Another Sunday night slam brought some of the cream o' the crop to our show, including the incredible feature.
We were treated to an array of talent, from IF making a comeback after a brief hiatus to Ida Sophia slaying the stage as always to Britta B. turning heads and droppin jaws. We also had Tanya drop some beautiful poems and Sabrina get us wonderin where she's been all this time.
When it was all said n' done, Britta B. emerged victorious, followed by IF and Philosfly.
We're back with another fun fun fun spoken word competition featuring hot hot hot poets!
SUNDAY SEPT 16 @ the Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W.
8pm show. But 7pm doors, and 730 signup.
Featuring Komi Olaf! He's a performance spoken word poet and visual artist from Nigeria. He is member of the 2009 Canadian festival of spoken word champions, the Recipe. He has performed his work all over Canada, France and Nigeria at festivals such as Vancouver Island MusicFest, North Country fair and South Country Fair in Alberta, Canada.
Hosted by Ritallin
Questions?
For the first time in awhile, so many poets wanted to compete we had to draw from the envelope, disappointing a couple poets. The list we got of competing poets was truly eclectic, from newcomers to old-school vets.
First round gave us Kevin Fortnum and Valentino Assenza, both of Last Call Poets, and also some heavy material from Millado and Shoolie, both from BAM! First-timer Ronnie told us about romance, while Cathy Petch went funny with an ode to back acne.
We decided to share JustJamaal's story with you, poetry fan, so you can learn a bit more about the poet set to rock the Drake Hotel stage on Aug. 25.
Below is a Q&A with the Ottawa artist, and be sure to hit up the Drake on Saturday night to see him in action:
What first got you up on that slam stage? Have you always been writing poetry? Also, you make a living off poetry?
As far back as I can remember, I have written poetry. It was only until two years ago when I was encouraged by my cousin to perform at an open mic that I realized what spoken word or slam poetry was.
Another fun Sunday slam, another buffet of passionate poetry. The slam gave us a nice variety of newbies and vets, with an emphasis of newcomers who wowed our brains.
Take Claudius, who made his TPS debut and took his poetry to the third round. He dropped some truly beautiful poems about love and his sis, and he got lots of love from the packed Drake crowd.
Then there was Desiree, returning to the slam for the third time in a row. She's got the slam bug, yo!
Some BAM!
We are mad stoked to announce one of spoken word's legendary stars is coming to Toronto for one night only in early September.
Head to the Drake Hotel Underground (1150 Queen St. W) this Sunday night for another high-energy spoken word competition featuring some of the best poets in the city!
We're honoured to be featuring one of Toronto's most decorated spoken word artists, a poetic force you need to see for yourself...
ANDREA THOMPSON is coming to our Sunday slam on Aug. 12! She has performed her poetry across North America and overseas. She is one of the pioneers of Slam poetry in Canada, and in 2005, her CD One was nominated for a Canadian Urban Music Award.
Those of you who came to the July 28 were in for a treat. Not only was the slam list packed with some mighty veterans, but we also were delighted to finally feature Mary Pinkoski from the championship Edmonton slam team!
First the open mic. Packed with 7 hungry poets and comedians and musicians, and a special shoutout to Dreadeye for his kickass music, Rich Lett for an impressive homage to legends of the word, and Mona aka Sacrifice for a birthday poem complete with djembe accompaniment.
Then the slam began and what a first round it was.
We look forward to another fun spoken word competition on Sat. July 28, featuring the always awesome Mary Pinkoski from Edmonton!
7pm doors. 730pm signup. 8pm show.
$5
All goes down at the Drake Hotel Underground, 1150 Queen St. W.
Open mic available too.
See you Saturday, slam fans!
The 2012/13 TPS season began with some hot hot poetry and a nice smattering of newcomers hitting the stage with passion.
With 8 poets in the first round, we were were treated to 18yrold Estefania and her excellent stage presence and strong writing. Macer fabled us with his classic story about the bear, and Desiree got lyrical with some of her love poetry.
