I was lucky enough to be part of two teams that competed at the National Poetry Slam.

In 2007, I was with Bryan, TX, out of Revolution Cafe. We did four group pieces (out of six total slots) in our opening bouts, had plans to do a 3-round team piece (that involved using the same choreography but different words in each round) if we made it to semis, but finished middle of the pack.

In 2010, I went with Manchester, NH, out of the Bridge Cafe. We placed higher, but more important to me was the fact that I was with a group that once again put up original and quality work. We had funny, sad, slow, fast, a great variety of pieces. This time around, I conceived and and co-wrote (with Mckendy Fils-Aime and Beau Williams) a three-person American Sign Language poem. The ASL duo Flying Words was a huge influence here. It’s better to see it than read about it, so here you go:

I also got to perform my signature piece, “ADD TV,” on a national stage for the first time (I’d only been involved in team pieces back in ’07). My favorite moment, besides the applause, has to be RC Weslowski shouting “Stump Free, or Die!” at the beginning of this clip (the state motto of New Hampshire is “Live Free, or Die,” and the Manchester team’s motto is “Slam Free, or Die”):

To give you an idea of the rest of the team, here are exemplary pieces by Krista Mosca, Mckendy Fils-Aime, Beau Williams, and Tim Veilleux:

Krista Mosca – “Transgender”

Mckendy Fils-Aime – “Dracula to Mina Harker”

Beau Williams – “Kylie Mae”

Tim Veilleux – “Prepared Batman”

And, of course, much love to the coach, Mark Palos, and the assistant coach, Sam Teitel.