After the Worcester iWPS finals ...
... this year's Worcester iWPS rep is Jenith Charpentier!
Gotta say, it was a Helll of a slam. Lots of new work from people, all around, with a few old favorite poems coming to the fore. Bill MacMillan and Dave Macpherson did some crowd crawling (with Macpherson on chairs and everything.) Lea Deschenes rocked the mic. Newcomer Sam Capogrossi did some lovely work, and I must have done OK, because I came in second, but in the end, Jenith was the undeniable champion. And deservedly so: Her work was powerful and evocative, and while she's been one of Worcester's best writers for some time now, her performance skills have really escalated. Congratulations, Jenith!
Here's what I pulled out of the hat:
*Three-minute round: Joseph Brodsky is Dead (an old standby. Seriously, if I have a radio single, this is it. It's in the Poetry Slam anthology and everything.
*Two-minute round: How to Grow Old Gracefully and Still Love Rock 'n' Roll (Debut performance)
*Four-Minute Round: That Old-Time Religion (Debut performance)
*One-Minute Round: For Beth & Mindy (OK. This may be a debut performance, but I'm not sure. It's been on my computer for about three years, mostly abandoned. I may have read it once, because there's a copy in my bag, but I don't recall ever doing so. In any case, this one was abandoned, and then I took a fresh look at it, and decided I was being too hard on it. Evidently, I was right this time, because it took the high score in the last round. There's probably a lesson in there somewhere.)
And that's how it went. It was an absolte blast, and I couldn't be happier for Jenith. Just a great time, all around.
Gotta say, it was a Helll of a slam. Lots of new work from people, all around, with a few old favorite poems coming to the fore. Bill MacMillan and Dave Macpherson did some crowd crawling (with Macpherson on chairs and everything.) Lea Deschenes rocked the mic. Newcomer Sam Capogrossi did some lovely work, and I must have done OK, because I came in second, but in the end, Jenith was the undeniable champion. And deservedly so: Her work was powerful and evocative, and while she's been one of Worcester's best writers for some time now, her performance skills have really escalated. Congratulations, Jenith!
Here's what I pulled out of the hat:
*Three-minute round: Joseph Brodsky is Dead (an old standby. Seriously, if I have a radio single, this is it. It's in the Poetry Slam anthology and everything.
*Two-minute round: How to Grow Old Gracefully and Still Love Rock 'n' Roll (Debut performance)
*Four-Minute Round: That Old-Time Religion (Debut performance)
*One-Minute Round: For Beth & Mindy (OK. This may be a debut performance, but I'm not sure. It's been on my computer for about three years, mostly abandoned. I may have read it once, because there's a copy in my bag, but I don't recall ever doing so. In any case, this one was abandoned, and then I took a fresh look at it, and decided I was being too hard on it. Evidently, I was right this time, because it took the high score in the last round. There's probably a lesson in there somewhere.)
And that's how it went. It was an absolte blast, and I couldn't be happier for Jenith. Just a great time, all around.
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