LAST WEEK: Ya missed some hella good times if you weren't around, people. TAMARA BLUE took the sock puppet slam to a whole new level with her special sock friend Malcolm Martin Shakur X, and revolutionized the slam! BLAKE got his emo on! and JACKIE TOHN got down and dirty with the tunage!
THIS WEEK: They are the very definition of touring poets--together they are Cubicle Workers Unite. Individually, here's who's coming through--
Big Poppa E is a spoken word artist and three-time HBO Def Poet who melds rhythmic verse, stand-up comedy, and dramatic monologue into a crowd-pleasing display of verbal fireworks fueled by the energy of hip-hop, punk rock, and Emo. His hilarious skewering of pop culture and painfully beautiful explorations of relationships have led to appearances on BET, NPR, and CBS's 60 Minutes and have made him one of the most recognized names in the National Poetry Slam community.Big Poppa E is based in Austin, TX, and tours the country performing his work in universities, high schools, coffeehouses, bars, and art spaces. BPE dedicates all his live performances to every kid in America who's ever slammed poetry or competed in a speech tournament using poetry or simply written their own words down in a tattered notebook for only themselves to see.For more info visit http://www.brokenword.org/
Erin Livingston holds bare the world as she sees it through eyes that never close and a heart that doesn't know when to shut up. A passionate optimist & budding feminist Erin's performance examines The Big Issues propelling audiences though forceful character driven storytelling set in gut wrenching & hilariously impossible everyday situations.Erin is a two time Austin Ego's Slam team finalist in as many years on the scene. Her fresh voice and unapologetic presence make for dynamic & unpredictable performances as she continues to grow as a writer, performer, and believer in leaving things better than she found them.
And they'll be rocking the Palmer stage! As will you, open mic fiends! SUPPORT TOURING POETS, y'all, and come out this Monday...!
See you at the Palmer,
Rob, Jedi, and Joshua.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
JACKIE TOHN features, ECP returns!!!
LAST WEEK: The incomparable MAHOGANY BROWNE was in the house, direct from New York and filling the room with love and damned fine verse...!
THIS WEEK: That's right--it's the return of Extreme Championship Poetry to the Palmer Stage, and we had to kick off the new season right. Here's how it's gonna break down:
A) SOCK PUPPET SLAM! Yeah, you may be bad-ass with the words and the performance, but how bad-ass can you be WITH A SOCK ON YOUR HAND??? Confirmed thus far for the special laundry-related lightning round invitational: SIMPLY KAT, TSHAKA, JUDY HOLIDAY, SAM SKOW, and TAMARA BLUE! It's gonna be sock-tastic!!!
B) THE 1ST ANNUAL EMO-OFF! We have been known to have some sensitive boys wax poetic on the Palmer stage from time to time--now it's time to make two of the most sensitive cry--battle-style! It's long time screamo-emo poster boy BLAKE versus young and hungry caring nurturer ERIC MORAGO to see who's most likely to just wanna cuddle! And their third round of their battle will consist of a brand new poem--we'll give them the prompt for it 24 hours in advance! Yes, we are that mean. Root for your favorite word wuss!!!
And C, but certainly not D) JACKIE TOHN returns to the Palmer stage! She's been whooping it up on stages in the Big Apple and popping up here and there on the television and in the films (including the upcoming POSTAL, videogame heads), now she's back to bring the funky folk that we love more than $2 drafts! Check out her webpage (jackietohn.com) or her MySpace by the same monicker, but more importantly, get thee to Green this Monday and check out Jackie live! She is fun and fabulous and can beat you at arm wrestling and make you like it!!! TOHN AT GREEN! TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!!
And yes, true believers, we will be open on Labor Day, and we will be featuring one of slam's most dynamic performers, BIG POPPA E! Don't miss a millisecond!
See you at the Palmer,
Rob, Jedi, and Joshua.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
So the National Poetry Slam has come and gone, and we've given you all some time to cool off from all of that poeticizing and lyricism...unless you came through the Palmer last week and saw our own Gang Green Grand Slam champ Ryan "Gill" Gillenwater rocking a full, deep set of soulful, well-written poems. This week, we are proud to bring to you the Slammistress of the Nuyorican Slam Team, the editor of the anthology of contemporary women's voices His Rib, the always dope MAHOGANY BROWNE!
About Mo:
Mahogany L. Browne, born in Oakland, California, has been performing on the intensely creative performance poetry scene since early 1998. As a member of the highly regarded safe sex crew, The Punany Poets (as seen on HBO's Real Sex 24 & 26) Mahogany aspires to alert the Hip-Hop generation with safer sex methods. Fueled by her position as a freelance journalist of the Hip Hop culture, Mahogany created the Hip-Hop Poetry educational program as New Professional Theatre's Educational Director, to implement a healthy relationship between the music and our children. She currently facilitates workshops throughout New York Public School System and select group home facilities in Europe & the UK. Mahogany can also be heard on radio airwaves throughout the country as the femme fatale poetic voice on Hennessy's national radio advertisement, Poetry Minute and Music Choice's premier cable channel.
Her past performances include special appearances on CBS' talk shows The Ananda Lewis Show and Iyanla Vanzant Show and she presently completes the Black Secret Soul 2005 European tour, her fifth tour overseas to date. Ms. Browne has earned the highly-acclaimed title as Grand Slam Champ of Louderarts (2004), Nuyorican Poets Café Grand Slam Semi-finalist (2002, 2003, 2004) in addition to winning Harlem's SugarShack Slam, Jimmy's Uptown and Buffalo, NY Njozi Magazine's Tri-State Team Slam. Author of Unlikely & Other Sorts (Penmanship Books), Thin Skin (Cherry Moon Publishing) a collection of poetry and essays, and three LPs including the industry favorite Black Secret Soul (featuring production by DJ Static and DJ Doughboy), Mahogany prepares the finishing touches her on her latest live band album Sheroshima. As co-founder of the off-broadway poetry production, Jam On It, Mahogany readies for change touring the college circuit including NYU, Columbia, Princeton and Sarah Lawrence with endearing words promoting self-love and women empowerment. Bridging the gap between poets and emcees, Mahogany continues her freelance journalist works which can be found in the pages of internationally distributed magazines KING, XXL, The Source, Hush, Canada's The Word and UK's MOBO. She is presently the Slam Mistress and host of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.
So there you have it: Come on out, see Ms. Browne get lyrical on yer asses, have some food and drinks, and get on the most open mic in town!
See you at the Palmer,
Rob, Jedi, and Joshua.
P.S. August 27th: JACKIE TOHN!
Sept 3rd: BIG POPPA E!
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