| 01/04 | Thanks to everyone who came out for the first Poets' Asylum reading of 2009. The open mic was brimming with many new voices; please come back again. The feature this week was LV, aka Laura Vookles of Westchester, NY. LV shared very personal work with memories of her late husband filling our minds and drawing us all a bit closer. With great imagery, such as soldiers milling around the airport being greeted by family, and an ear-catching turn of phrase (\Sometimes Amen is just not enough\) LV hit us with the best she has. Thanks for the words LV. Don't be a stranger. |
| 01/11 | Touring poet and "eco-billy" poet Christian Drake was our
feature this week and what a feature it was. With a theme of "blood"
he poured out his soul and tickled our funny bones with a diverse set
with a deep baritone delivery. Calling up the crimson wave, failed
relationships, carnivorous escapades and werewolf lust he packed his
set and was met with thunderous applause. He even managed to premier
a new piece and retire one whose time may finally have passed. Great
work Christan. Thanks for all the wonderful words.
Want to learn more about the feature? Check out Jorge Bannister's blog review of the night. |
| 01/18 | Worcester's iWPS rep Alex Charalambides was our feature this past Sunday. Despite the winter wonderland the room filled up nicely to hear Alex perform a set of all new work. With a nod to the reality TV craze, a bit of heartbreak and a poke at the short memories of New Englanders he shared some wonderfully crafted pieces. Great to hear your new work Alex, keep it coming. |
| 01/25 | Congratulations to Trevor Byrne-Smith on his first place win this week in the open qualifying slam. Four slammers put their words on the line and accepted the verdict of the randomly choosen judges. Big crowd this week and a new voice or two in the open mic. We hope to see you all again. |
| 02/01 | Thanks to everyone who came out for the feature by Kryia Abrahams. It was a fun filled night of laughter and good words. Kryia started things out with a primer to Jehovah's Witnesses and then moved on to read excerpts from her upcoming book I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales of a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing (Touchstone, 2009). With highly personal anecdotes she shared her introduction to slam poetry, attempts to get out of her marriage and the departure from JW-land. We look forward to getting our hands on the book when it is released in March. Thanks for the words and funny bits. |
| 02/08 | Heck of a night at the Poets' Asylum this past Sunday night with an
overflowing open mic and a feature by Two Sensitive Guys Sam Teitel
and Steve Subrizi. Thanks to the gang from Lowell who paid
us a visit and shared their words in the open mic. Do come again.
Sam and Steve performed a well practiced set with quieter work mixed with slam ready performance pieces. Adding a bit of guitar back-up just uped the fun quotient. With pterodactyl, zombie babies, preaching poetry and a call to Batman they filled the our minds with something new and more to think upon. Thanks for the words guys; it was worth the wait. |
| 02/15 | Caitlin Meissner was our feature this week. She brought a bit of a different voice to our stage with a mix of slam influenced rhythm and Yusef Komunyakaa inspired subjects. Her work included work about adolescence, love, Miles Davis, heartbreak and more. A passionate performer she drew the audience into her work and words. Thanks for sharing with us Caitlin. |
| 02/22 | Busy night at the Asylum this week with a packed open mic, a spotlight
feature by Jadon Woodard and a full open qualifying slam .
Thanks to the fine folks from New Hampshire for adding their words to
our open & slam. It was great to have you in the house. Thanks too go
out to Jadon for his high energy spotlight set. With powerful wordplay
and a strong ear for the flow of his work he captured the audience and
left us wanting more.
On to the main event: the open qualifying slam. Eight poets took the stage this month with Mighty Mike McGee offering the sacrifice (and the only time penalty of the night). Good gravy there were a lot of poems flying. At the end of the night the final poet to perform, Danny Balel, captured first place. Danny moves on to the team finals in May. Thanks to the all the slammers, judges and the audience for their participation. |
| 02/28 | There may have been more folks in the 100 Word Slam than in the open mic this week but that's OK. Hardy poets gathered at Jumpin' Juice & Java Sunday night despite the pending winter storm for a bit of word play. The challenge was to craft two poems using 100 words. 8 poets rose to the task, though one had to drop out because he didn't realize he needed two pieces. Still there was some interesting work, a couple of real gems and a lot of new writing going one. At the end of the night Melinda took first place and the $50 prize that went with it. |
| 03/08 | This week the Asylum welcomed back former regular Seren Divine. She kicked off her set with a couple of old school classics and then moved on to newer, less slam oriented, work. She read a number of poems about the cultural shock of moving from Worcester to New York City and she hit a political note with several pieces about queer consciousness. She closed out the night with a short set of poems accompanied by acoustic guitar weilded by her friend Danielle. Overall a nice set from the veteran performer. Don't be a stranger Seren. |
| 03/15 | Jenith Charpentier was our feature this week. Jenith gave a wonderful feature that involved finely crafted poetry and flash fiction that left the crowd appreciative of her skill. All the gathered were glad to hear this Worcester voice. Please come back. [Review by Dave Keali'i] |
| 03/22 | We had a quietish sort of night at the Poets' Asylum this past Sunday. Not sure where everyone went; we had a fine time with our feature Tim Mason. Tim kicked off his set with a tight piece about the wonder of chocolate. He gave us a view of Texas drivers and the change in attitudes toward baseball cards. He covered the venerable Jacob Knight & Coy Cain and closed out the night with a powerful piece about having the right role model. An excellent feature from a talented author. Thanks for the words Tim. |
| 03/29 | Five slammers took part in the two round slam open qualifying slam this week. No time penalties were seen and the only 10 of the night showed up for the very last poem. Congratulations to Danielle on winning the slam. She moves on to the team final on May 24th. |
| 04/05 | Four competitors took part in the Blue Collar Slam this week, sharing their poems on work or working. At the end of the math exercise Simone Beaubien took the prize thanks to a massive time penalty against Mike McGee. Thanks to everyone who came out and shared their words in the open and slam. |
| 04/12 | Jumpin' Juice & Java was closed tonight so there was no reading this week. Our apologies to anyone who tried to join the fun; we were caught by surprise when we arrived to set-up. |
| 04/19 | Asylum slammaster Bill MacMillan was our feature this week. From a perch at the side of the room he avoided the mic for the night. With a minimum of fanfare he read his own well crafted work and covers of pieces by Matt Cook and Eric Darby. A fine evening was had by all. Thanks for the words Bill. |
| 04/26 | Thanks to those who came out tonight for the last open qualifying slam of the 2009 Worcester Slam season. Congratulations to McKendy for winning the slam. The other competitors in this close slam were TJ, Cyndi and Melinda. We also raised over $200 toward the expenses of sending a team to Nationals, enough to meet our $1000 by April 26th goal. We appreciate the generosity of our supporters. |
| 05/03 | Thanks to the folks to who joined us this week for the Finish the
Poem slam. We had three slammers compete and 3 judges offer up
scores. At the end of the two rounds Dave Macpherson won the
slam and our admiration. For posterities sake here are the first /
last lines for the two rounds.
Round one: "Greetings from Worcester" / "Wish you were here."
|
| 05/10 | Thanks to all who came out for the Mother's Day edition of the Poets'
Asylum. We had our first full open in a couple of months, it was good
to hear a wide variety of work. Welcome to first time reader Peter,
do come again.
Asylum regular Gary Hoare was our feature this week. Gary moved from off the cuff readings to reading from the printed page to reading off his iPod Touch. He covered a They Might Be Giants song and read an excerpt from Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams. While he shared a couple of his slam poems he mostly stuck with quieter, introspective pieces. His work found inspiration in diverse sources, from the History Channel to the grocery store to recycling. It was a well formed set. Thanks for the words Gary. |
| 05/17 | Thanks to all those who came out this week for the Cover Slam, especially the enthusiastic table of mostly newcomers in the back of the room. The work of Leonard Cohen, Taylor Mali, Gary Hoare, Eric Darby, William S. Burroughs, Shannon Leigh, and Simone Beaubien filled the room via the vocal cords of Dave Mac, Cyndi Keeley, Bill MacMillan and Trevor Byrne-Smith. At the end of the night Bill MacMillan won the slam and the $10 prize. He generously donated the prize money back to the Asylum to help fund the slam team. |
| 05/24 | Congratulations to the 2009 Worcester Slam Team... Danielle Carriveau,
Trevor Byrne-Smith, Dave Keali'i, Danny Balel and alternate McKendy
Fils-Aime. They will represent Worcester at the 2009 National Poetry Slam
in West Palm Beach, Florida.
It was quite a night with a small open, a packed house and the four round 2009 Worcester Slam Team Finals. All eight competitors brought their best work and there was nary a stumble along the way. We are grateful to Liz Heath, Trevor Byrne-Smith, Cowboy Matt, Danny Balel, Dave Keali'i, Danielle Carriveau, Aslan King and McKendy Fils-Aime for sharing their talent with us. There was a tie for first place but that's not important. With only four spots available on the team we found ourselves with a tie for fourth place at the end of the night. Danny & McKendy went head-to-head in a fifth round and Danny snagged the four slot on the team rooster. McKendy earned the alternate spot; we hope to raise enough money to send him to Nationals along with the team. The scores can be viewed on the Slam page. Our thanks to slammaster Bill MacMillan for running a great show, Cyndi Keeley for collecting the scores and to the amazing supporters of slam poetry in Worcester who showed up in force, kept the energy high and cheered all the competitors. We couldn't do this without any of you. Heck, we wouldn't want to do this without all of you. |
| 05/31 | We love hearing new voices in the open mic and there were a couple this week. Please join us again, it was great to hear you read. After the open we held the One Minute Slam. Heather, Dave K, Meagan, Bill and Gary each took part in the 3 round just-for-fun slam. The longest poem clocked in just over the grace period at 1 minute 10.1 seconds. The shortest poem was a whole 15.9 seconds (and it wasn't a hiaku). At the end of the slam Bill beat out Meagan by 2/10ths of a point to win the slam. Thanks to all who took part. |
| 06/07 | We had a great reading this week with a packed open mic, a couple of new voices (please come again) and an off the hook feature by Rushelle Frazier. With big energy and exuberance Rushelle shared a mix of new work, older pieces and a couple of covers. It was a great night of words. Thanks Rushelle. |
| 06/14 | Thanks to the eager supporters of slam who joined the Team Feature
this week. Dani, Dave, Trevor & McKendy offered three poems each
in themed rounds. Round one was about fire, round two family and the
final round was reserved for intimate relations, or boinking as
slammaster Bill MacMillan phrased it.
The team also released a chapbook of their work. Suggested donation for the chapbook is $5 though more is gratefully accepted. See our fundraising goddess Cyndi Keeley to pick up your copy. |
| 06/21 | What a great night at the Poets' Asylum this week. We had a full house for Father's Day, a packed open with 6 new readers and a fantastic feature by Melinda Lee. Melinda gave us a well paced set with heavy & deep pieces mixed together with some humorous work. Bill MacMillan joined her at the mic for a dual voice version of "Frequently Asked Questions" which generated much audience laughter. Her pieces on the holocaust and the struggle of a relationship drew appreciative silence followed by enthusiatic applause. Thank you for sharing your work with us Melinda. |
| 06/28 | Thanks to all who joined the Poets' Asylum this week for our feature Chad Anderson. Chad gave a whirlwind performance that drew appreciative applause throughout with a mix of snaps, moans and laughter as appropriate. From the first poem for his dad to the sing-a-long about having the roadways all to himself it was a fine evening of words. Great pieces about soundwaves and Cracker Barrel added to the fun. Thanks Chad for a fun night and thanks to all those who came out to listen. |
| 07/05 | It was a quietish holiday weekend Poets' Asylum this week. The members of the 2009 Worcester Slam Team were on hand as were a handful of other folks who read in the open mic. Thanks to all those who shared their voices with us. After the open we held a 3 person open qualifying slam to seed the iWPS Selection Slam on August 30th. Gary Hoare, Bobby Gibbs and MC Speil took part in the two round word fest with Bobby & MC Speil tying for the top position. Both move on to the iWPS finals. We'll have a second open qualifier on August 23rd where two slots for the iWPS finals will be up for grabs. |
| 07/12 | Thanks to all those you came out to support the 2009 Worcester Youth Slam Team. With a mix of dual voice and individual work Elyse Bianchet, Eddy Habib, Carolyn Mshooshian, Kate Richardson, and Jeff Seigrist gave us a taste of what they will be bringing to Chicago this week for the Brave New Voices event. We're sure they will do the 5-0-8 proud. |
| 07/19 | We had a fun night at the Poets' Asylum this week with the 2009 Worcester Slam Team competing in a Head-to-Head Regional Slam against the Worcester All-stars. The All-stars, veteran slammers Bill MacMillan, Erin Jackson, Mike McGee & Tony Brown, took on this year's team in a 4 round bout for bragging rights. Time penalties took their toll for both teams. At end of the slam the 2009 team won the slam. Thanks to all who came out for the poetry. |
| 07/26 | It's been a while since we had a full open mic. We did this week
though and it was full of nuggets of goodness. Thanks to all those
who shared their words; we hope you'll join us again.
After the open Eric Darby featured for us. Bringing mostly newer work to the mic he included a couple of old favorites and threw in a cover for good measure. Eric has a verbal style that draws the listener in, making you want to hear every word, every nuance of what he has to say. With material like the tale of the two Bobs and Scratch and Dent Dreams it's well worth the effort. Thanks for sharing your words with us Eric. |
| 08/02 | Thanks to everyone who came to the Asylum this past Sunday for the Team Send-off Feature. After a short open four of the five team memebers shared well practice slam pieces, newer work and a handful of haiku and other poetic tributes to their team memebers. We thank Danielle Carriveau, Dave Keali'i, Danny Balel and McKendy Fils-Aime for sharing their work with us and wish them well at the 2009 National Poetry Slam. Team member Trevor Byrne-Smith was already enroute to West Palm Beach so he couldn't share in the festivities. His voice was missed. |
| 08/09 | We had light attendance this week, not surprising with many of the regulars still making their way back from NPS '09. Congrats to Team Soapboxing from St. Paul, MN on their win by the way. After a medium sized open feature Jeff Stumpo took to the mic. This was the first time many of us had the opportunity to hear Jeff's work and he wowed the room. With a well crafted style and a quick turn of phrase he left the gathered eager for more. Of note were a spectacular piece dedicated to his wife and the power of marriage and a pair of poems with a unique take on Icarus. Brisk chapbook sales followed the feature so you gotta figure people liked what they heard. Thanks for sharing your words with us Jeff. |
| 08/16 | The Poets' Asylum this week was full of good words with a packed open mic and a feature by Lara Bozabalian. Lara brought a quiet strength to the mic with a no-nonsense performance style and power words. Delving deep into the psyche of relationship she pulled out great nuggets of truth. Thanks for sharing your words with us Lara. Welcome and thanks to the handful of first time readers in the open. We hope you'll read for us again. |
| 08/23 | An open mic, feature and a slam makes for a busy night at the Poets' Asylum, even when we limit poets to 1 poem in the open. Following the full open mic San Jose slammer David Perez took to the mic for a tight feature of well practiced work. His set included references to mental health, Quinceaneras, Black Friday and Tickle Me Elmo as well as a cover of Geoff Trenchard's Grand Larceny. After the feature we held the second iWPS open slam with Alex Charalambides, Nick Davis, Gary Hoare, Jackie and Charles competing. At the end of the two rounds Gary & Nick the two highest combined scores. They move on to the iWPS Selection Slam next Sunday. |
| 08/30 | Congratulations to Gary Hoare on winning the 2009 iWPS
Selection Slam in a startling fifth round haiku showdown! This was
an amazing night of poetry before a packed house with many first timer
visitors to the Poets' Asylum weekly reading. This was intended to be
four round slam however at the end of round 4 we found three poets,
Dani, Trevor and Gary, tied at 29.8. Slammaster Bill MacMillan gave
the poets one minute to craft a haiku for a fifth round. Trevor scored
a 26.2, Dani scored a 26.1 and, in the final poem of the night Gary
Hoare snagged the win with a 26.9.
Thanks go out to all the amazing poets who competed. That would be Danny Balel, Trevor Byrne-Smith, Dani Carriveau, Alex Charalambides, Nick Davis, McKendy Fils-Aime, Bobby Gibbs, Gary Hoare and Dave Keali'i. Mad props to Liz Heath and Bill MacMillan for running a great show, the judges for keeping the scores tight and to the audience for keeping the judges honest. We couldn't do it without any of you. A big shout out to the 30 or so new to Worcester folks who joined us. We hope you'll come back again. |
| 09/06 | This week the Poets' Asylum welcomed Scott Woods to our stage. A consummate performer Scott brought a mix of laughter and awe inspiring words to the mic. He kicked off the set with a great piece about why the zombie craze is just plain crazy. The rest of the set was pure gold. Thanks for sharing your words with us Scott. |
| 09/13 | Corrina Bain was our feature this week. Corrina delivered a great feature with practiced ease and powerful words. With deep insight she crafts tight works that draw our minds toward places it would rather not dwell. Whether she is talking about brutal rape, self hatred or that friend your not really close to any more her words pull you in, make you sit on the edge of your seat, make you want more. Thanks for sharing your words with us Corrina. |
| 09/19 | Another Sunday night, another great reading, another excellent feature. Following a packed open mic Dave Macpherson took to the mic for as our feature. His poetry moved from a schoolboy crush on the Wicked Witch of the West to a Kafkaesque muppet to Aquaman's day job with ease. It was a fun set with a lot of laughter and a raised eyebrow or two. Thanks for the words Dave. |
| 09/26 | Thanks to everyone who came to the weekly Poets' Asylum reading this past Sunday. It was a busy night with a busy open mic, a feature by J.W. Baz and a One Minute Slam. There were a lot of new faces in the crowd and new voices in the open mic; we hope you'll join us again. Baz gave us a good feature with dark side. Finally the One Minute Slam continued to amaze with four competitors offering amazing works that had the audience leaning forward to catch. At the end of the three round slam Megan took the win. Props to Bobby, Melinda & Alexa for their strong work. |
| 10/04 | Bobby Gibbs was the feature on October 4th. The webmaster was unable to attend the Poets' Asylum this week so there isn't any more info to share about his feature. |
| 10/11 | Ian Khadan & Connor Dooly were the features on October 11th. The webmaster was unable to attend the Poets' Asylum this week so there isn't any more info to share about his feature. If you'd like to send us a short write-up about the feature it would be appreciated. |
| 10/18 | Thanks to all those who braved the lovely New England weather to join the Poets' Asylum this week. Those who were there heard several new voices and a feature by New Hampshire poets Mark Palos & Ryan McLellan. With a mix of slam throwdowns and page pieces Mark & Ryan offered their take on coffee, jazz, poems about poetry, values, Bob Dylan and two spins of Oz. It was a fun night with lots of interest after the feature. |
| 10/25 | Thanks to those you came out this past Sunday for the regular poetry open mic and an open slam. Only three poets took part in the slam - Jackie, Danny and Anna. The judges were tough but fair and at the end of two rounds we had a winner... Jackie. She took home the $10 cash prize. |
| 11/01 | Ah Jack, we've missed you. After a packed open mic Jack McCarthy took to the mic as our feature. His set contained a mix of well loved pieces and rarely read work. Mixed among them were secrets of high school popularity, calendar savants, Tennesse Williams & Mother Theresa, and the missing response from Odysseus. Great stuff through and through. Thanks for the words Jack. |
| 11/08 | We had a smaller audience than usual this week and an intimate open mic. There was still great poetry to be heard and a couple of first time readers shared their work. We hope you'll join us again. Following the open Rob Sturma took the stage as our feature. Rob shared work from his new book "Miles of Hallelujah" (Write Bloody Publishing) and whether he was reading off page or working from memory the performance poet shined through. With a lilt in his voice he shared a new poem, a love poem. He asked Questions, lots of questions. He got the audience involved doing a bit of live looping to back up a tight little dance number. Great stuff and a lot of fun. Thanks for the words Rob. |
| 11/15 | We experienced a brutally awesome feature this week from Rachel McKibbens following a full to the brim open mic. Which made for one amazing night of poetry in Worcester. With a focus, conscious or otherwise, on family interactions Rachel's poems brought the sometimes awful truths about those we spend our lives with crashing home. From staggeringly beautiful to heart-wrentchingly honest her words pack a wallop and leave you wanting more. Fantastic stuff Rachel. Thanks for sharing your work with us. |
| 11/22 | Tui Scanlan was our feature this week and he gave us a stellar performance. Claiming the space he worked the room while performing his work, ignoring the mic while using his powerful voice to capture the attention of the audience. His work circled from a origins to a relationship not done yet to what he wanted to be growing up. The audience response was enthusiastic. Thanks for the words Tui. |
| 11/29 | Thanks to everyone who came out Sunday night for the Thanksgiving weekend edition of the Poets' Asylum. Following the open mic we held an Open Slam. Four poets participated - Max, Aisha, Danielle and Nick. Following two rounds, and a killer time penalty, Nick won the slam and took home the $10 cash prize. |
| 12/06/td> | We had a good reading this week with the regular open mic and the Head-to-Head Haiku Deathmatch. Only two people decided to take part in the slam, Nick Davis and Gary Hoare. We went with a best of 11 rounds approach so the first poet to receive 6 wins would take home the prize. The slam ended up running all eleven rounds and darn near had a tie. Host Danny Balel called it with Nick receiving the final win and the $10 prize. It was a fun, if shorter than normal, night. |
| 12/13 | This week we held our first 8-Minute Speech Slam. It was a very
interesting event with the participants offering talks on a variety of
topics ranging from abuse to memory, organizing to bad teeth. Three
judges from the audience gave closed scores to each of the speakers and
at the end of the night host Danny Balel tallied up the scores and
delivered the verdict. Before we get to that here are some memorable
lines (hopefully I got them down correctly).
At the end of the night Tony Brown received the highest score and took home bragging rights plus a lovely orange plastic spider. |
| 12/20 | Alas the snow came and the Poets' Asylum didn't happen this week. |
| 12/27 | Thanks to everyone who joined us for the last Asylum reading of 2009. After a packed open mic our feature, Bill MacMillan, took to the mic. He offered up a couple of covers and double helping of his own work. His subject matter ranged from random memories to a tribute to Larry Walters. Toss in the obligatory New Year's Eve poem plus a bit of biblical allegory and you have a fine feature. Thanks for the words Bill. |
Looking for info on our past events? We have lists of info going back to 2001.
| 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 |
|---|