In no particular order, a top ten list of my favorite bits and snatches from the Individual World Poetry Slam last week...
10) Location - Berkeley works really well for slam in general (support for the arts, leftist-leaning audiences, borders Oakland, which has strong urban arts culture), and the organizational team worked all the advantages to their fullest. The venues were not only all on one street, they were less than thirty feet apart from one another - fantastic! The Finals night venue was on UC Berkeley campus, which was another excellent use of location - the university auditorium brought in university students, who might not have otherwise known what was going on.
9) The Organizing Team - the Berkeley folks were not only warm, welcoming and well-organized, but were absolutely committed to hospitality. I had interactions with organizers that ranged from "would you like some coffee? I'm making a Starbucks run," to "what do you think we could be doing better right now? Is there anything you need?" Even the head organizer, Charles Ekabhumi Ellik, took a few minutes to say hi and ask me how I was. I never had to ask for anything - they even had free food for us!
8) Food - yeah, it's important to feed the poets, and it happens so rarely that when someone announces free pizza, or plunks a giant box of delicious baked goods in front of a crowd of poets, we sometimes forget our manners. Thank you for feeding us, Berkeley!
7) Karen Finneyfrock's piece "What Lot's Wife Would Have Said if She Wasn't a Pillar of Salt"
6) Jen Rinaldi's piece about her student with whom she developed a haphazard, agonizing, tight rapport, only to lose him to the justice system.
5) The Jewish open mic, as usual. It's really a mini family reunion within a family reunion.
4) The "Poetry and Activism" panel. Well done.
3) Karaoke night - after these long days of workshops and bouting against one another, the late-night events were an oasis of drink and revelry. Highlights of karoke included Mike McGee's "I've Got Friends in Low Places" (got everyone singing), Sean Conlon's version of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" (got everyone dancing), and a whole bunch of folks who got up and sang Beyonce's "Single Ladies"
2) My roomate, Arrian Wissel, of Phoenix, AZ, who proved to be everything one wishes in a hotel roomate - reasonably neat, good at sizing up potential outfits for bouts, sweet as pie, game for 4am sushi adventures, and not big on snoring. I'd room again with her any time.
1) During the first half of finals, I sat with my friend Colin, while we watched our friends (and his girlfriend) battle it out for the championship. We took turns cluching one another during poems with special significance for us. It was kind of adorable.
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