North East Slam Invitational & Other Shtuff!!

So last night we hosted Maine Reads Youth Speaks. This was a two part event that showcased some of the Poetry Out Loud Students as well as some of Boston & Portland's finest slammers. If you were there you would have seen me running around like a methed out speed freak. As long as I do this stuff I will never get over deep fear and anxiety that cripples my ability to reason and function like a normal human being. It must be very fun to watch.

The first part of the evening was a bit of a slow start. Not a lot of people showed up and we got kind of a late start. However by the end of it we had a full house and they were all such a great audience. We were lucky enough to have Sarah Cecil (the Maine Reads Festival of the Book organizer) join us. This woman has done so much for literacy and the art of writing in Maine I was honored to have her stop by.

From Poetry Out Loud we welcomed Sabrina Castle and Riva Dumont. Sabrina performed some original pieces that were both touching and extremely sophisticated. I was extremely impressed to see such expressive and intriguing work come out of someone her age. Following Sabrina was the 2006 Poetry Out Loud Maine state champ Riva Dumont. She performed a few of the pieces that she competed with in 2006 and impressed the hell out of a few people, myself included. I tried to get her to perform some of her own work but she'd not have it. Perhaps next time.

Then we moved on to the Slam which turned out to be an impromptu Portland vs. Cantab slam. Joining the long list of slammers was a very special 7th grader Spencer Hugo-Vidal. This kid won the hearts of everyone there with two very impressive pieces. Lets hope he returns and keeps writing. From Boston we welcomed Simone, Brian Ellis & Alphonso Rigatoni (and no it's not his real name). Representing the Port Veritas poets we had Wil, Sean, Wil Anthony & Dan. It was a knock down drag out fight with some very high scores including a perfect score for Rigatoni who would go on to win the whole kitten caboodle (anyone know what the hell that means?). Taking second place was our very own Wil Anthony who was closely trailed by Brian Ellis. All in all it was a great evening....and we only lost a little bit of money...now thats success. Maybe I shouldn't be a business major after all.

This week we'll be once again welcoming back the poets of Moon Pie Press. Featuring for Moon Pie will be local favorites Michael Macklin & Michelle Lewis. Its been a long and eventful weekend for the Portland literary scene. But don't let that stop you from coming out this Tuesday to see and hear a little bit more of way makes Portland poetry the hottest shit around.