Cafe Euphoria Open Mic & Slam, February 2

I finally made it over to Troy for this twice monthly (1st & 3rd Fridays) event. The listing had said sign-up was at 6:30PM with a 7:30 start, but the house was basically filled by 6:00 when I got there, found a table, chair, ordered some food, & then by 7:10 the host El was on stage to start the open mic. I had seen El as a featured reader at Poetic Vibe at the Fish Market last year, where she apparently learned her hosting style, a standard at Slam venues — to ask everyone to start clapping to welcome the next poet up then tries to shout the name of the poet unintelligibly over the roar of the crowd — it doesn’t work — who? what’s their name? Instead of honoring the poet, it shows a disrespect for their identity, their name. As a result, this report is, to my standards, incomplete & does not document the event to the degree that I try to achieve. 

The Open Mic

El started off with a tale of having to break into her new apartment. The next poet was named, perhaps, Angie, followed by Elaina (?) with a couple songs on guitar & harmonica, “I’m a Rock’n’Roll Cowgirl Tonight Singing the Blues,” & “Don’t Give Me Your Alibis Again.” Then ? with a love poem from their notebook. The next poet was Alex (per Mary Panza who had seen them here previously) with “Ode to the Stuffed Animals.”

I know the next poet’s name, Cassidy (spelling?), from the subsequent Slam, who mumbled through a song on the ukulele. Don did a long story from memory (or improvised) set in Japan. Barry Goldman I recognized from a recent Invocation of the Muse open mic in Albany (& from open mics in years past); he read an evocative piece titled “Ancestors of the Summer Meadow” about finding the teeth of a long-dead possum, what he described as a writing exercise based on a poem by Richard Eberhard.

The next reader gave a “comfort warning” to their poem, perhaps the most bizarre I’ve heard, because of a reference to flies! Shelby (again, I subsequently learned their name from the open mic) read from their chapbook. The next poet I definitely knew his name — it was me! — I read my poem card “Content Advisory,” then “The Witches’ Necklace.” Lee, another whom I’d seen read at a recent Invocation of the Muse open mic, read a rhyming piece “The Kiss of Death,” then “A Toast” to his friends.

One of the staff of Cafe Euphoria read an eco-poem about the flooding of the Earth. The final open mic poet was also not clearly named, but did say they were performing for the first time, a song with a backing track from their phone.

The Slam

After a break it was on to the Slam, which there hasn’t been much of in recent years in this area due to a combination of factors, including burn-out & the COVID pandemic. But Slam is back at Cafe Euphoria. The host for this night’s Slam was veteran Albany poet & vice- president of the Hudson Valley Writers Guild, Mary Panza, who has many years of experience hosting open mics in Albany, so I had no problems in catching some reasonable facsimiles of the participants' names. 

There were 7 contestants, in 2 rounds, with 5 judges chosen from those in the audience who had never been to a Slam before (one of the traditions at some Slam venues nationally). Slam is known for it’s rule-based structure, but here there were “no rules,” so they said, including the “3-minute rule,” which, while intended to put a limit on a performer’s time (with penalties in point reduction for going over), was often used as a target, making a good 2-minute poem warp into a repetitive 3-minutes of tedium. Most of tonight’s performers seemed to be novices at Slam & read pieces that were decent poems rather than the usual Slam hyper-performance of mediocre writing.

El was perhaps the sole performer with experience at other Slams, & has obviously been coached. In fact she sounded so much like another local well-known Slam performer — her cadence, even her accent — that with my eyes closed I could clearly visualize her coach (a much better poet). She, of course, scored very well.

Shelby, who had read in the open mic, read an OCD poem from her book. Lee performed a piece in rhyme titled “United States of Emergency;” he had also read in the open mic. Cassidy had performed with a ukulele in the open mic & the piece they performed in the Slam was political word-play in a musical rhythm.

Alex’s piece was titled “Everything Must Go.” Rose read a seasonal, post-holiday poem of depression, & scored well. Lizzie’s poem titled “Light & Peace” was about fighting the demons. 

In this setting there were no elimination rounds, & the 2 best scoring performers went straight to the head-to-head Final Round. That was Rose with a crafted poem about a break-up picnic for 2 with allusions to the Last Supper. El’s winning piece was an imagining of “when the Zombie Apocalypse comes…” & she went home with the money.

This open mic with a Slam takes place on the 1st & 3rd Fridays of the month at Cafe Euphoria, 225 River St., Troy, NY, 6:30PM to 9:00PM. Check out the website & their Facebook page.

poetic injustice, February 11

There should be no need to wait to February, i.e. “Black History Month,” to bring an array like this of local spoken word & Slam artists & poets together. In fact, the host of this event held at the Troy Music Hall, D. Colin, presents open mics & readings & performances throughout the year at her regular venue, Poetic Vibe (find it on Facebook), as well as other community artistic projects. 

D. Colin started us off with the title poem from her book Dreaming in Kreyol (Empress Bohemia Press, 2015), with the stunning opening line, “I dream in a language that fells like home…” She is an enthusiastic performer of her work with a voice that rings clear like a bell. She returned later with another poem titled “A Drop in the Ocean.”  The program was organized to have performers do a piece, then return later with another, which worked well to keep the keep the energy flowing.

Samira followed with a protest poem, then later with a tribute poem both in a Slam performance style. Mojavi is a poet who has been active in the local poetry scene since he was a student at UAlbany, later ran the open mic series “Soul Kitchen” at Clayton’s Caribbean Restaurant, & was a member of Albany’s Slam team. He did a love poem backed up by DJ T.G.I.F., & later a piece on “words.”

Jamaica Miles is a local activist who often speaks at social justice rallies & demonstrations, tonight she was a poet with 2 personal poems that delved deeply into racism. 

Poetic Visionz is another performer who has been on stage in the local open mic & Slam scene, who often plays on common phrases & words to weave complex philosophical performances. Here he also involved DJ T.G.I.F. in his performance of  “Context Champs Everything,” & later read a love poem.

Zo Zigga did a piece written for this night titled “In Darkness,” then later one titled “Namesake,” both pointedly energetic performances.

The one fly-in-the-ointment, for me, was the stand-up alleged comic whose name I, perhaps fortunately, didn’t catch. Like nearly all performers in this genre he was arrogant, self-inflated & would pick out audience members to whom he directed his remarks. Before he told one “joke” he demanded the audience to “make some noise!” I was tempted to boo but thought better of it. Fortunately the rest of the show continued without him.

Angelique recited a piece from Ntozanke Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, then later performed her own wonderfully affirmative love poem beginning “Here’s to the honey in you…”

Justice was introduced as a black entrepreneur, did a piece drawing the distinction between “ownership” & “being owned,” putting new words on the central issue of slavery & racism.

Rae, a muralist, spoke on a similar theme, “The Contemporary Servitude.” Also at the end of the scheduled program was Tamika with a piece written on the spot, the performers inspiring even more work. 

Apparently I slipped out before the open mic, but what I heard was a wonderful, inspiring affirmation of the power & extent of the spoken word, working to counter racism, & to change, for the better, the historical economic & political power structures.

Let’s keep this kind of energy going in every month of the year.

& you don't have to take my word for it -- you can watch it yourself at https://youtu.be/XuArTWyyWLY

WordFest 2019 — Invitational Slam, April 19

The next-to-last event (& the last I was at) was the Invitational Slam held at Troy Kitchen, the site of the weekly Poetic Vibe open mic, on Congress St. in Troy, NY. The host was Mojavi who had been an integral part of the Albany poetry scene from the early days at Soul Kitchen (hmm, seems like a theme here…) at Clayton’s Caribbean Restaurant, then on to be a member Nitty Gritty Slam Team.

Like all good Slams it started with the “sacrificial poet,” someone not in the contest to perform for the judges to practice, or as they like to say, “calibrate” their scores. Tonight’s sacrifice was the incredible D. Colin who, as always, set a high bar.

The field of contenders started off with 7 performers from 2 Slam teams, the UAlbany team & the CapCity Slam (formerly Nitty Gritty Slam). Alex from the UAlbany team was first, followed by Poetik from CapCity, then Andrew from UAlbany, Sidney from CapCity, Kat, then Eve, both from UAlbany, & Liv from CapCity. Body image/pride-in-self was the dominant theme, along with, of course, love & longing.

Thom Francis from AlbanyPoets served as time-keeper & compiler of the scores. When the numbers were crunched the 4 remaining performers, & their pieces they next performed, were Liv (a litany of Slam poets), Eve (a take on the pledged of allegiance), Andrew (hip-hop rhyme on violence on the street), & Poetik (with some rare & welcome humor on trying to be a different kind of poet).

Slam Master Mojavi with Eve & Poetik

Usually the second round settles out to the 2 top contenders, who then duke it out for the championship. However tonight, there was a 3-way tie at the top, Andrew, Poetik, & Eve. Andrew did a stream-of-consciousness piece, then Poetik talked of her love living “on the spectrum...,” but it was Eve from the UAlbany team who took home the win with a piece that began “I love being a black woman…” taking us back to the dominant theme of the 1st round. 

& when the final votes were counted, the winner of this year’s WordFest Invitational Slam was Eve of the UAlbany tema with an impressive 29.6 (out of a possible 30) from the judges. 

You can catch the CapCity Slam at the Albany Barn, 56 2nd St., Albany, NY on the first Wednesdays of the month, with an open mic starting at 7:00PM.

[Although WordFest 2019 continued on Saturday, April 20 with a book fair at the Troy Farmers Market, I had some peace-work to do & wasn’t able to be there, but my books were. One copy was sold. So this post is the last of my coverage of WordFest 2019. But there are ots more Blogs to come on other poetry events in the area.]

Getting Down to Brass Tacks!, March 29

Albany Poets presented an evening of poetry, spoken word, and stories featuring the first team from Albany to ever compete at the National Poetry Slam, at The Low Beat on Central Ave.

Thom Francis, el presidente, served as the M/C & gave a brief history of the Nitty Gritty Slam that started out at Valentine’s on New Scotland Ave., then moved over to Central Ave. here at The Low Beat, & of the first team from Albany to compete in the national Slam championship.

ILLiptical (Michael Sloman) did a set of mostly political pieces, beginning with one about being from a family of Holocaust survivors, one titled “Spirit Akin” on Native American issues, inspired by reading Sherman Alexis, a piece titled “Vegan Knowledge,” among others.

Shannon Shoemaker started by saying she is currently working on "a post-apocalyptic lesbian novel," then moved on to what she said is her favorite Slam piece, “My Name is Shannon Shoemaker” in which she takes on Slam stereotypes. Once at Valentines Shannon & I talked about putting together poems for a reading (or a Slam) & I quoted Charlie Rossiter to the effect that when in doubt pull out the dick poem. Shannon then went on to write an outrageously funny piece using that line for its central conceit, & she end her set with it tonight.

Elizag (Elizabeth K. Gordon) talked about her involvement in Slam starting back in 2011, & how she broke her foot as they left for the Charlottes Slam venue. Her poem on the shooting of Trayvon Martin was written as a group Slam piece, tonight she did it alone, then went on to “Beat Ball” accompanied by Ahmad doing beat box. One of my favorites is a piece on learning to say “motherfucker” & she ended with “Stereotype Threat.”

D. (Danielle) Colin has carved out her place on the poetry scene as the organizer & host of the weekly Poetic Vibe in Troy each Monday. She started off with her joyfully self-affirmative piece about her hair, then on to a poem in her forthcoming book “Mourning Sons.” She got the audience to join her in “I Cry for Little Black Girls,” & ended with a powerful confrontational piece “For Every Black Woman Who Has Been Called Angry.”

The evening ended with Poetyc Visionz (Darian Gooden) who was introduced as the “Pastor of Positivity.” He began with a new piece on the history of racism & on the re-interpretation of “nigger” (one of his favorite techniques is to take a familiar image or term & turn it inside-out), then a tribute to music, particularly that of Prince & of Michael Jackson. A piece beginning “Making magnificent metaphors…” was followed by “Not Just Another Love Poem” (love poems seem not to do well in Slams), & ended with one of his classic pieces with audience participation, splitting the word “Po - et” in which he tends to become more a “preacher” rather than a “pastor.”

It was a good evening of community poetry, in whatever style or genre you want to call it.

Nitty Gritty Slam, November 21

This was NG Slam #119 or #122, no one was quite sure; my notes from a NG Slam in May indicate that was #127. A cadre of the hard-core Slammers have been meeting lately in an effort to re-vitalize Albany’s competitive Slam with plans to go to the Nationals.  Tonight there was a short open mic list & an equally short Slam list here at The Low Beat on Central Ave.

Amani started us off with a long poem from 3 years ago about suicide awareness, & how to make our Heaven on Earth. I followed with an old poem set in the old Justin’s “Jim Morrison,” then a new poem to my daughter Anna “Waiting for Jacqueline Robinson.” Elizag read from her 2014 collection of poems Love Cohoes “What I Hate About Cats.” Liv read one of her social commentaries about the contradictions among the hip that she is so good at, one beginning “Dear Hipster Eatery…” Sean J. got the audience clapping with a short piece that he stumbled through.

There were 4 signed up for the Slam & some confusion, it seemed, as to how to run that through to the end (more on that later). Amani was the “sacrificial poet” to calibrate the judges & did a piece on urban gardening. Elizag scored a 10 with “First Date,” then D. Colin got 2 10s with a piece about her first period. Liv did “prodigal” from her chapbook, & Sean J.’s machine-gun delivery was appropriate for “Death by War.”

The scores weren’t announced but Round 2 consisted of all 4 back to read from the highest to the lowest — D. Colin, Elizag, Sean & Liv, who this time got 3 10s.

The Final Round began with Sean, then Liv, both with self-assertive pieces that seemed to be the theme du jour, with Liv getting 1 10, then D. Colin blew them away with a perfect score (there were 3 judges) with a political/personal piece “On the Pulse of Ancestors.”

Then just to extend the evening, D. Colin did a “Victory Lap” with 2 pieces, one on her name & the popular piece “Little Black Girls” jumping rope.

I’m glad that some folks are working to bring more organization & direction to the Slam scene here. As with all arts groups I think it is important that it not result in being perceived as a closed group, & that the flow of the night & scoring be spelled out for the audience, since hopefully there will be new people unfamiliar with Slam rules & practices showing up. I think that each round be an elimination round. Taking tonight’s rounds as example, after the first round of 4, the second round should consist of 3 performers, ending up with 2 going head to determine the winner. If there are more than 4 in the first round, the second round could go to 4 & the third (final) to 2. That’s enough poetry for anybody for one night.

Watch for notices about upcoming Slams on social media & the local poetry calendars, such as on AlbanyPoets.com. Anyway, I hope to get out to more of the Slam events in the coming year & help cheer on a local poet to the National Slam Championships.

Nitty Gritty Slam #127, May 16

On the third Tuesday of each month the Nitty Gritty Slam (which also takes place as an open mic only on the 1st Tuesday of the month at The Low Beat) holds a, well, Slam, hosted by Amani O+, aided & assisted by Alfonso Rodriquez. But there is also an open mic. That’s more my speed.

Amani opened up the night with a reading of “Black G.U.R.L. Fly” from her book Here We Are At The Gate: Book 1 of the Amani O+ Rebelutionary Series. I read a couple poems, “What Makes America Great #14” (from a series of true stories from the Trump Era), then an even newer poem “The Day God Invented Wine.”

Mz Tu also has a book out & read 2 poems from it, “Eaten Alive” (a lion & a gazelle) & one about conflict on the job “The Confederate Symbol.” L-Majesty’s piece, “Malacaust,” about the website Grindr. Ramon had 2 pieces, a personal one using images of prison, then a political poem on the Statue of Liberty.

One of the features of The Low Beat is Selena’s Kitchen, serving up plates of chicken, rice & beans & other dishes. Amani & Alphonso read the menu as a savory performance piece. Elizag gave us her “7 Reasons Why I Can’t Write 30 Poems in 30 Days.” Alfonso was back with a solo piece, “Better,” on the death of his mother. Poetik read about magic, “make room for the best things…” Aliya/Ay She Writes began with a short piece of self-affirmation with wings & broomsticks, then another on low self-esteem.

In between it all, DJ Trumstrand kept the room filled with sound. On to the Slam, with Olivia McKee serving as the “sacrificial”/practice poet for the 3 judges to score & ended up with a near-perfect 29.5.

There were only 4 poets signed up for the Slam: Mz Tu, Elizag, L-Majesty, & Mariah Barber, so all 4 did the first 2 rounds, Mariah scoring a perfect 30 in the first round. But after the 2nd round it was Mariah & L-Majesty to go head to head for the final round in a closely scored contest with Mariah taking 1st place, L-Majesty 2nd & Elizag announced as the 3rd place winner.

The Low Beat is at 335 Central Ave. The Nitty Gritty Slam is there on the 1st Tuesday for an open mic & the 3rd Tuesday for the Slam & an open mic, starts 7:00/7:30PM.

Albany WordFest, Tuesday, April 18

The 2nd night of WordFest was the annual Haiku Competition at Nitty Gritty Slam held at The Low Beat on Central Ave. Amani was our host here, as she is each month, setting us up with “poetry is revolutionary.” She did a did an up-beat, strangely new-age-y piece that she said was “from y’all to y’all” titled “Remember Who You Are.”  [Guest commentator, 3B at the bar, had these notes: "Spitting over some John Denver ambient.  Lot of words."]

There was, in addition to the Haiku Slam, an open mic, but I did as I usually do, just signed up for the Slam.

Mariah Barber was the first of the 3 open mic poets, started with a love-fantasy for a rap star, then a happy poem for the happy couples, & a poem for Michael Brown, from her book, Of Mics & Pens & Gods & Other College Courses (self-published thru Create Space, 2017).  [as 3B said, "I feel old; she won't be on Breitbart anytime soon."]

Liv McKee tried out an unedited piece about her family in New Jersey, “Heading South,” written today.

& last was Amanda Boyd with a couple of short pieces inspired by a word-of-the-day app, a poem on “Camber,” & one on “Gumption.”

[3B summed up the the  open mic: "A short & powerful open mic -- Wilcox's favorite words to explain himself."]

There are lots of ways of running a slam for Haiku but the most simple to my mind is to do head-to-head between 2 poets, which is what happened, with right-hand/left-hand scoring. Anyways, it was Amanda & me, then Liv & Mariah, then Liv & Amanda, then me & Mariah, & me & Amanda — there I was once again, as I was last year, the winner, but by only 1 vote, a tight fight. The usual Haiku topics of Nature, but others on women, even on war, & humor & poetry. It was fun & if you know me you know how much I like being with a bunch of women — it was most sweet.

The Nitty Gritty Slam continues each 1st & 3rd Tuesdays at The Low Beat, always an open mic & sometimes a Slam as well. Check the schedule at AlbanyPoets.com. More WordFest each night this week.

Nitty Gritty Slam, January 3

This was the 1st poetry event of the year for me & it was a great omen that it was a packed house with great words from near & far. Amani & Jayton served as hosts for the open mic; the Slam is held on the 3rd Tuesday. There was also food being served & game tables set up, even a confused guy in a plaid shirt & rain jacket who wandered in looking for comedy night. Amani set the tone with a reading of the poem “Ode to Existence” by former Albany poet Daniel Summerhill.

Avery was the first up with a performance of his piece based on the Heart Sutra, “What is that Subtle Background Hum?” On a slightly different sound, I read the latest version of “When Donald Trump Farts.” Ainsley performed from her smart phone the anaphoric “Live is like…”

Poetik, who was running one of the gaming tables, read an instructional (& self-affirmation) piece “To the Next Person Who Will Be the Love of My Life.” Apparently Elizag had gotten a traffic ticket because her piece was “To the Philmont Traffic Court.” D. Colin read 2 poems for Haiti’s Independence Day (January 1), “Souvenir” from her book Dreaming in Kreyol (Empress Bohemia Press, 2015), & a piece beginning “We Are Beyond This…,” both celebrating Haiti’s history & culture.

“Slim” said this was her first time reading & read a 3-part poem on the different stages of a relationship. Gabriel said he had no poems but did a short stand-up with jokes & stories about Xmas with his family.  Jayton, with Amani as back-up singer, did a free-style on audience-provided words “chocolate” & “magic.” Poetess did a dual piece dedicated to her parents. Amanda B. read 2 love poems, the first titled “In Dreams,” the second an early, untitled piece not read out before.

Ronnie was visiting from San Diego & performed a couple of slam pieces, “Daddy Issues” & “Identity.” Sakea was with Ronnie & also did pieces from memory, one that posed the question “I am Afra-Latina…what are you?” the other addressed to guys who hit on her, telling them “my face is not an invitation…” Sweetz read from her phone what she called an “old, untitled, romantic” piece.

It is great to see that Amani & Jayton are not only keeping the Nitty Gritty Slam going, but drawing in a good, diverse audience. It’s at The Low Beat on Central Ave., Albany, NY, 7:30PM each 1st & 3rd Tuesday — catch it.

WordFest 2016 — Invitational Slam, April 23

The last night of the 2016 Albany WordFest was an invitational Slam at the Albany Social Justice Center. 3 hot teams competed: 315 (Syracuse), Rock Bottom (Rochester) & Nitty Gritty Slam (Albany). The place was packed & pumped. Jayton London was the host with a somewhat scattered traditional “what is Slam” intro, leaving out the 3-minute rule, & some of the fine points of scoring. No matter, the high energy kept it going with corrections made on the way.

Elizag

The “sacrificial poet,” which is a practice round for the judges, was from Rock Bottom & scored a 27 — a bad sign creating a very small window to the perfect 30. Confusion continued with the very first performer with the scorekeeper not dropping the high & low scores of the 5 given. This was quickly corrected by the experienced Slammers in the house & the appointment of an assistant scorer. The tiny window of score was bracketed by 8.5s that got booed & the 10 that got cheered (even when they got tossed as the low or high).

Symphony

Of course, this being Slam, there was the usual spit, anger, histrionics & over-acting — & speaking too fast. Nitty Gritty Team’s Amani had an eco-piece on Earth Day & Mother Nature. The 315 Team’s “The Confused Poet” did a quieter piece about a fantasy girl. Nitty Gritty’s Elizag confronted the current election rhetoric with “Donald Trump’s Registry,” making the point that we are all Jews or Muslims.

Daniel Summerhill

In the Final Round 315’s Symphony actually read a poem, “My pen bleeds for me…” Also in that round Nitty Gritty’s Daniel Summerhill knocked us out with his sensitive & inspiring poem to a nephew with autism, “Ode to Elijah,” scoring a perfect 30.

So when all the scores & rounds were tallied, it was Nitty Gritty #1, 315 second, & Rock Bottom in third. There was actually another, open Slam to follow, but this tired soul had to leave. It was a high-energy end to the 2016 WordFest — but, as we like to say here, “In Albany, Every Day is WordFest — I mean, Poetry Month.”

Come back often to this website & read more stories about what goes on in my world of poetry.

WordFest 2016 — Haiku Battle, April 19

A WordFest tradition for the last 4 or 5 years, this was held as part of the regular twice-a-month Nitty Gritty Slam at The Low Beat. As I settled at the bar next to Kevin Peterson, who ended up as the referee of the battle, I was eager to take on as many Haiku-ists who might show up. Amani O+, our host for the night, had 3 judges lined up & she was ready to go.

Brian Dorn sidled up to the bar, like how they do it in the cowboy movies — or is it in the Samauri movies? — not sure what the proper metaphor would be for a Haiku battle. But that was it. It was gonna be a head-to-head shoot out at The Low Beat Corral — or a sword fight on the slopes of Mt. Fuji — whatever.

Amani as the Nitty Gritty Slam host did her own recently written Haiku to get us started, then our referee Kevin Peterson read one of his Haiku. Kim Dreizehn, our faithful bartender, surprised us with a “Justin's Haiku” (the now-defunct bar where the Slam Battle was held last year).

Then Brian & I took our spots at opposite ends of the stage. Brian’s Haiku frequently referenced other poets, other venues, while I tried to mix mine up with Buddhist Haiku, poetry Haiku, sex & love. We traded rounds through about 7, until Kevin called a final, deciding round.

When the dust settled, the swords sheathed, the sweat wiped from our brows, I was the winner, Brian a formidable opponent. A night of words & fun -- & no blood.

The Nitty Gritty Slam (not the Haiku Battle) takes place each 1st & 3rd Tuesday at The Low Beat, a Slam & an open mic for anyone, about 7:30PM — get there early & get in cheap.

Nitty Gritty Slam #112, February 16

I hadn’t been to the Nitty Gritty Slam since last year, well November 2015 to be accurate. Tonight there was a new crew in charge, Amani hosted the open mic & Jayton Landon was host of the Slam. As often happened in the past most of the folks in the Slam also participated in the open mic.

Amani was just back from a trip to Cuba (!), read a new poem “Embargo” then a beach poem, but almost overwhelmed by a noisy bar. Ian Macks read next, a couple poems about living in Troy & commuting to work on the bus. Ainsley read Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gently into that Good Night” for her grandfather who had passed on Valentine’s Day. I followed with the new-ish “Joe the Bartender.”

Due to the small crowd & only 3 Slam participants there were only 3 judges. Amani served as the “sacrificial poet.” The 3 contestants were Ainsley, Ian Macks & the late-arriving Poetyc Visionz. Again, due to the limited field there were 3 rounds with all 3 poets in each, with the cumulative score establishing the winner. There were no white-boards, 4x6 cards, or any of the usual accoutrements of a Slam. The host would simply ask each judge for their score & a sister at the bar would tally them. There also didn’t seem to be a time-keeper, but I could be wrong about that, since Jayton commented to Ian after one of his poems that he “had 3-minutes” that he didn’t have to cut it short. But it was just that his poem ended when it ended; to his credit Ian didn’t just go on & on, as many Slammers do, trying to fill the 3-minute time limit.

Jayton, Ainsley, Ian & P.V.

P.V. was clearly the winner with 2 of his pieces getting perfect 30s. But both Ainsley, who came in #2 & Ian at #3, got respectable scores in the mid to high 20s, boldly trying out some real poetry. Ian actually read some notebook ponderings that got him a 28.

After it was over a visiting poet from Philadelphia, Anthony, was brought up, who did some pretty conventional hip-hop rhymes with all the ole rap clichés thrown in.

It was pretty clear that the Nitty Gritty Slam is devolving, even to the point that during the usually stylized Slam introduction the 3-minute time limit was not mentioned, nor could anyone remember Marc Smith’s last name. At the end it was announced that the Nitty Gritty Slam would now be an open mic only on the 1st Tuesday of each month & a Slam on the 3rd Tuesday. But still at The Low Beat, 335 Central Ave., Albany, NY, 7:30PM, $5.00.

Nitty Gritty Slam #104, November 3

Amani

I hadn’t been to the Nitty Gritty Slam here at The Low Beat since #100 & in the meantime there had been a regime change with Amani & Poetyc Visionz apparently taking over the management, bringing their own style to the event. Amani served as host & started us off with a couple of her pieces, including a sexy piece about her mystery man.

The open mic started with Olivia who read a long, rambling, stream-of-conciousness piece that she said was written yesterday, about the Skidmore College students were hit by a car over the weekend (Olivia is a student there). She was the first of many women poets in the open mic, greatly out-numbering the guys. Rashanda (I’m guessing at the spelling) said that she too was a Skidmore student & began a long, long set, like about 20 minutes, as if she were a featured poet, mostly personal therapy rants that all sounded pretty much alike. Tim Verhaegen was more judicious with his time, just 2 modest pieces about, of course, his family.

Jazz

Jazz introduced herself as a homeless youth activist & did 2 pieces about her own experiences being homeless in New York City. Amanda did the first real poems of the night, the descriptive narrative of “Possession” & “Him.” Poetyc Visionz followed with his piece on dark & light with the message to be yourself. Jacky’s first piece was the “lighter” of the 2, “Swipe Right” about an encounter in a bar in Austin, then a moving memoir of growing up in Colombia County “We Were Poor.” K.P. said he had a couple of seasonal poems, a haiku by a friend, then “On the Weather, or Winter is Coming” which was actually about complaining. Salina ended the open mic with more real poems, on tenderness, love, sex & about the power of women in the “Game” of sex.

Rare shot (by Amani) of me doing Slam

There were just 4 poets signed up for the Slam, Amani, P.V., Tim Verhaegen & me, but first Jazz served as calibrating/sacrificial poet with the “Game of Love” for a score of 26. Since there were only 4 of us we went “head-to-head,” first Amani (her signature piece “Amandita…”) then me with “The Pussy Pantoum.” Amani gracefully conceded her spot, in spite of all her 10s, since she was the host, giving me the round. Then P.V. with his technology poem & Tim Verhaegen with “Pussy” (!), somehow technology beat “Pussy” — never so with me. That left me & P.V. This time he went with an audience participation piece (rare in Slam) & I got a respectable 24.5 for “Going Postal.” But it was P.V. in 1st place, me in 2nd, & Tim somewhere in 3rd, & after giving Tim a chance to do “Letters.”

The Nitty Gritty Slam is held on the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays of each month at The Low Beat on Central Ave. in Albany, NY, about 7:30PM, $5.00 (cheaper with student I.D.), with an open mic for the non-competitive sort.

Nitty Gritty Slam #100, August 18

Nitty Gritty Slam is 100! Albany’s longest running Slam venue, & tonight was the Night of Champions where last year’s champion gets to defend his (metaphoric) belt against a roomful of this past year’s Slam winners, including members of the Nitty Gritty Slam Team just back from the national competition in Oakland, CA. Of course Reality is always a shade different than the PR. I was sitting at the bar of The Low Beat to observe it all.

el presidente of AlbanyPoets was off on a (well-deserved) vacation, so his help arrived late while the rest of us were wondering who was going to come up with a sign-up sheet, who was going to take over. Fortunately, Kevin Peterson arrived soon after, found an official sign-up sheet & hosted the open mic.

Ainsley, a regular here, was first up with a stirring piece about gender confusion at age 7, with her line about checking out another’s pants becoming a riff. I followed with an old, seasonal piece the “Altamont Fair Poem.” L-Majesty’s urban rhapsody, “Green Street Blues,” was a bit of imagined memory, new to me. Poetyc Visionz began with an informal discussion of impressions of his & the Team’s time in Oakland, then on to a heavily alliterative performance piece.

Speaking of performance, one of Albany’s most compelling spoken word performers, The Poet Essence, made a rare, & welcome, appearance, with a crafted poem about “45 Movie Titles” (really).

Kevin, who was the defending champion, was a bit perplexed about how this would work, particularly how he could be the host & defend his belt (the actual belt is/has been in South Carolina with a former champ for a couple years now) by competing. He introduced the Slam competitors, Poetyc Visionz, L-Majesty, Eliza, then Amani as the sacrificial poet, who took over as Slam-master, freeing up Kevin to compete. There were only 3 judges, just enough. The scoring was a bit hard to hear & follow at the bar, what with the playing of background music between each performer, but perhaps one wonders if that was intentional, &, besides, no need for me to know the scores.

What with only 4 Slammers, Round 2 was the same as Round 1, just in a different order. Eliza distinguished herself in both Rounds with Slam pieces which were pretty much real poems as well, both having to do with lovers, the first using the ocean & the second your heart/my heart as central images.

The Final round brought Poetyc Visionz & Kevin Peterson head-to-head, with P.V.’s more traditional Slam piece on the number 7 taking the belt from K.P., though his piece about his Dad, “Gravedigger,” was moving poetry.  I never did find out who was in 3rd (or for that matter, 4th) place.

In the photo, from left to right, P.V., L-Majesty & Kevin Peterson in back, Eliza & Amani in front.

& so the Nitty Gritty Slam moves on into the next century — each 1st & 3rd Tuesday at The Low Beat on Central Ave., just a door down from Quail St., supposedly at 7:30PM.

Nitty Gritty Slam #98, July 21

“Prepping for Nationals” Albany’s team was out in force. But first the open mic for the rest of us, with team member Amani as our host, who began with a poem of her own about violence in America being as ubiquitous as spaghetti.

Elizag (team member) delivered a lecture on “The Poetry of Profanity.” L-Majesty followed with a description of his “Nicotine Dreams.” I read a poem/memoir of a trip cross-country in 1969 & a visit to a strip club in San Bernadino “Summer in California.” Samson Dikeman did OPP (other people’s poetry) by reading Ron Padgett’s long list poem “How to Be Perfect.”

Team member Daniel Summerhill read a poem, “Kasai’s Keeper” from his new chapbook of poems Brown Boys on Stoops (2 Pens & Lint, 2015). A new voice with the handle “Honesty” was next & recited a stylized Slam monologue in a faux Southern accent straight out of a Dixie cup. Poetyc Visionz (another team member) performed “Confessions of a Good Man.” D. L. Luke struggled through an attempt to read a Robert Service poem from The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry (?!). Jacky K. was much more “modern” reading her own poem “70 Nouns About the Kitchen, or Why I Eat Alone Now.” K.P. (a former Slam team member) did a short zinger titled "ASL" (i.e., American Sign Language). A visiting poet from North Carolina, Roddick, read a friend’s poem. The open mic ended with an improvisation titled “I Know That You Exist” by the poet signed up as Mary P.

It was all Nitty Gritty Slam Team all-night, with all members of the team competing, prepping for the Nationals, even the Team doing a group piece as the “sacrificial poet”/calibration of the judges before the first round.

Round 1 included Daniel (on Emmett Till), Jimmy (silly rhymes), Ainsley (“Dukes of Hazard”), Steven R. (“new shit”), Elizag saying "motherfucker," Andrew K. (a piece set in the Bronx), Amani (with 2 10s on the singing of the National Anthem), L-Majesty (his imaginary friends) & Poetyc Visionz (on the number 7).

Round 2 found Poetyc Visionz, L-Majesty, Amani & Elizag left stanfing, with another group piece (Elizag’s “Dear Young People”) thrown in as an extra.

Round 3 had Amani & Elizag going head-to-head, with Amani’s piece on her growing up beating out Elizag’s working class quiz, & Poetyc Visionz ending up in the 3rd place.

Lots of practice for the Team for the upcoming Slam Nationals in Oakland, CA in August — good luck Albany poets! The Nitty Gritty Slam, with an open mic for the rest of us, takes place at The Low Beat on Central Ave., Albany, NY, on the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays of the month — check AlbanyPoets.com for information.

Poets Speak Loud!, June 29

With our usual host, Mary Panza, on the beach, & Thom Francis (il papa) home with his daughter, I was called upon to be the guest host for this monthly open mic, & to present tonight’s featured poet(s), the 2015 Nitty Gritty Slam Team. It was quite a full house with not only candidates for the open mic but a number of folks here just to listen (& enjoy the good food & drinks). Our server tonight was the terribly young & wonderfully pretty & efficient Chelsea.

Sylvia Barnard led us off with a poem to her daughter “Siobhan in Washington Park Age 16” then a piece she described as an “anti-4th-of-July poem.” Adam Tedesco described his first poem “White Mountain Ranges” as a “trans-contemporation,” then read “Clouds” based Diane DiPrima’s Revolutionary Letters. Jessica Rae (who will be the featured poet at Poets Speak Loud! in July!) read an older poem “North & South of the Border,” followed by her song, an eco-poem written as a song, that she read rather than sang, “Bomb Trains.”

Robb Smith comes to more readings than he reads at, but tonight read an excerpt from a longer prose piece, this part of a forth-coming memoir that included Brancusi’s “Endless Column,” Wilhelm Reich, & Dylan Thomas. Joe Krausman found in his archives a couple of poems with drawings on the page, “Life is a Movie,” & “Counterpoint.” Steve Minchin read about writing (or not writing) poems, “Watching No Love Poems,” then what he described as an untitled, old piece. Julie Lomoe, was selling her brand-new novel, a soap-opera vampire thriller Hope Springs Eternal, & read a dialogue poem “Me & My Shadow.”

The Nitty Gritty Slam Team, tonight’s collective featured poets, did a mix of individual pieces & group pieces, giving the audience a representative taste of what they will be bringing to the National Slam competition in Oakland, CA in August. Amani was the first up with an angry poem considering “rats” in various forms, dedicated to “activists who find themselves weary at times.” Daniel Summerhill read from his new chapbook Brown Boys on Stoops a poem for his grandfather “Folk Tales” (unfortunately he didn’t have any copies with him to sell, but you can order it here). Elizag followed with a poem about her mother & choices “Coin Toss.” Poetyc Visionz likes to do performance pieces using numbers as the trope, this one numbering clouds & dreams & about taking care of yourself.

The team (P.V., Elizag & Daniel) tried out a group piece that is still in draft, about how we lump people together on appearances but how different we are inside, unseen. Amani did an individual a piece I’ve heard a couple times (don’t know if it has a title) dedicated to her grandmother, about her roots & food & color. Daniel also did a piece I’ve heard before, “Ode to Elijah,” a nephew with autism, playing on different meanings of “fighting.” Elizag & Amani then practiced a Elizag’s funny piece “Dear Young People” with the young guys chiming in. Then Poetyc Visionz was back with his piece bouncing off the number 7.

It was good to hear those folk in a non-competitive setting, where for some reason their poems while retaining the energy & confrontation of Slam also seemed to speak more from the heart. Go to AlbanyPoets.com to find out how to support the Nitty Gritty Slam Team’s trip to the Slam Nationals.

Being the host for tonight I invoked the droit de seigneur & read next, appropriately (or in-appropriately) enough, my “Slam Poem.” Sally Rhoades read her moving poem to her father “The Sky is My Witness,” then a poem from 2008 “Roadside Poppies.”

A new face & voice, Carrie Czwahiel, had arrived early & was patiently waiting to read a defiant memoir about being a preacher’s daughter, then a profile rant for a dating site, stating how it is. Karen Fabiane read a couple poems from her 2nd chapbook Seeing You Again (Grey Book Press, 2014), the outrageous “I Fucked St. Joan,” & the title poem from the chapbook.

Annie Sauter read a long piece (but in big print), a memoir, Beat narrative set in the mid-Hudson region, tossing pages on the floor as they were done, “He Sent Her A Thank-You Text.” Jesse Hilson was another new voice here, began with a series of advice aphorisms for absurdist situations, then a strange piece from his college days, from porn to iconoclasm “The Fugitive Completeness.” Ed Yetto was our last reader, just bringing along his journal, the first piece an untitled “something,” then an equally untitled, unedited notebook ramble just written — it’s an open mic, you read anything!

Poets Speak Loud! happens the last Monday of the month at McGeary’s, an open mic with a featured poet, starting thereabouts 7:30PM. Always good food, refreshing drinks, great service (thank you Chelsea!) — & poetry! Where have you been?

Nitty Gritty Slam #94, May 19

Tonight was the “Grand Slam” featuring 8 poets who had competed all season, with the winners to go to represent Albany at the National Poetry Slam in Oakland, CA later this year. But first there was an open mic for all the rest of us, with Kevin Peterson as host (& with his supportive Mom in the audience).

I had gotten there on time which means early so I was signed up 1st on the list & read my telephone conversation poem, “Garrison Keillor.” Eliza Ryan made the trip over from Western Mass. to do a Slam-style list poem, on 3 things her mother taught her that she could forget/3 others she doesn’t want to forget.

The virgin Joe Stamp took the stage next with a bizarre litany of seemingly random questions in silly half rhymes. More experienced Ainsley read a poem contemplating a 3-some with her boyfriend’s roommate. Avery did a poem from memory written for a friend’s wedding this weekend “When You Find Someone.” Jacky read her poem from her phone, addressed to her Mom, about being born to be a slut. The performer known as “Midnight” drove over from Connecticut & did a Slam-style piece ending in shouting.

Salina was more gentle, telling a lover to “Leave Your Words” (at the door). Acosio, after some discussion with Kevin about the spelling of his name, & a leisurely adjustment of the mic finally got to his extended metaphor “Girl on a Swing.” Arthur had missed his slot earlier when he went out, but came back & Kevin let him read, which was a “pain/rain” broken heart poem.

The Slam had been announced & advertised as being just the 8 top scorers of the season, not an open Slam, so I thought it was bad form to allow some of those same performers to read in the open mic as well. Although, Samson did redeem himself with a lengthy (too long for a Slam), hilarious piece that was a history of the wrestling champions, a string of in-jokes for the wrestling fans in the audience.

So let the Grand Slam begin, with Thom Francis, el presidente, as ring-master. The “sacrificial poet” used to calibrate the judges was the aforementioned “Midnight” with a comedy routine on racism titled “An Open Letter to Aliens Who Want to Visit Planet Earth.”

The first round consisted of Amani, D. Colin (with a funny piece about her hair -- it is marvelous), Daniel Summerhill, Elizag, K.P. (with a piece he read from paper that was a real poem, about what’s it all about), L-Majesty (his fine piece beginning with imaginary friends, about believing in yourself), Poetyc Visionz, & Samson (a funny piece about ISIS recruiting white suburban teenagers). Out of that pack came the contenders in Round 2.

Perhaps it’s a function of the competition, but another poet pointed out later that although she hadn’t been to the Nitty Gritty Slam for a while she heard mostly work she had heard these poets do before.  In the 2nd round, Poetyc Visionz was first with another of his “numbers” pieces, then Elizag followed with her piece on white privilege, then Daniel Summerhill on what is an artist in this racist society, & Amani (her work typically piles up image after image & would be more compelling except that she recites it way too fast, & seems to filling up the 3-minute limit).

Thom Francis presents the 2015 Nitty Gritty Slam Team

When the dust cleared, it was Amani & Daniel toe-to-toe for the final round, & Amani won the hearts of the judges with a (too fast again) piece on how beautiful she is (true), over Daniel’s moving/inspiring piece about a nephew with autism; Elizag finished in 3rd with Poetyc Visionz 4th — & that’s the 2015 Nitty Gritty Slam team to compete at the Nationals. Support the team by coming out to Slam events & wherever else they perform, &/or donations to the team through albanypoets.com — & find them on Twitter & FaceBook.

The poetry continues at the Nitty Gritty Slam & open mic at The Low Beat, 335 Central Ave., Albany, NY each 1st & 3rd Tuesday, 7:30PM (or later), $5.00.

Albany WordFest - Slam Invitational, April 18

The concluding event of WordFest 2015 was the Slam Invitational held at the Steamer 10 Theater, Albany, NY. There were 7 — count ‘em 7! — teams from New York & Massachusetts, including Albany’s own Nitty Gritty Slam Team that hosted the event. Thom Francis, el presidente of AlbanyPoets & the Nitty Gritty Slam manager (I guess) served as host/MC, which was no easy job with this boisterous audience.

Pilot Light Poets

The “teams” performed as individuals or as duos, but the individual performers were not introduced or named, identified only by the Team names, which were Pilot Light Poets (Pittsfield), Pure Ink (Buffalo), Nickel City (Buffalo), Roc Bottom Slam Team (Rochester), Rhyme for Reason (Syracuse), Underground Poetry Spot (Syracuse), & the aforementioned Nitty Gritty Slam Team (Albany). There were 4 rounds, no eliminations, the order of performance after the first round varied by the scores (I think).

Pure Ink

The first round almost drove me out, what with all the ole Slam clichés manifesting themselves so early on. Lots of loud, preachy pieces banging you over the head with their message for a full 3 minutes, often recited way too fast — as well as plenty of "poetry therapy" — sometimes all in the same piece. K.P. (from the Albany Team) shouted a piece on lucid dreaming which made me wonder, what would this poem sound like if read/recited in a normal, indoor voice?  Then I had that same thought about some other pieces in the following rounds.

Roc Bottom

In round 2, I began to have some hope for real poetry with the Nickel City poet’s piece on “fat kids” & body image when he started off in a quiet voice, but he soon went into his Slam voice & it became just another Slam performance. & the preaching & shouting continued with the other teams — I get it, racism & discrimination (for any reason is bad), so was Columbus & the genocide of native peoples. But I was cheered by the originality of a piece the Pilot Lights Poets entry did based on the Mario Brothers video game.

Nickel City

Round 3, after a break, began with a bad sign, the “sacrificial poet” used to calibrate the judges was Elizag who did a familiar piece on white privilege (that’s not the bad part), the bad part was that she got all “mother-fucking-10s” from the 5 judges. & the night went on from there. If there was an award for cramming all the Slam hot-button clichés into 1 piece (into a love poem, ostensibly, at that), it would go to Amani from the Albany Team, who also got all 10s (maybe that is the award). But the Underground Poetry Spot duo’s love poem was a welcome relief, as was, almost, the Nickel City poet’s poem for her daughter, if it hadn’t been delivered in unrelenting pressured speech. The moving piece titled “Open Letter to a Priest” from Pilot Light Poets, that I had heard in an open mic a while back, was delivered in a welcomed more modulated performance, but suffered from a time penalty.

Underground Poetry Spot

The 4th round predictably was full of 10s, but unfortunately their ubiquity negated their significance, judges had lost their ability to judge — maybe they were as exhausted as the rest of us? While the shouting continued, with some manic jerking around the stage, & a good piece that unfortunately didn’t stop when it was over (from the Nitty Gritty team), there was a thoughtful piece from Roc Bottom on the distractions of drugs & video games in the 'hood, & another, a powerful feminist statement (that got all 10s) “A Poem for a Co-Worker I Should’ve Hit with My Car” by the Rhyme for a Reason poet.

Nitty Gritty Slam Team

So when all the scoring was tabulated & the numbers crunched the winner was Pure Ink, with Roc Bottom in 2nd & Nickel City in 3rd place. I have no idea how I would have scored this, though I have my own particular top-of-the-heap poems, of which there were few amidst the many spit & attitude — & preachy — performances. At least here, unlike at some Slam invitationals I’ve heard of, the home team did not stack the judges & the results, & the visitors got treated fairly & with respect. I guess what I want to say is that “Slam” would be a lot more fun if it weren’t so god-damned competitive, & formulaic.

Rhyme for Reason

& so, with a big sigh of relief, but also a bit of a sad sense of it-is-over-for-another-year, I bid a bourbon farewell to Albany WordFest 2015. What can we say to Thom Francis & AlbanyPoets, & all the participants in this week-long event that can express how fantastic this experience was? The best tribute I can pay to WordFest is to draw a straight line through history from The Readings Against the End of the World organized by Tom Nattell from 1984 to 1993 to this annual event. If the World does not know that Albany is Poetry City by now, it must be smoking all that “free weed” that Tom promised.

So, if the academic poets & right-wing word-haters don’t take over & turn paper into smoke (as Uncle Wiggly once said, I think), we will continue on — writing poems, going to open mics, organizing readings & arts events & we will see you next year for WordFest 2016 — deo volente.