youth poetry

The Lipstick Wars and the Slam Resurgence in Louisville

October 15, 2015 — Leave a comment

From Sweet Peaches and KMAC poetry Slams to Floetic Friday youth slam and the VerbalArt Affair, spoken word poetry is a experiencing a resurgence in the city of Louisville. Such a resurgence that the Southern Fried competition will grace our presence in 2016 from the hard work of Lance G. Newman.  There’s a handful of hosts and artists pushing spoken word/slam into each corner of the city: Robin G with the Verbal Art Affair, which was started by Madison West and James Lee, Sweet peaches and KMAC with Lance Newman and Maxwell Sounds plus  Rheonna Thorton most recently organized and all women’s  slam competition called the Lipstick Wars.

In coalition with Arts Outreach and various charitable donations for refreshments and door prizes, Rheonna asked around until she landed the Bomhard Theatre in the Kentucky Center for Performing Arts.  A deal in itself the 600+ theatre nearly filled for the free event. Twelve women poets battled with words through three rounds of poetry in front of five judges.  The judges didn’t take their position lightly.  Rheonna plans for this event to be bi-annual and eventually host workshops for girls to empower their voice. So the judges scored accordingly and took the slam seriously by listening for imagery and craft in the performances. Contestants lost points for reading their work or not including poetic elements. The judges were booed several times as Slam encourages response throughout performance and scoring. In the same vein, points were awarded for engaging the audience and dynamics.

The top three poets were Tessa Gartin, Jazzy J, and Mizz Quoted

Tune in Thursday to artxfm.com at 1pm to hear Tessa Gartin talk about the experience and share some of her pieces. plus recordings from the competition.

Slam often doesn’t get a nod from academia in the writing community because at times craft isn’t celebrated and the pieces can head into the direction of rants with end rhyme. However, it can be done well and is being done well by a handful of poets in this city.

Look for the lipstick wars to come back in the spring of 2016

The event was so popular Miss Rheonna might have to have a preliminary round.

This weekend:

Floetic Friday, youth poetry slam

  • Friday
    at 7:00pm – 9:00pm
  • 822 E Market St, Louisville, Kentucky 40206
  • Young Poets of Louisville will be holding its first youth poetry slam of the year on October 16, 2015 at the Local Speed Museum. To perform you must be between the ages of 13-19. There will also be a young guest artist featured in a supportive and artistic environment. Admission is $5 at the door. Please come support the power of the youth voice in friendly compeition!

Homegrown Music Art and Spoken Word

If you want to live in the moment, come out to Cedar Grove Coffee House Oct. 16 and get yourself a Homegrown infusion. In celebration of Halloween, we’ll be having a scary good time singing, slamming, reading, and sharing our art. There’ll be drumming and strumming and humming and big noises and tiny sounds. Plus, brilliant poetry by Tom C. Hunley and stunning art by Jason Kelty.

See why people call us the best breakout venue for open-mic performers in the state, maybe in the whole country! Shake off your stage fright and come join us. Bring your original tunes. Tell us how your heart aches. Show us what 30 days in rehab looks like. Give us a glimpse of something beautiful. Give us laughter. Move us to tears. Make us feel and think and breathe and love again.

ALL ORIGINAL. NO COVER FEE. $25 Cash Giveaway

DOUBLE FEATURE!
**Art by Jason Kelty**
**Spoken Word by Tom C. Hunley**

Music – Stories – Poems
Bring yours and get in on the act for a chance to win $25 cash!

Open Mic Signups: starting at 5:45 p.m.

*Due to language and mature themes, the show is recommended for ages 16 and up.

American Fantastic presents The Cottonwood Curse and other spooky stories and poems

American Fantastic is hosting a night of stories both ghastly and ghoulish. Hear the tale of “The Cottonwood Curse”, a story of Victorian Old Louisville, and sins from the past that give the neighborhood its haunted legacy. Want to weave a tale of your own? We’ll have an open-mic for people who want to tell their own scary stories, poems and songs.

We’ll be hosting the event at the Sunergos at 306 W Woodlawn Ave in the Iroquois neighborhood of Louisville.