors competed in the latest open qualifying slam. Competing this week were Eric, Nick, Dave, Morris, Johnny Cakestreet and Derek. Each brought their unique voice to the stage. Each was scored by our panel of five judges. One went over time and one got hit with a prop violation. Two of the slammers were new to Worcester and for one it was their very first slam. At the end of the night Morris and Eric took the win and move on to semi-finals in May. Check out the Scores section of our Slam page for the details. |
| 02/29 | The mighty Mike McGee, Indy Champion of the 2003 Nationals, took the stage tonight in a killer performance of wit, wisecracks and wisdom. A non-stop dynamo of words he kicked out 45 minutes of the good stuff. His haiku and homage to pudding had the gathered falling out of their seats from laughter. Graveyard Shift and Dirty Dimes pushed us to think. He closed out his set with crowd favorites Me and My Big Fat Mouth (The Bus Story) and I'm Not But If I Were. It's easy to see how McGee won over the crowd in Chicago last summer. No doubt he made some new fans Sunday night. |
| 03/07 | It was a um-pa lum-pa sort of night at the Poets' Asylum this week;
full of silliness and deep meaning. Excellent open mic with lots of
the regulars and a couple of voices we don't hear often enough.
Thanks for adding your voice to the mix.
Following the open mic Melissa Guilett, aka the silent one, took the stage as our feature. She premiered her ninth chapbook, Necessary Bloodshed and promised us nostalgia, the deconstruction of gods, and a view of the hidden places . She kicked out a flawless set which included sung tributes to the Wizard of Oz, poetry inspired by Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities, a cover of Lost Sixties by Dave Eye and artfully connected words. Well done Melissa! |
| 03/15 | An excellent Asylum gathering this week. The Java Hut was packed with
the addition of
Wormtown Trading Company for a trial run - check out their
merchandise. The open mic was packed, regular host Bill MacMillan was
back at the mic and the joint was jumping.
Following the open our feature, Dawn Saylor, took to the stage for a hot 35 minute set. She started out with a political rant and ended with her "favorite poem, right now". In between she offered us a diverse set of poetry touching on Ginger Rogers, friends gone by, reconciliation, and the Three Graces. She also introduced many of us to the poetry of Kim Addonizio with a cover of The Numbers from Tell Me. An amazing set from one of the best (and one of our favorites). Thanks Dawn! |
| 03/21 | Great night of poetry at the Java Hut this week. First up was our
regular open mic with some irregular voices - RAC and George McKibbens
from NYC were in the house and shared their words with us. Come visit
anytime. Plus the usual cast of characters filled the Hut with verse
and meaning. Thanks folks.
Next up Lea Deschenes took the stage as our feature. She read mostly new works with a Daphne Gottlieb cover and a few favorites thrown in for good measure. It was a tight set from an amazing local poet. Thank you Lea! |
| 03/30 | A great night at the Poets' Asylum with a kickin' open mic, a stellar feature by Rives and the penultimate open qualifying slam. Congrats to Dave Mac and Jon Wolf who move on to semi-finals on May 9th. Scores and such have been posted on our Slam page. |
| 04/04 | Excellent night at the Poets' Asylum with an overflowing open mic and
the spectacular Dawn Gabriel. Several new voices plus the usual
cast of wordsmiths filled the open mic with verse and form alike. It's
always good to have new voices join us - please come again.
Following the open Dawn Gabriel took the stage as our feature. She kicked off her set by sending an exquisite corpse around the room with a candy bribe for participating. While it was being worked on she shared a heaping handful of poems including some newer experimental work. Her set included a collaborative piece with Sou MacMillan, an fascinating portrait of the Virgin and a crowd favorite, Clean-up in Aisle Z . A great set from a fabulous performer. Catch her if you can. |
| 04/11 | It was a fun-filled night at the Poets' Asylum this week. A packed house whooped it up for the open mic and then put their hands together for the 2004 Worcester Youth Slam team. The six members of this year's team performed three pieces each and the variety was staggering. From sex and drugs to rock gardens to mindscapes to verbal tours of distant shores they offered a tight set. The only pause in the poetic action came from the hearty applause and belly-full laughter the audience sent their way. |
| 04/18 | It was a fun filled night at the Asylum this week. Stunt host Victor
Infante guided the open mic with ease. A diverse set of voices took
the stage, some regulars and some new folks (come on back ya hear).
Interesting dual voice piece from Ruby Sparkle and Suzzy B. Plus an
excellent spoken-word piece from Mike Duffy on some of the guys he
works with.
Following the open Joe Fusco Jr. took the stage as our feature and tickled our poetic funny bones until it hurt good. He started his set with an erotic poem named Chewed Gum which was recently published in the online erotica magazine CleanSheets.com. Things went off in all directions from their with poetry on camping, sex and politics, Supermarket Icons, bad kisses and more. Several times during his set Joe was joined by folk guitarist Mike Duffy. They merged their poetic and musical voices with practiced ease. And a Joe Fusco set wouldn't be complete without an appearance by his trusty inflatable guitar. A great set to cap a fine evening. Thanks Joe (and Mike too)! |
| 04/25 | It was a slammin' Sunday night at the Java Hut this week as 6
competitors competed in the final open qualifying slam for the
2004 Worcester slam season. Competing this week were Nick, Shana,
Rafael, Gary, Rushelle and Tim. Each brought their unique voice to the
stage. Each was scored by our panel of five judges. One went over
time and one poet used less than 30 seconds for both pieces. At the
end of the night Rushelle won the slam with Rafael taking
second place. Both will move on to the semi-finals on May 9th.
Check out the Scores section of our Slam page for the details. |
| 05/02 | A fantastic night at the Poets' Asylum this week with a rockin' open
mic. Host du jour Jon Wolf kept an upbeat tempo and kept things moving.
The open mic was chock full of poets including 3 new voices to our
stage - welcome to Jill, Solomon and John D. Please come again to
share your words.
Once the open mic dust had settled our feature, Sou MacMillan, took the stage, guitar in hand. She performed a hot set, periodically mixing poetry with music for a hard-edged folk vibe. She kicked off her set with a musical rendition of If I Don't Come Home Tonight, a poetic litany of last requests. Sou included lots of new work, such as Dennis with Wings and Love Song, which was written as part of the Shakti writing pact. Great words and work from one of Worcester's best. |
| 05/09 | It was a hot night at the Java Hut as the Spring Semi-Finals
swept through the place leaving dropped jaws and amazed minds in it's
wake. Raphael, Jon, Urban, Morris, Mahogany, Dave Mac and Rushelle
approached the mic in this 3 round slam. Our panel of five
never-judged-a-slam-before judges did all the hard work - offering
their numerical interpretation of the competitors blood, sweat and
words. Great work from all the poets. Special thanks to our
sacrificial poet, Eric Darby, who earned a spot on the Cantab team and
withdrew from the Asylum semis.
At the end of the night Mahogany Browne came out on top with Dave Macpherson, Urban and Morris Stegosaurus filling out the top 4 spots. They'll move on to the slam finals on May 23rd. Thanks to everyone who came out to support the slammers. We couldn't do this without. |
| 05/16 | It was a hot night at the Java Hut. The place was jumping from the get
go with an over full open mic. Twenty-three folks took the stage to
share their words. Special thanks to Tim Faught who head back home -
thanks for the poetry Tim, we'll miss you. Come back soon.
After the open Alixa Garcia and Naima Penniman took the stage for a kickin' set of high energy verse. Their poetry captured the heart of the Asylum audience. Activists to the core of their being their poetry reflects their commitment to peace, justice and fair treatment. Their shared voice was met with thunderous applause and a line waiting to pick up their CD and custom designed t-shirts. |
| 05/23 | It was great night for poetry at the Asylum this week as the 2004
Worcester Slam Finals took over the stage. After a short open mic
to warm the joint up the eight finalists took the stage in four rounds
of poetic mayhem. Our panel of five judges kept the scores close all
night, with a few exceptions. The low score of the night - a 6.3...
total!!! Only one 10 was given all night long, on the last poem. All
eight finalists offered their unique voice and they all worked hard to
earn a spot on the stage tonight. A round of applause please for Alex,
Bobby, Dave, Ed, Jon, Morris, Ryk, and Urban.
Congratulations to the members of the 2004 Worcester Slam team - Alex Charalambides, Ryk McIntyre, Morris Stegosaurus , and Urban. Scores are up on the Slam page. |
| 05/30 | This week the Asylum held an extended open mic focused on poems of conflict and rememberance in honor of Memorial Day. The money collected in the bucket will be donated to an area veteran's shelter. |
| 06/06 | What a great night at the Poets' Asylum this week. The 2004 Worcester
Slam team was in the house. The usual cast of characters shared their
words in the open mic. Thanks y'all.
Following the open mic Jane Cassidy took the stage. Her set was amusing, witty and poetically excellent. She covered Rick Lupert, confessed her love for the Matrix, Harry Potter and Amy, and sought out her super-ego. Along the way she shared words that made us laugh and applaud. If you missed her feature you need to visit Syracuse, NY and track her down. Thanks Jane, come back soon! |
| 06/13 | It was a wild and crazy night at the Poets' Asylum. The Java Hut was
jumping as folks packed the place for the open mic. Dual hosts Jon Wolf
and Bill MacMillan kept things moving. Andrew Watt, swooping through
the audience, performed a great piece about a white heron. Morris and
Tony gave us lessons in turning a cliche on it's heels. And just when
we thought he had left us for good Tim Faught popped in (while giving a
friend a ride to elsewhere) to share his good words.
The energy level jumped up another notch as Evert Eden took the stage as our feature. Evert took on a journey exploring the nature of relationships and love with stop overs at the organs involved. His poetry evoked laughter and awe. Well crafted lines drew snaps and raps. He closed the night with a pair of love poems and drew a standing ovation from the gathered. Thanks Evert! |
| 06/20 | Another fun week at the Poets' Asylum. Welcome to first time
reader Brian - don't be a stranger. Plus the New England Slam
League held their first Asylum home bout.
Teams from the Asylum, Worcester Youth Slam (Speak Out) and the Cantab competed in this poetry meets bowling league creation. The slam ran with nary a flaw with team sending folks up and poems being scored at the end of each round by 3 talented judges. There were six rounds yet the slam took a little more than an hour. At the end of the second and fourth rounds the scores we had a 3 way tie - very cool. Two rounds later the Cantab pulled out the win with a 33, followed by the Asylum with a 37 and the Youth Slam with a 38. We'll do this zany twist on slam again July 4th so plan to be there. |
| 06/27 | Another week of the Poets' Asylum - another 2+ hours of excellent poetry. This week members of the Shakti Women's Writing Pact shared the results of their weekly gathering. Shakti was created to help women find their place in the poetry community. Each week they meet to share their words, exercise their minds and help each other hone their craft. Chris, Debbie, Jessica, Melissa, Molly and Sou gave a well paced set of finely worked poems. Some where based on writing exercises done within the group. Others were pieces edited and massaged within the group. All were top notch. Thank you ladies!!! |
| 07/04 | We had a great holiday reading at the Poets' Asylum. Interesting work
in the open mic, tasty food + drink and the another bout of the New England Slam
League took place. Lots of laughter and applause.
In the Slam League bout the 2004 Asylum slam team competed against teams from Providence (represented by team members Corrina + Carlos plus stunt poet Tony Brown) and the Lizard Lounge replacements, Snake with Feet (Star, Adam Stone and Sou MacMillan). Worcester showed off 2 group pieces which received excellent response. Musical accompaniment from Sou MacMillan. Punk in a minute twenty from Tony Brown. Adam Stone railing against the life of a waitron. Sou and Star performing Girlfriend. The scores bounced around a bit however at the end of the night Worcester pulled out the win with a 34, followed by Providence and Snake with Feet. |
| 07/11 | Thanks to everyone who came out to support for the annual Poets'
Asylum Auction. Each year we ask our loyal audience to help send
the slam team to Nationals. Every year you
deliver. In between poets during the extended open mic host Bill
MacMillan put on his auctioneer hat and Dave "the Vanna" Mac showed off
donated items that ranged from Alf to custom made poetry. As the night
drew to a close we hit the $1000 mark.
Thanks to everyone who donated items, read poetry, bid, bought and listened. Your continued support is what lets us do the things we do. |
| 07/18 | Great night at the Poets' Asylum with a jam packed open mic and not one
but two excellent features. Welcome to first time reader Jill - don't
be a stranger. Thanks to all the poets who shared their words in the
open.
The first feature of the night was Burlington, VT slammistress Sarah Sapienza. Her set touched on love, going home again, more love, the struggle for acceptance and understanding. Next up was modern troubador Ray McNeice. He shared works about the a mall spectacle, life in your home town haunt, a couple of political pieces, a passel of haiku and songs dedicated to Jack Kerouac and the King (that'd be Elvis y'all). Wonderful poetry from two unique voices in the land of poetry. If you have a chance to hear either of them don't miss it. |
| 07/25 | Capativating poetry at the Asylum this week. First up there was nice full open mic with interesting work from a passel of poetic peeps. Following the open mic Peddlar from the Highway Poets took the stage as our feature. He shared some great poetry including old favorites and some new stuff he's never read anywhere before. An excellent night all around. |
| 08/01 | It was a packed evening this past Sunday night as old timers returned for the 2004 Worcester Slam Team send-off. The intrepid Morris Stegosaurus was already in the midwest so his capable stunt double, Jon Wolf, helped out. Urban, Alex Charalambides, Ryk McIntyre and Jon showed off their mad skills at this performance poetry thing. Their individual pieces were well paced and nicely performed. It was in the group pieces that they shined - their rhythms in sync, their interaction tight, their dynamic engerizing. They made it look so easy. |
| 08/08 | Nice relaxed reading at the Asylum this week. There was a handful of new poets in the open mic; welcome and come again. Plus the usual crop of regulars added their dynamic voices to the night. Thanks everyone! Following the open mic Bobby Gibbs and Dave Macpherson took the stage in what we call the Other Team feature. This was a chance to hear a spotlight performance from two of the finalists from this past years slam season. Our other finalists, Jon Wolf and Ed Fuqua, were unable to join us this week; catch them when you can. |
| 08/15 | Amazing night at the Poets' Asylum this week. The open mic was packed
to the brim with poets - new poets, long absent poets, slam poets,
poets who jump from rocks, rockin' poets every which way. Welcome to
the new voice in the crowd - please come again. Welcome back to the
long absent poets; don't stay away so long this time - we worry.
Following the open mic our feature, Rebecca Henderson, took the stage. Celebrating her 30th birthday Rebecca regaled us with tales from Maine, stories about some of her pieces and, oh yeah, some tasty poetry as well. It is always great to have one of our long time poets take the stage for a feature. This was no exception. Come back to visit soon Becky. |
| 08/22 | What a strange and wild ride at the Asylum this week. First up, as
always, was the open mic. Thanks to all the poets who shared their
words.
Next up was a surprise mini-feature by Marietta Bonaventure, slammistress of Eugene, OR. She wowed the folks Thursday night at her first ever feature and host-with-the-most Bill snapped up the opportunity to showcase this amazing poet at the Asylum. She did a great set featuring poets about casinos, love, politics, more love, and drinking. Throw in a cover of Alan Ginsberg's Song and close it out with a tight piece about being a bookseller. Marietta left us wanting so much more and we hope to see her around from time to time. The cap for the night was our annual Anti-Slam where we do that silly slam thing but twist it all about for our own amusement. 2004 team members Alex Charalambides, Ryk McIntyre, Urban and Morris Stegosaurus surrogate Jon Wolf participated in two rounds of robust fun. Rushelle Frazier provided the sacrifice and showed us a bit of what the night held in store as she was required to perform her poem in the style of Prince. Urban was up next with an improv piece disrupted by silly string. Ryk successfully dodged the silly string but didn't suck up to the slammaster and so lost points. Jon was 15 seconds into his poem before he was abducted by a member of the audience. Alex aced the name dropping phase of the round; alas the silly string struck again. For round 2 the poets had to perform their poem in a style of the hosts choosing. Urban performed Blueberries as a 3 year old. Ryk took the stage next opting for his Neitzsche poem which he was forced to perform as James Brown. Jon-cum-Morris put in a great effort with Clockwork as George W. Bush (with Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice as supporting cast members). Alex kicked his Motion Picture poem as Martha Stewart doing interpretive dance. The final piece of the night found the team performing Crisis at the Breakfast Table with each of the poets asked to affect a different style. It was an amazing night of fun. Plus there was some great poetry! |
| 08/29 | Asylum poetry was a lot of fun last night. Gary Hoare was the host du
jour and did a phenom job in his maiden voyage as host. The open
reading was very good with an influx of new voices from Clark. They are
all 18 and interested in slamming. Alex was in heaven.
The Kid Lit slam was amusing. Four competitors read through out the night, interspersed through out the open mic. First up Chris Fortin read Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book: A Primer for Tender Young Minds by Shel Silverstein. Next up Sylvia performed Monday's Troll by Jack Prelutsky. Dan Luckom followed the next batch of open mic readers with In the Attic by Hiawyn Oram. Our last slammer, Jeff, kicked out the tongue twister Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss. At the end of the night our panel of 3 secret squirrel judges rendered their verdict with Jeff declared the winner. He took home half the bucket for his efforts. A great night of poetry with hardly a bad word in sight. |
| 09/05 | No reading this week due to the Labor Day holiday. |
| 09/12 | Great night at the Poets' Asylum with stunt host Jon Wolf at the helm.
Packed to the rim open mic with loads of new voices; it's great when
all the new college students find us. Come again y'all.
Following the open mic Adam Rubenstein kicked off his fall tour at our little old venue. Get this, his tour is a field study for his thesis at Hampshire College. How cool is that?!? And speaking of cool Adam gave us an awesome 30 minute set, filling the mix with poetry and excerpts from his latest chapbook, "Sir William of Glastonbury: Private Eye". Thanks Adam!! |
| 09/19 | Hot night at the Asylum this week as poetry rock star Rachel Kann took our stage. She's wanted to come perform for us since 2001 and we are so very glad she final had the opportunity to come East. She gave us a killer, high energy feature. Her powerful words showed us new thoughts on girl power, working with high school students and girls in juvenile hall, love and so much more. Rachel also shared "Silver not Gold" by Whitney, one of the girls she worked with. Rachel Kann rocked the mic and gave us all the good stuff. Thanks Rachel! |
| 09/26 | Fun night at the Asylum this week with a packed house, a fun feature and not one but two funky hosts. A bunch of new faces in the open mic this week, come on back y'all. Following the open Eric Zork Alan gave us an off mic feature to remember. With plenty of name dropping Zork shared his wit and words. A sappy romantic he shared several love poems including "God is like a girlfriend... a really, really great girlfriend". He closed his tight off-page set with a three part poem about his fear of flying. Thanks Zork! |
| 10/03 | Jon Wolf was the host this week as another exciting slam season got
underway in Worcester. The open mic was packed to with great words
from newcomers and seasons regulars alike. So packed was the open in
fact that we couldn't get everyone up that wanted to read. Yet another
great reason to come early and hang out before the reading.
Following the open mic the first of three qualifying slams was held. The top three finishers move on to Worcester's iWPS selection slam off on December 12th. Eight talented performers competed and deserve a round of applause. Please put your hands together for Corrina, Ryk, Nick, Woody, Dave, Morris, Melissa and Gwen. Our five judges did excellent work getting the scores up quickly and Jon did a great job keeping things moving. At the end of two rounds 6/10ths of a point separated first and fourth place (and that's a big deal when the top 3 finishers move on). Moving on to the slam-off on December 12th are Nick Davis, Gwen Ellen Rider and Corrina Bain. All the scores can be found on the slam page. |
| 10/10 | What a great night at the Asylum! Take a full open mic, sprinkle in
three or four new poets, add an amazing feature, top with an encore.
Serve with rapturous applause, an enthusiastic audience and good
coffee.
Jack McCarthy was our feature this week. Now living in Washington state many of us have missed his style, words and warmth. His set tonight consisted mostly of works he hasn't read at the Asylum before. Jack offered poetic lessons on why he keeps notes, a three part love affair with god and an inspiring piece about AA. A standing ovation brought him back to the stage for an fitting encore, "The Walk of Life". We miss you Jack and are so pleased you were able to share your life with us once again. |
| 10/17 | Another excellent gathering at the Poets' Asylum this week. Lots of
interesting work in the packed open mic. It's good to see the reading
drawing so many new faces. Come back folks.
Following the open Ryk McIntyre took the stage as our feature. Ryk brought with him a rad pair of shades, a sweet new chapbook, Soft Thoughts And Snow Blankets and, of course, excellent poetry. His set was tight, filled with nuance and clean performance. He read mostly newer work, leaving his standards for another day. Excellent work Ryk! At the end of the reading Bill MacMillan announced that he is stepping down from hosting duties and that Jon Wolf will be taking over next week. When you get a chance thank Bill for his 14+ years of work on behalf of performance poetry in Worcester. |
| 10/24 | Splendid night at the Asylum this week with a full open mic, a lively host, an enthusiastic audience and two, you heard right, two great features. Corrina Bain and Morris Stegosaurus are no strangers to Worcester. This week their performance was a farewell gig before they head out on a tour of the east coast, Texas and beyond. Morris kicked off the set in full bunny suit drag and read several pieces of his own followed by a cover of one of Corrina's pieces. Corrina then took the stage for 3 well delivered works and a cover of Morris. They each came back for one final piece. Nice work from both of the them. Worcester wishes you safe journey. Come back soon. We'll miss you. |
| 10/31 | It was a fun, if short, night at the Asylum this week. Lots of costumes floated in and out of the room throughout the night. The open mic still brought a new voice or two to the stage; do come again. Four stout poets competed in the just-for-fun Spooky Scary Slam. Good work from (in order of appearance) Dave Mac, Nick Davis, Bill MacMillan and Melissa Guillet. At the end of the night the judges had spoken, given Melissa to top spot along with a membership to the WCPA and $10. Thanks to everyone read, listened or just hung out for a while. |
| 11/07 | It was a fun night at the Poets' Asylum with an excellent open mic and
a killer slam. The feature was a no show; his loss. Host Jon Wolf is
settling into his duties. The open mic included a couple of new voices;
please come again.
Following the open mic we held the second iWPS qualifying slam. Six poets competed in the standard regulation two round three minute time limit slam. Five judges scored their poems, giving scores from 7.0 to the grand daddy 10.0 (OK one judge went to 11 but we rounded it down to 10). A round of applause for the poets (Woody, Amanda, Ed, Dave Gibbs, Bobby and Gigglez) and for the judges. At the end of the night Bobby, Gigglez and Ed finished at the top of the heap and will move on to the iWPS Slam Off on December 12th. |
| 11/14 | Dawn Saylor hit the stage as our feature. |
| 11/21 | The Java Hut was jumping with a packed house as our weekly poetry reading. It was one of those evenings, the ones you are sorry anyone missed. Killer open mic with new voices and new words from the regulars. An enthusiastic audience. Plus a dynamite feature in Tony Brown. Tony brought out his new chapbook poet., a compilation of favorites, and read almost exclusively it. Old favorites like Punk and D.I.Y. where mixed with more obscure work like the poem explaining the chrysler in his online moniker, chrysler_poet. Thanks Tony! |
| 11/28 | It was a fun night at the Poets' Asylum. Good crowd for a holiday weekend and some excellent talent in the open mic. I have to mention the amazing piece by Jessica; major props to you! Following the open mic four stout competitors took part in the third and final iWPS qualifying slam. Our panel of five judges made fast and furious work of the scores. A round of applause for our competitors - Dave S., Jen, Lea and Geoff. At the end of the night Jen and Lea topped the scoring and move on to the iWPS slam-off on December 12th. |
| 12/05 | Fantabulous night at the Asylum this week. First there was the packed open mic full of silly and serious poems alike. Following the open the Unusual Suspects, Paulie Lipman and Ian Dougherty took the stage as our feature. They kicked off their set with an amazing dual voice piece. Paulie and Ian offered their poems tag team style after that... a DJ poem from Paulie, a dark and touching poem from Ian, a poem about connectedness, an audience chose named "Mitochondrial DNA", a shout out to dorks and the crowd rousing "Sellouts". With booming voices and tight words they stirred up the audience and snagged a snazzy new standing ovation for their efforts. Freshly minted CDs were selling like hot cakes (mmmm... hot cakes) after the reading. |
| 12/12 | What an excellent night of performance poetry in Worcester. First
there was the killer open mic. Lots of great stuff, a couple of new
voices and a huge audience. Following the open eight hearty competitors
took part in the Worcester iWPS Slam-off, a four round multiple
time limit slam. A round of applause for all the competitors: Bobby,
Gigglez, Nick, Ed, Jen, Gwen, Corrina and Lea, for their hard work in
the slam, to our judges for their quick verdicts and to the audience
for their enthusiasm.
At the end of the night 1/10th of a point seperated first and second place. Congratulations to Lea Deschenes, the Worcester rep for iWPS '05. There was more at stake than just the iWPS rep. The top four (4) finishers at the end of 4 rounds move on to the team finals competition in May. Best of luck to Gwen, Nick, Corrina and Lea. |
| 12/19 | A fun and merry Poets' Asylum this week with our annual holiday extended open mic taking center stage for the night. Host Jon Wolf had silly stuff for everyone who read in the open, from crayons to plastic figures. Dave Mac and his troupe of merry men kicked things off on the right note with a 1978 radio play featuring the Six Million Dollar Man named "Elves Revolt". Add to that poetry featuring diminutive caribou, deep sea fish, the winter solstice plus lots of laughter and you have some idea how the night went. |
| 12/26 | The final Sunday night Asylum reading for 2004 went out with a bang. Even with nasty weather outside we had a good sized crowd including a couple of faces not seen far too long, a happening open mic and two great Capricorn poets as our features. Working with a theme of loneliness and housewives Rachel McKibbens and Bill MacMillan shared some of their less frequently heard works along with new poetry written for the feature. Between them we learned about St. Florian, forgiveness, air travel, growing up a tomboy and more. It was a great way to wrap up what has been a great year of poetry at the Java Hut. |
Looking for info on our past events? We have lists of info going back to 2001.
| 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 |
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