(Scores are here - Mike)

It was a night of beginnings: the first slam of the official Toronto Poetry Slam season; the first time Vancouver spoken word poet Sean McGarragle has featured at TPS; and the first time the slam stage has been graced by so many new poets. In fact, there were practically only two TPS veterans in the first round - Yehuda Fisher and Ziy.

The first round gave us a good chance to see the various flavours of poetry out there: Livingstone Lacroix mixed song with her verse; Macer was dubbed the “Canadian Dr. Suess” by yours truly for bringing an appealing storytelling vibe to his poetry; Yaseemi gave the audience the blunt truths, no sugar coating; and Ziy returned to TPS after a year hiatus to rock our faces off with poems both classic and new.

But the freshest voice on Saturday night was also the highest scoring. Free Will, straight outta Ottawa and on the Capital Sleam 2007, brought the heat with memorized pieces on injustice, social activism and how people view money. Free Will powered into the third round to battle it out with Ziy and Yehuda, and he ended up the winner on Saturday night, earning him a spot in the semi-finals.

Not to be forgotten is Sean McGarragle, who blessed the stage with wonderful slices of his life. I don’t think anyone will forget lines like “Even if her period was gremlins” and “bodyfisting a fairy.” Oh Sean, always giving us such pleasant visuals.

Note that the next slam is coming up sooner than you think, on Nov. 10, and it’s at a different venue: Cervejaria, 842 College. It’s the slam’s two-year anniversary featuring The Fugitives, so get ready for a blow-your-soul-away kinda evening.

This entry was posted by Dave under Slam roundups.