Prelim #3

The third qualifying poetry slam for the 2009/2010 “Unified” Worcester Youth & Clark University Poetry Slam Series was another rousing success! We played to another packed house in the Bistro, as we saw another record breaking sign up list of 8 Youth Slammers and 5 Clark Slammers taking the stage! DJ Muse set the tone with some great sounds as host Alex Charalambides proudly announced the Worcester Cultural Commission Grant that was awarded to us for 2010, sponsoring the series and taking us to a new level of commitment from the community at large. We kept the good energy going with a short showcase that included Nick Davis, Tak Mogel and Dave K, sharing their words with a crowd amped to hear more.

The slam kicked off with 3 time Worcester Youth Slam Team Member Jeff Siegrist having “Fun in the USA”. Because we had 8 poets in the youth slam, we needed to cut the numbers down to 5 poets in the second round, so it was vital for poets to score as high as they could, so they could advance to the next round. The first round saw an increase in scores from the first two prelim matched where the judges were tough to please. The judges, this time, were fair, but definitely more generous as poets Deven, Taylor, Anna, Nate, April, Amiana, Eric and Chris matched words and wits in a frenetic first round. There was a lot of range of emotion and wordplay throughout, but as the dust settled, we had to say so long to April, Taylor and Amiana. The second round scores would be added to the final tally, so it was important for the poets to keep the momentum going. At the end of the day, we had two new poets, Chris and Nate (who slammed here for the first time and were visiting from Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School, finished 1st and 3rd place, respectively to earn points towards making the Grand Slam coming up in April. Eric earned a strong second place showing, with Deven tying for third and Anna finishing close behind for fourth place. FINAL SCORES:

POET               Round#1                    Round#2                    Final                   Rank

Deven             26.5                              28.8                              55.3                    3rd

Taylor            25.1                               n/a                                25.1

Anna               27.1                              27.1                              27.4                    4th

Nate                28.2                              27.1                              55.3                    3rd

April               23.9                              n/a                                23.9

Amiana          25.8                              n/a                                25.8

Eric                  28.1                              27.4                              55.5                    2nd

Chris               29.1                               27.4                             56.5                     1st

DAVID BLAIR, poetry slam champ(2002) and award winning singer songwriter from Detroit, Michigan paid us a visit, kicking off his nation wide tour with a blast of amazing energy and a dynamic, unique brand of spoken word. Blair treated us to an eclectic collection of work that ranged from persona poems about Carl from “The Simpsons” and rock n’ roll pioneer Little Richard, to more reflective personal work that was engaging, sincere and memorable.

After a short intermission,

Clark University Poetry Club held its 3rd preliminary slam to help form their poetry slam team. Tak Mogel took over the hosting reigns. Michelle, Olivia, Franklin, Sarah and Allison all competed in 2 rounds after a great calibration poem from first time reader Avika! After a hard fought bout, Sarah took the honors and earned herself a birth on the 2010 Clark University Slam Team! Final Scores:

Poet                 Round#1                    Round#2                      Final                      Rank

Franklin         26.7                              27.4                               54.1                       3rd

Michelle         26.2                              27.6                               53.8                       4th

Olivia               24.1                              25.4                               49.5                       5th

Allison            27.1                              27.8                               54.9                       2nd

Sarah               27.8                              28.2                               56.0                       1st

Good times. Good words. The momentum keeps going! Let’s keep it going!