Hawaii Wins Brave New Voices 2008 Grand Slam Final!
July 19, 2008
Team Hawaii wins the 11th Annual International Youth Poetry Slam - Brave New Voices 2008 Grand Poetry Slam!
Wow, that was a lot of words, and there were some amazing words spoken at tonight’s Grand Slam Finals. The final teams were Hawaii, Rochester, NY, New York City, Chicago, and last year’s returning champs, Philadelphia.
There were so many poetry fans packed into the Lincoln Theatre here in Washington, DC that they had to turn folks away at the door. I barely made it inside and was let in after they made room for just a few more after about 100 people walked away from the door. The venue holds about 450 people.
This event was one of the most amazing poetry events I’ve ever been to. Scratch that…it was the most amazing poetry event I’ve ever been to. HBO has been documenting the teams up to tonight’s event, so stay tuned because in a few months time you’ll be able to see tonight’s event and a behind-the-scenes look into what these kids did tonight.
So, congrats again to Hawaii!
I live-blogged the event, so you can read the play-by-play below:
| Brave New Voices 2008 - International Youth Poetry Slam Finals! | (07/19/2008) Powered by: CoveritLive |
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7:11
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Ok, folks. thanks for joining me. Still in line outside of theater. |
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7:17
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Ok, chaos at the theatre. Folks, like me, with reservations being turned away. |
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7:20
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There is hope. Line slowly moving. |
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7:29
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I’m in! |
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7:30
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Rochester NY on stage. |
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7:35
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Scores: |
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7:35
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9.1, 9.1, 9.5, 10 |
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7:36
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Chicago on. |
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7:40
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9.2, 9.5, 10, 10 |
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7:41
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NYC up w/ group piece |
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7:45
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Amazing ! |
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7:46
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9.7, 9.9, 9.9, 10, 10 |
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7:46
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Philly 2007 champs on stage. |
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7:47
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6 on stage |
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7:48
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Talking about how they haven’t been a team. Disqualifying themselves. |
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7:50
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Performing “Free” |
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7:53
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Standing O from crowd |
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7:54
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9.8, the rest all 10s |
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7:55
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Hawaii up at mic |
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7:56
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2 person piece |
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8:00
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9.6 10 10 10 10 |
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8:05
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The theatre is at capacity. 450 attending |
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8:06
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Round 2 begins now |
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8:07
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Chicago on again. 2 poets this time. |
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8:10
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Poem of tragic childhood. We’re all silent |
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8:10
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9.7, 9.8, 9.9 |
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8:11
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NYC up w/ one poet |
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8:15
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9.9, rest all 10s |
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8:16
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Philly back up. FYI HBO is filming this for a documentary on Brave New Voices. |
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8:17
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Poem: we are a vessel |
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8:22
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Nice piece on growing up transgendered. 10, 10, 10, 10 |
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8:23
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Team Hawaii - two poet piece. |
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8:25
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Piece on the 7 deadly sins. Parts getting laughs. |
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8:27
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The talent at this show amazing! 9.9, 10, 10, 10, 10 |
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8:28
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Rochester on w/ a solitary poet. |
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8:32
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Speaking on the tragedies of hip-hop.. The death of hip-hop |
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8:33
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9.5, 9.9, 9.5, 10 |
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8:34
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All poets are between 13 and 19 |
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8:35
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Team Austin on stage to share a piece between rounds |
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8:36
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Speaking for the late Shannon Leigh |
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8:41
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Shannon Leigh passed away a few weeks back. |
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8:41
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Round 3 begins w/ NYC. |
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8:46
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“Braething polluted air is better than not breathing at all” 9.8, 9.9, 10, 10 |
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8:47
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Team Philly up. 4 female poets. “we are doing this for our mothers” |
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8:51
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An ordinary day in the life os a desparate house wife. 9.7, 9.8, 10, 10 |
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8:52
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Hawaii up at mic with 1 poet. |
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8:53
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Story of cousin lost to war. |
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8:57
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Judges : 9.8, 9.9, 10, 10 for Hawaii |
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9:04
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Photo from line getting in to theter earlier: http://brightkite.com/00Zkg |
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9:05
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Back from dance break intermission. rochester coming up |
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9:06
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Single poet. Poem about finding herself. |
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9:10
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Everyone was glued to her words. She was in tears. 9.8, 9.8, 10, 10 |
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9:11
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ChiTown to the stage. 2 poets speaking. |
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9:12
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One poet reciting names of kids killed in school violence as the two speak |
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9:15
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Standing O from the crowd. “When will they call this a genocide”. All 10s! |
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9:18
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Philly team is up with 3 poets for the final round |
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9:24
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“We dance to keep our feet on the floor” in ref to lynchings. All 10s from the judges. Deserved. |
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9:24
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Team Hawaii bringing three this round. |
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9:29
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Nice piece on the environment and oil greed. Nice change of pace. 9.5, 9.9, 10, 10 |
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9:31
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Rochester, NY going with 1 poet this round. Thanks all poets for the love this week. |
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9:32
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Funny piece on lost love. |
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9:35
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Brilliant. Crowd chanting: “Poetry…Poetry…” 9.8, rest 10s. |
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9:36
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Chicago bringing one poet. Crowd showing her much love. |
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9:37
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“Ode to a female MC” |
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9:41
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Yeah…she tore it up.  All 10s!!! |
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9:42
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Last team of the night: NYC |
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9:43
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One poet on crutches. Her team mates gathered behind her, arms raised. |
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9:44
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Poem about struggles of disability. |
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9:45
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Crowd starting to raise arms in support around the building. |
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9:47
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“I don’t need to fall to break” |
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9:48
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Another standing O from all of us |
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9:49
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This was a beautiful night of potery. So much love in here. |
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9:49
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We all know what the scores will be. |
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9:50
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Hesitation. Thanking judges. |
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9:51
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Judge spokesman tearing up as reminiscing about the week. |
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9:52
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All 10s as expected. |
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9:53
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Host: This can’t end. Crowd: Let’s go to the White House! |
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9:54
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Mark Barmuti (sp?) about to share a poem. Is this the Barak poem? |
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9:59
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“Here we are the artistic frontline of those left behind” |
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10:00
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Poetry chants one again fill the room. |
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10:01
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All the teams taking the stage. |
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10:03
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They’re still tabulating the score. |
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10:04
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All the poets are singing “This Little Light of Mine” crowd clapping and singing along. |
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10:05
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Now it’s a big dance party as the poets hug and congratulate each other. |
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10:06
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Poets are thanking the judges. |
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10:08
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Poet Sonya Sanchez among the judges. She is speaking now. |
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10:11
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“Sometimes we have to step away to have another day” |
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10:11
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Here we go: |
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10:12
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5th place: Philly |
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10:13
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Roch 4th, Chi 3rd |
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10:13
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NYC 2nd |
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10:13
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Hawaii 2008 champs!!!! |
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10:21
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All poets on stage chanting “BNV ain’t nothin’ to fu** with” Photo http://brightkite.com/00Zkg |
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10:23
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That’ll do it. Thanks for reading. Be sure to subscribe for future updates. Enter your email in the enews box on the front page. Goodnight!!! |
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10:23
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Video - Team Santa Fe - Brave New Voices 2008
July 17, 2008
Team Santa Fe, New Mexico. The only all Native American team at the Brave New Voices 2008 International Youth Poetry Slam gives their introduction. The crowd loves it!
Brave New Voices 2008 - Team Santa Fe from Will Brown on Vimeo.
Here’s a great article in the NY Times about the team and their mission:
“Young American Indians Find Their Voice In Poetry”
The crowd was really supportive of the team and they deserved it. They gave one of the tightest performances of the afternoon as opposed to some teams who seemed to be holding back their best for the competition.
The HBO crew seemed to be giving this team a lot of attention, so you’ll be sure to see more of them in the documentary HBO is making on Brave New Voices 2008.
No Comments
Video - Brave New Voices 2008 - “Unofficial Proclamation”
July 15, 2008
Brave New Voices 2008 is off to a great start. I captured some great pieces today. More to follow, but for now enjoy this highly motivating piece “Unofficial Proclamation”:
Brave New Voices 2008 - International Youth Poetry Slam from Will Brown on Vimeo.
What do you think? No Comments
See you at the "International Youth Poetry Slam - Brave New Voices 2008"
July 8, 2008
*UPDATE* I’ve started to add some video here.
I’ll be attending next week’s “Brave New Voices 2008“, the 11th Annual International Poetry Slam Festival, here in Washington, DC July 15-19th 2008. Over 450 poets from around the country and world will be converging on the nation’s capital to compete.
The festivities will include workshops, discussions on the environment, the competitions throughout the week, and the Grand Slam at the Kennedy Center Lincoln Theater on Saturday night. The Grand Slam will be taped to be later featured on HBO’s documentary on Brave New Voices!
This is a great event for the participating youth. I hope to get the opportunity to talk to and interview some of these students.
Let me know if you’re coming. I would love to meet up with you at one of the events. You can find more information, including the bout schedule, at the Brave New Voices 2008 web site.
1 CommentFeatured Video : Taylor Mali - “Like Lilly Like Wilson”
May 10, 2008
This week’s featured video is by the amazing poet Taylor Mali. Since the first time I heard it on Indiefeed, this spoken word piece has always been one of my favorites. Listen.
NaPoWriMo 2008 - 30 Days of Poetry
March 24, 2008
In honor of “National Poetry Month”, which begins April 1st, I’m going to participate in this year’s NaPoWriMo or National Poetry Writing Month. Poets from around the world are committing to writing one poem a day, every day, for the 30 days of April.
I first heard about it through a post by Shanna Compton, which then led me to a post by Maureen Thorson, so I joined her blogroll.
The goal is not to create the perfect poem every day, but to get people to write poetry. A few of your poems will be amazing, a few of your poems will be literary garbage, but they all will be your creation and the experience will be one to remember.
Maureen writes:
Those who accept the NaPoWriMo challenge must commit themselves to writing a poem every day for the entirety of April. Those who accept this challenge may choose to post those poems on blogs, keep them in their notebooks, or hire underemployed skywriters to decorate urban cloudscapes with their output.
I have been doing this for around five years, and many have followed in my wake! If you plan to participate, go forth and do so! NaPoWriMo is free, requires no license, and wants you to propagate it in new and foreign soils.
I would love to have some Cloudy Day Art listeners and readers join me in this. If you agree to participate I will put a link to your blog on the Cloudy Day Art NaPoWriMo page, so others can follow along. I’ll post my poems on my poetry blog if you would like to follow along.
Contact me if you’re in! Oh, if you read this after April 1st, you can still join in. I won’t tell. 
Flashback Friday - Brother Yao interview by Gerry T
March 21, 2008
Gerry T, now of “The Gerry T Show“, interviews poet, performer, and entrepreneur Bro Yao. From March 20, 2006.
Check it out here: Cloudy Day Art #42
Flashback Friday is a new regular feature that I’m adding to the site, because there are many great interviews and shows that many of you have never heard and these poets deserve to be heard again!
Let me know what you think in the comments!
No CommentsElementary School Poetry Podcast
March 20, 2008
It always brings a smile to my face when I hear about teachers finding unique ways to bring technology into the classroom and the learning process. This time I am smiling ear-to-ear when I heard about a teacher doing it using two of my favorite passions: Poetry and Podcasting!
The school is Glenbrook Elementary of Euclid, OH. The teacher is Mrs. Mahoney.
Apparently the kids are quite fond of the poem “Booger Love” by Brod Bagert. A few of them recite it for their individual readings. My favorite recitation is by a student named “Kobie”. HERE is his reading.
Glenbrook Elementary Poetry Podcast
Does anyone know of any other schools doing something similar? Let me know in the comments.
No CommentsSummer Reading - The Poetry Home Repair Manual
July 7, 2007
I’m only on Chapter 1 “The Poet’s Job Description” and am ready to give my whole-hearted recommendation for this book.
Here’s a chapter excerpt that captures the importance of reading poetry:
We teach ourselves to write the kinds of poems we like to read. The more poems you read, and the more models you learn from and imitate, the better your writing will get. After you have read lots of poetry and written lots of poetry, your own work will become more accomplished and more your own, such a rich porridge of everything you’ve read and experimented with that most readers won’t be able to separate the ingredients. To that, you add your personality, character, and experience and, presto, you’ve got your own way of writing, your style, a uniqueness born of hands-on work with reading and writing.
It’s paragraphs like this that are making this book such an interesting read. Mr. Kooser is known for poetry that connects with people and, so far, his writing has the same effect.
As I mentioned in my audio-blog a few days ago, I plan on interviewing Ted Kooser about this book and the lessons that I’m learning throughout it. I think I’ll shoot for a mid-August date, so why don’t you join me in reading it and come up with some questions of your own?
*UPDATE* Listen to my interview with Ted Kooser on Cloudy Day Art #81!
7 Comments"The State of Poem" Poetry Documentary - Winter 2007
June 12, 2007
I came across this movie trailer while checking out a new poetry blog called “Speaking of Poetry“.
Billed as:
A comprehensive view of contemporary poetry across the United States.
It’s a Zampano Films production in association Kill Poet Press and Journal (site currently down - their MySpace)
It looks very interesting and I’m curious to see how it is released. Artsy, independent movie houses, straight to DVD???
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
The State of Poem (extended trailer)
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Has our constant online connection broken our connection to creativity?
June 2, 2007
Some of you have noticed the “Take My Survey!” link at the top of the page and have taken it as well (thank you!).
One of the questions I ask is:
“If you write poetry, how do you usually compose?”
That really got me thinking about how we as poets create and edit our works. Think about it. Just generations ago, poets used nothing but pen and paper to generate their works.
No computers.
No Internet.
Just the poet.
The solitude of the craft has become broken by Instant Messaging, e-mail notifications, and the temptation to minimize creation and maximize our web browsers.
That being said, according to current survey results, 50% of us create our poetry on computers. I am one of those. In fact, besides short phrases scribbled on napkins during quick flashes of inspiration, 99% of all my drafts are formed through a keyboard.
To those who purposely avoid the computer and opt for the holy trinity of poet, pencil and pad, I commend you for your discipline.
But, at the same time, I wonder if there are any advantages to being online during creativity. Certainly a case can be made for quick access to online dictionaries and thesauruses. What about a quick trip over to Wikipedia to corroborate your witty sci-fi reference to Cerulean Blue?
What are your thoughts?
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