Another Long, Hot Winter...

...Made more informative and entertaining by spoken word and performance art. The HipHopper's Guide To The Galaxy Tour of Winter will bring me back to northern California for some of the Bay Area's biggest poetry slam events and workshops /performances in Humboldt County. Two of my favorite wintertime festivals - Louder Than A Bomb & the Women Of the World Poetry Slam - are also on the horizon. This winter, the HipHopper's Guide To The Galaxy Tour comes to Oakland; San Francisco; San Jose; Humboldt County, CA; Chicago - Louder Than A Bomb youth poetry festival; and Detroit - the Women Of the World Poetry Slam.

LTAB is the all-Chicagoland youth performance poetry festival curated by Young Chicago Authors. It's in it's 9th edition and is highlighted by workshops, showcases and a slam competition that rivals the National Poetry Slam in number of competitors. LTAB competitors are 12 and a half to 20 years old and represent schools, clubs and themselves for over-all and individual titles. The winners rep Chicago at international festival Brave New Voices which will, this summer, be staged in the Windy City. LTAB is February 21st - Crossing The Street; Feb. 26 - March 1, preliminary rounds at Columbia College; March 2nd semifinals at the Museum of Contemporary Art; and finals night March 8th at the Vic Theatre.

WOWps will see it's second edition at the sight of last year's inaugural tournament, downtown Detroit. over 50 competitors showcase more than just womanist poetry, but the competitive fire that drives them at other PSI events. Perhaps Andrea Gibson will defend her title, perhaps she will defer. Since last year, Nicole Homer won the Haiku Challenge at the Individual World Poetry Slam... Original Woman and Tara Hardy went to iWPS finals in Charlotte following stellar WOW finals performances. T-Miller went from last-chance slam to championship tiebreaker. This year should be even bigger and better.

PolyRhythmic takes on a mid-winter residency at The Spot -
4427 N. Broadway Avenue at Montrose in Uptown. PolyRhythmic Without A Trace will feature such rollicking performance poets as Nikki Patin, Jamaal "Vs." May, Big Poppa E, Wonder Dave and Sean Conlon. Safe Smiles returns to Trace Lounge in Lakeview - 3714 N. Clark Street - March 3rd. Wherever we are, it's 10PM Tuesdays, 21 and over, $3 and, in addition to the featured guest, an open mic for poets, musicians, puppets, comics, vandals, politicians,teachers, vagrants and you. Check the new portal, myspace.com/polyrhythmicchicago.

The HipHoppers Guide To The Galaxy Tour www.myspace.com/fearofadreadplanet
POLYRHYTHMIC/ TEMPLE OF HIPHOP

 

 You can find me in Chicago almost every Tuesday at the Trace for Safe Smiles with PolyRhythmic.  Click the flyers for details and links to our respective myspace.com pages.