IWPS Wrap-Up

First and foremost (and I'm sure I'm being repetitive), this was the most tightly run Poetry Slam Event I've frequented (in which I've attended every one of them since IWPS 2005). The proximity of the venues, the attention to detail by the staff, I just can't give Ekabhumi and his crew enough credit. Doesn't mean it was perfect, but above any criticism I could honestly muster.



So a brief recap from the first night (I'll have more slam nerdery listed below): I had a total rank of "5" after day one and stood in 11th place overall going into day two. I pulled a total of a "3" on day two giving me a total rank of "8". This would be put in 5th place overall, the top 12 making Finals. Wow. You know, it was a goal of mine to make Finals, but I always envisioned myself sliding in somehow, not stomping into it. But all my poems went over really well in pre-lims and I made it in with a nice cushion. Even more special for me was the fact that Mr. Ed Mabrey made Finals too.



My history with Ed is well documented, so it felt 'right' for both of us to make Finals together. It took me a while to make an impression upon the poetry world without Ed's involvement (not his fault, just the natural way these things happen), so for us both to make the stage felt really good.

It was good having Ethan there representing Writing Wrongs too.



At first we both groaned when we found out we had BOTH of our Prelim bouts together. But it was a blessing for me to be able to see him perform all of his pieces at his first IWPS, even if we were competing against each other. I'm sure he would've like to place better, but in all honesty, it probably happened the way it should've. The first night was rough on him, but an eye opening moment, the second I saw more confidence and a better stage presence from him. A good overall experience for him and I look forward to seeing what it brings out of him.

Lastly, before the specifics of how I got to Finals, the Individual World Poetry Slam Champion Amy Everhart was pretty outstanding.



Many have said that this was the best Finals stage for IWPS. I dunno how true that is, but I was happy to be included. Many of the poets that made Finals I truly admired, so it was awesome to be amongst them. A great night overall.

Some fun facts:
As many have now figured out, Amy was the first woman ever to win IWPS.
But also, with Iyeoka finishing second, this was the first time since the first IWPS that two women made the final pairing.
In total (if my history is accurate), that still only brings the number of women to make the final four to 5 (Rachel McKibbens and Andrea Gibson twice, Celena Glenn and now Iyeoka and Amy).
Last item on gender would be that Finals was even split: 6 men and 6 women.
Another item: Denver is doing the damn thing. Including Ayinde Russell as the SAC, four poets from Denver graced the final stage. They did send 7, but still, that's a nice pull.
Another close to even split: Five vets (Khary Jackson, Tara Hardy, Original Woman, Ed, Alvin Lau, ) and 7 newbies to IWPS Finals (Amy, Iyeoka, Sierra DeMulder, Rudy Francisco, Kim Johnson, Theo Wilson & myself).

All in all I had a great time and this was easily one of the best poetic experiences I've had thus far. (Slam Nerdery in the next post)

Day 1 at IWPS...

...was kind of badass. Fun stuff. Leah and I spent all day on a plane (our flight left at 6am EST), so to say we were fatigued by nights end was an understatement. First impressions, Berkeley is slightly awesome. Just north of stupendous. I love the environment, the community feel within the venues. I know the Bay Area has been touting how hard they've been working on IWPS and it shows, tremendously.

People have said it already, but I'll reiterate: women are running this IWPS. After day one, I think they are 4 of the top 5 and 7 of the top 12. The only qualifier I'll give is that more specifically, the western United States women are running IWPS. I'm pretty sure Iyeoka is the only woman east of the Mississippi in the top rankings (there's only 4 of us total with that regional differential in the top 12). Maybe that's a coincidence, maybe that's part of the growing discussion of just how regionally competitive the national events have gotten depending on where its held, but either way, they're bringing it and bringing it with fury.

Personally, I started off the day by doing the Masquerade Slam (hosted and created by Christian Drake). All persona poems and a really fun event. I did '21 Shots for Jesse Jackson from Huey P Newton'. I didn't realize they were scoring it (in the most loose and fun way possible) till I got there, but I ended up finishing 2nd in the slam to Sean Walker's amazing Tree persona piece. Great stuff.

I had a late bout and pulled the 1 spot in the rotation. Great. But I was lucky enough to 1) be in the late bout and 2) have this be the year that they switched the order of putting the 4 minute round first, then the 1 minute round. So, even though I was leading off, I could lead off with a stronger piece. I ended up with a 4 rank for my 4 minute, and a 1 for my 1 minute round giving me a total rank of 5. Puts me in 11th place heading into tonight. Ugh. I'd like more cushion. I would probably feel more comfortable knowing I had to climb to get in, cuz trying to hold serve ain't really my steez. Friday is always moving day at IWPS, things never end up the status quo, so I'm going to perform like I'm on the outside looking in.

Got a tough bout tonight, but I'm set up well (my reward for going first last night is going last in the first round today), so we'll see.

In the mean time, I'm cruising Berkeley with my wife, will stop in and see some workshops and the Poet CD showcase, then get myself ready to perform tonight.

The road to IWPS...

...has been long and winding since I last was there. Which would've been 2006, in Vancouver, BC. That was my first IWPS (though I watched the 05 wips in Charlotte for my first national poetry slam event) and I didn't know what I was doing. Not even a little bit. I had exactly 2 1/2 poems at most, but still managed to come in 22nd. I was cool with it. Got to watch one of my boys make finals (Baz), my other boy actually win the damn thing (Ed), so it was a really good time to me. When Ed won the bid to bring IWPS to Columbus, I was amped. Like Crank type shit. I mean, how often do you get to compete for a National event in your own backyard. So I was dedicated to working my poems and giving myself a legit shot to make Finals, especially since it would be in my hometown. Then Ed moved to Arizona. And the bid fell apart. Then I started Writing Wrongs and wanted to focus on growing my scene over competing during the winter. In the words of Tyler Durden, "I suppose these things happen."

So I set my self up to make a run at this year. Berkeley sounded like a great place to jump back into the fray since I've never performed out west before (besides Vancouver). I'm still trying to grow my local scene, so I didn't want to compete in the preliminary slams as to not take a spot away from somebody else. I've been working pretty hard on my craft for the last few years and I feel...adequate going into Berkeley. Of course, the first night all ways kills more dreams then it births, but I'll blow up that bridge when I get to it. Wish me luck...I'll keep you updated as the nights progress.