Austin, TX

It was with great anticipation that I took my seat at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas for last nights National Poetry Slam Indy Finals. Sadly I’d missed all the qualifying rounds while I ate my way through Seattle’s seafood. We first stopped in at Thai Passion for an excellent meal. There was a bit of problem with the bill but I’ll get into that later when I review the restaurant. As we drove around looking for a place to park we spotted a poet talking to the window of a restaurant, obviously practicing and ironically standing under a poster advertising the event. We wished we’d had our camera.

Mayor Will Wynn stepped in once again to deliver the intro. He mentioned that Austin is the only city to host the Nationals two years in a row. Yay! Go, Austin!

This years warm-up poets were the 2004 NPS Indy winner, Janeen Livingston and the winner of both the 2005 and the 2006 Indy finals, Anis Mojgani. I had thought Anis was going to be in Paris so I was thrilled when his name was announced. He’d shaved off his facial hair and looked much younger than last year. Janeen was looking beautiful in a very “Dreamgirls” style dress. Her words about her mother’s illness and her life story sent tears streaming down my face. Anis spun his words as beautifully and insightfully as always, mesmerizing the crowd and leaving us wanting more. I wanted to capture his words on paper but at the same time I couldn’t pry my focus from his words for long enough to write.

And then it was time and the final poets were announced:

The poets drew numbers and the order was chosen. One by one they entered the stage, baring their souls for all to see and hear. They spoke of homelessness, heroes, destiny, politics, poverty and cancer and yes, even the muppets. They made me laugh and cry and shout out loud. I’m glad I wasn’t judging because it would have been a hard job!

When the dust settled only seven poets remained.

Once again the numbers were drawn and the order set. Danny Sherrard, a veteran of the Seattle youth slam scene was the clear winner, though Alvin Lau, with his story of his sisters wedding and Shannon Leigh with the story of her father were nipping at his heels in a tie for second.

With the second round finished and three more poets eliminated we were down to the final four.

1. Alvin Lau, Chicago MG
2. Danny Sherrard, Seattle
3. Shannon Leigh, Atlanta
4. Christopher Michael, Killeen TX

Shannon Leigh is a veteran slammer who cut her teeth as a youth in Austin’s slam scene at the tender age of 14. She has a distinct voice. A pretty woman whose words are not always pretty. The crowd loves her and she walks away with a score of 29.8. Finally, Christopher Michael walks on stage. His words this night have been largely focused on the war and his friends and family who’ve lost their limbs and their lives. Like Shannon and Alvin, I remember Michael from last year. His words are strong and he walks off the stage to wild applause and echoes of 10-10-10 floated through the air again. Yet another perfect score. Thus begins a bit of a scramble as the host figures out what to do with this tie situation. Something that will be fair and that will satisfy the audience.

Eventually they decide to draw numbers again and Danny and Michael face off for a tie-breaking final round. The judges are instructed to sit back and listen and in the end to pick a winner. The time for scoring is over. Christopher draws the first slot and he talks about the black man in history and his struggle to define his place in the world. It’s a brilliant piece and the audience loves it. Danny takes the stage and for the life of me I can’t recall exactly what he spoke of but I remember that it was moving and amazing and the crowd went wild.

The judges are told to take a minute to reflect and finally they are asked to vote. Two votes for Christopher and three for Danny, leaving Danny as the 2007 National Indy Champion. This makes the third year in a row that Seattle has taken the NPS Indy title.

We left exhilarated and exhausted and looking forward to tonights Team Finals. I’ll be posting about that tomorrow. The words have been spoken and they still sing in my ears.

National Poetry Slam 2007: Team Finals

Slam Poetry, Poetry Slam, National Poetry Slam, National Poetry Slam 2007, Spoken-Word, Poetry, Danny Sherrard, Shannon Leigh, Oz, Christopher Michael, Six is Nine, Michael Guinn, Ed Mabrey, Alvin Lau, Kealoha, Robbie Q. Telfer, Anis Mojgani, Janeen Livingston, Mayor Will Wynn, Austin

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