And so the semi finalists have confirmed. Not much different than the prelim list we posted in the Forum, but Gypsy Eyes has bowed out. That allows Mike Lipsius to squeak in as a semi-finalist.

The Semi Finals go down MARCH 28 @ the Drake, 8pm sharp, no open mic.

See the list below to find out who will be taking the stage and performing their poetics….

28.66667 Tomy
28.37778 Lara
28.00667 Truth Is…
27.91667 Gypsy EyesDECLINED INVITATION
27.90834 Nolan
27.89167 White Noise Machine
27.72500 Yogi
27.61667 Peace
27.45000 Pan
27.36667 Valentino Assenza
27.28333 Ariel
27.05000 Kimiko
26.70000 Mike Lipsius

During the last regular season slam before the semi’s, the Drake was a-titter. Yes, a-titter. There was a buzz in the room even before sign-up. Poets were anxiously awaiting to drop their names in the hat, fans were quickly getting seats before the room filled up and Slammaster Amanda Hiebert was already kind of drunk.

The slam began with a bang, not a whimper. Sacrifice poet Dave Nichols from Ohio dropped such a heavy and powerful piece, he earned himself a couple 10s. Then the slam proper began in earnest, and the Drake audience was treated to rookies such as James and Kinga and Keith, all doing a solid job delivering their poems. The latter half of the first round featured some of the more veteran bunch of slammers, including Lara and Gypsy Eyes and Diseased Disciple (Tomy’s nom de plume). Crowning the first round was Danny and Tanya, both bleeding on stage with their emotional convictions.

The second round gave the vets some more space to drop their hotness. Tomy told us about his child’s first breath, Gypsy Eyes followed nicely with a family history lesson, and Tanya delivered a seamless poem in various language. Sadly, Yiddish was not one of them.

The third round gave us Lara, Gypsy and Diseased battling it out for the top spot. Let’s just say the final round was hot hot hot! And Diseased Disciple came out the winner thanks to a few 10s, making him a two-time winner of TPS.

Let’s not forget the feature from Columbus, OH — Will Evans, who featured at TPS in December 2007. He once again amazed us with his poetic polish and stage presence. He brought us back to 1950s Tennesse, offered a slice of ghetto life and turned the word “crazy” into a wordplayful essay. Dude is definitely worth checking out if he comes to your part of town anytime soon.

So now that the regular season is over, the semi finals on MARCH 28 will soon be upon us. Who will be in the semi’s? Check the OPEN MIC forum to find the latest post on the semifinalists and stay tuned for the final list of playoff poets.

And if the poets PEACE and DANNY can get a hold of me, that’d be much appreciated. Email me at info AT poetryslam DOT com.

See you on March 28, poetical peoples!

I don’t like unwarranted exclamation marks, but I couldn’t contain my excitements…Toronto Poetry Slam is honoured to feature one of Detroit’s finest spoken word artists, Dee. She’s been on the slam team numerous times and when I saw her in Madison at the National Poetry Slam, she blew my brainials. Very talented writer, dynamic performer.

So it all goes down at the Drake Hotel Underground, 1150 Queen St. W., on SATURDAY DEC. 20, signup 73pm. Cover is $5.

If got you any questions about the slam or Dee, leave a comment or email moi, Dave, at info AT torontopoetryslam DOT com. (I do that cuz of those marauding spammers out there)

See ya in a few weeks!

Three years of Toronto Poetry Slam. Three years of wild and original expression. Three years of “only $10!” and “The Truth is on fire” and “Speak that shit!” Last night was an anniversary celebrating the many voices that have peppered the TPS stage in the past 36 months of slammery, and the variety and quality of poetry didn’t disappoint.

After the extensive (and impressive) open mic, the first round soared into action with Yogi, Nolan and White Noise Machine each dropping some fiery hotness on our heads, each delivering potent pieces with strong written content. Truth gave us another taste of her North Star classic, and Tomy hypnotized the crowd his take on pro-choice politics. Rolling Zen threw the crowd a psychedelic curveball and Karima told us why “I love you” is so hard to say.

After the first round, Dayton Ohio showed us how it’s done in the Rustbelt. Dave Nichols busted out powerful pieces on Catholic school, race and identity, dropping tight writing over excellent delivery. Dude rocked the stage and the thunderous applause after his set spoke volumes.

The second round saw Lara give us a taste of relationship memories, while Nolan dipped into some humourous anecdotes for his piece super heroes. Tons of 10s appeared in this round, and few scores were lower than an 8.5.

The third round had Truth Lara and Nolan and battle it out, with Nolan and Truth performing new pieces both memorable and enlightening. Thanks to Nolan, we don’t look at chicken sex the same again.

Truth came out the winner, earning a bye into the semi’s and a few months of well-deserved relaxation.

Congrats to everyone who has supported the Slam in the past three years, especially the poets who have sweated and bled on stage to bring us the art we crave so dearly.

Next slam is Dec. 20, so look forward to seeing you then!

It’s gonna be hot…It’s gonna be salty…OK, and a lil sweet. Toronto Poetry Slam’s 3 Year Anniversary Show is TONIGHT, Sat. November 22 @ Drake Hotel Underground, 1150 Queen St. W.

Signup as always at 730pm, slam at 8pm. There’s an open mic as well for you noncompetitive folks.
Cover is $5…yes, ONLY $5 (never gets old)

Guest feature is the always smokin Dave Nichols from Columbus, OH.

Bring out your A game. Bring out your killer metaphors. Bring out your grandmother.

See ya @ the Drake.

Twas a night of new and old, funny and serious, romantic and just plain wild. In another sold-out (?) show at the Drake, Toronto Poetry Slam started off with a bang, as a slew of open mic’ers slayed the stage with poignant verse. Kudos to Kimiko for dropping such a heartfelt emotionally charged poem, a few sniffles peppered the applause at the end of the piece.

The first round saw a nice medley of voices: Truth Is… busted a new piece about relationships, Tanya emitted positivity with every stanza, Gregory the First rapped an acapella about raising a child that’s not your own, Yogi told us why he loves poetry, Lara riveted our ears with verse on complicated romance, and newcomer Nolan roared his way into our hearts with an energetic piece on “making love to the dirt.” Among other things.

After the first round, the energy level kept escalating with Ami Mattison’s feature set. This Michigan poet’s jaw-dropping delivery didn’t disappoint, giving the audience 20 minutes of potent poetics on racism, queer rights, social justice and flippin a bird to assholes. Definitely check her out if she comes by your ‘hood.

Second round gave us some Rolling Zen, a poet who likes to use audience interaction when he can. Lara had the entire room quiet for another tender poem, and Nolan dropped the funny with a piece about Subway running out of bread. Mad props to That Brown Bastard, too, for adding a nice freestyle flavour to his classic “I’m so brown” poem, even if it cost him a time penalty.

Lara, Nolan and Yogi moved on to the third round, each giving us a solid blast of their talent. It was intense. But when the dust settled, Yogi came out the winner, and he automatically gets a berth into the semi’s.

Thanks to everyone who showed love at the Slam, and we look forward to seeing your gorgeous faces at the upcoming Nov. 22 slam, featuring Dave Nichols from Ohio.

It was back to school for some people, but it was business as usual for the strong spoken word scene in Toronto. The Slam was rammed once again as poets new and veteran peppered the lineup. In the first round, we heard pieces about working at Tim Horton’s from Kimiko, the plight of child soldiers from Tripp, the frustration of getting outfitted with F-cup bras from Ariel, and many more. Some standout poetry included work from White Noise Machine (welcome back) and the crowd was seriously feeling Arianna’s first piece about her nephew’s medical struggle.

In the second round, Yogi brought the fire with a piece filled with powerful conviction, and Truth reminded us about her hate-on for Santa. Made Wade brought his tight rap flow to the stage, which contrasted nicely with some of the softer pieces by Kimiko and others.

When the third round was all said n’ done, it was Made Wade who emerged victorious, nabbing his first ever Toronto Poetry Slam win. He took home $80 and a gift certificate to Sushi on Bloor, while also nabbing a spot in the semi-finals (as long as he slams once again this season).

Not to be forgotten was our kickass feature, Ardath Whnacht from Halifax. She actually read poetry at a poetry slam — quoi? It was beautiful and intense, tender and captivating. There was a nice moment when Ardath welcomed fellow Haligonian Izreal Jones to the stage, inviting him to read a poem solely written in TV show titles.

Thanks to everyone who came to support the Slam on Saturday, because the event is nothing without the audience love. Also, check out the Listings section in this site to see what else is goin down in the city, and circle Oct. 18 on your calendar….Ami Mattison is featuring, and if the trend holds, more lovely poetry from the Toronto scene will descend on the Drake stage.

Until then!

[Current scores are here. - Mike]

By 7:30, it was standing room only. By 7:35, signup was complete and 20 poets were vying for the 12 slots in the slam. Yes, 20. There were some hungry poets out there and 8 wordslingers had to face momentary disappointment when their names weren’t drawn. And I write “momentary” because they soon heard some potent poetry bursting from the mouths of spoken worders young and old, rookie and veteran.

What did August’s audience enjoy? Valentino and Molle busting out a tightly written duo piece; Stina Sativa givin us a taste of what she’s all about, which includes a healthy dose of blunts and B.C. bud; Gypsy Eyes reminding us about the joys of “poetry tag”; Macer taking us on another ride up to Dawson City in a story about a woman named Lou; and Elyse mesmerizing our attention with a tender poem about the joys of finding beauty in your own skin.

After the first round, the TPS fans were treated to a great set by Detroit feature Versiz, who veered from serious to funny with ease, and also dropped some poems written by students in workshops. As he told me later, the anthology of kids’ work was one of the hottest sellers at the merch table. We look forward to seeing Versiz hit the mic in Toronto again.

The second round gave us another dose of Elyse (this time transporting us to New Orleans). Truth Is also brought her powerful delivery and content to the stage, and Val and Gypsy both went sombre too with pieces about love and death, respectively. Props to Yogi for hitting the right notes in his second round poem.

In the third round, it was a tight battle between Gypsy, Truth and Val. When all was said and done, Valentino took the crowd with one of his best renditions of Variations in the Sea, the poem about his father and brother (if you haven’t heard it yet, you have to stop Val on the street and ask him to get all karaoke on you). Val took home $80, the Random House gift prize, a berth into the semi-finals and a free photographic portrait courtesy of Frank Gross.

It was a nicely packed house at the Drake, and the summer doldroms didn’t seem to stop the frenzied crowd from gettin into the poetic action. Gotta love the Toronto crowds, and the beauty of word-of-mouth promotion. Keep on spreading the good word about TPS and we’ll see you on Sept. 20 for the next big slam, featuring Ardath Whynacht from Halifax.

What a way to begin the Toronto Poetry Slam season! The talent level in the first round was incredibly deep, setting the tone for some hot poetry that delighted, entertained and inspired the audience. We were treated to Truth Is power-punching her poem into our faces, and Pan bringing us a kick-ass team poem about bisexuality (the only one of the night..um, team poem I mean). Molle offered a rallying cry for strong women, and That Brown Bastard revelled in grossing us out with his sharply written ode to a subway nosepicker. Not to be outdone, Boston slammer Patrick S. delivered a confident piece about “making poo,” as he said.

The second round saw Yogi bring the heat with a powerful poem about his hands working magic. And Tomy Bewick rocked the stage with one of the most tender poems of the night, about his newborn daughter. In the third round, Yogi, Bastard and Bewick battled it out for $75 and a berth into the semi’s.

After some explosive poetry from Yogi and TBB, Tomy had the last spot to kick ass and take names. And he did both wonderfully, striding around the Drake Underground sans mic, his voice reaching crescendos. The audience reaction was overwhelmingly raucous — Bewick got a couple 10s, and won 1st place…and a nifty Threadless.com T-shirt.

For the first time, TPS invited a music feature to do their thang. Mark Berube & the Patriotic Few sent our earholes spinning in orgasmic pleasure as their tight melodies and rockin rhythms got people’s heads a-bobbin. There was something transcendent about having this Montreal band set the tone for the rest of the night. Could’ve been Berube’s poetic lyricism, or the fine cello licks courtesy of Marie Michelle. Either way, the Patriotic Few were probably one of TPS’s best features.

Circle Aug. 16 on your calendar, the next Slam. At the Drake as usual. Until then, poetry lovers!

The kids are alright. Indeed they are, especially when you saw the talent bursting on stage at Toronto Poetry Slam during the June show. Around one-quarter of the slammers were under 19 (thank you for being all ages, Drake!) and it was incredible to see such energy and ambition coming from dem youths. More on that later.

The night was a mix of vet and rookies. Amanda commanded her poems with ease, moving from serious subject matter (pedophilia, prostitution) to more laugh-heavy fare such as boyfriend troubles. Valentino wowed the audience with a new piece and some “funk”y poetry, while That Brown Bastard went funny on us with I’m So Brown in the second round. Newbies such as Lefcowitz and Stina rocked the mic right, proving that anyone can hit the stage and be a star for under 3 minutes.

The young star of the night was also the winner. Molle kicked impressive arse with three poems covering a wide range of topics, from queer rights to the beauty of poetry. She looked confident and had a nice swagger on stage. There was definitely something in the air when she moved on to the third round; many audience peeps remarked the vibe changed in the air when she took the mic. It was a close call (a .1 difference) but Molle edged out Amanda in the third round to win $75 and a gift certificate to the organic resto Live.

This wrap wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the feature. Boonaa Mohammed filled in for Jamaal St. John last minute and blasted our faces with humour, revolution, social activism and a touch of theatrics. This dude is the real deal, and it was great to hear that he sold out all his CDs that night. Way to support indie art, Slam audience!

That ends another Toronto Poetry Slam, and you best be marking July 18 on your calendar for the next spoken word showdown. It’s a special night — not only is it the beginning of the season proper, but it also features the Slam’s first all-music feature, Mark Berube and the Patriotic Few. If you want to hear memorable poetry AND music, the July Slam is your slam.