2011 Writing Wrongs Slam Season!

What's up Writing Wrongs faithful! As we prepare for another great slam season resulting in another great team to represent Columbus at the 2011 National Poetry Slam in Boston this coming August, we want to make sure everyone knows the ground rules.

The Slam schedule is as follows (all dates are subject to change)
January 4th (FREE NIGHT)
January 18th
February 1st
February 15th
March 1st
March 15th
March 29th (Last Chance Slam, Winner gains entry into Grand Slam)
April 12th - Grand Slam

*All Slams preliminary slams will consist of two 3 minute rounds except the Grand Slam which will be 3 rounds

*Points are awarded to the top 3 finishers from each slam (3 points for 1st place, 2 for 2nd, 1 for 3rd)

*Poets may not repeat poems during the preliminary slams. Poets CAN repeat poems they performed during prelims while competing in the Last Chance Slam or in the Grand Slam

*To qualify for the Grand Slam poets must finish among the top 8 point earners during the prelims AND slam in at least 2 of the prelim slams OR win the Last Chance Slam

**NEW RULE--Poets in the Grand Slam may not repeat poems performed in a previous National Team Grand Slam. For example: If you performed Poem A, B and C in the Team Grand Slam in the 2010 Grand Slam, then you may not perform those poems in the 2011 Grand Slam (though you may perform them during this year's prelims). This will ensure that the Grand Slams stay fresh with newer work from year to year.

That's all for now people, good luck to all you as I can't wait to see the work you bring to this new slam season!

Exercise #2

1. Make a list of objects from your past. Make them concise and specific. (Exp: a broken vase, a new Pontiac Vibe, a T-Shirt floating in a pool). List about 5 of them.

2. Your poem will have 5 stanzas of three lines each. The first line of your stanza will start: "I come from ___________" with one of the subjects in the blank. The next two lines of the stanza are free reign for you to follow up the original statement.

Example:

I come from a broken vase
the creases in my hands sharp and reflective
my ribs stretching across, wishing they could harness a bouquet

...and repeat 4 more times. Go!

2/30 William - From an old prompt, but a new poem

Execute. Command.

During the bloody sunset, my still-born twin told me I come from a sickle blade of executioners. Our hands, large and terminal. Two sets, one visible except to victims. We live in torsos, the hollowed out spines of men born of gallows and mischief. In the throats of liars, the railroad track wrists of thieves, their fingers sprawl out like fleshy firecrackers when bone is kissed by cleaver. The light we see in strangulation cannot be simulated, the growth of a knotted rope from the back of a husband slayer’s neck is a progress few can speak. My heart is a hornets’ nest of moans. A wild dog with a filthy coat, that has learned to forgo the carrot for the swing of the stick. When I speak, you can hear the scythe scraping the back of my teeth, the hardened glaciers in my gums, pinning spirits back onto my tongue. My apologies are always post-mortem, falling upon the ears of those that no longer need them.

NaPoWrMo Challenge: William 1/30

Cannon

The first time a man is shot out of a cannon, he will not remember the heat
the searing of his elbows against iron walls
He won’t recall the flash of daylight sprinting to his origin
He may not even remember the low end conversation
Of the bang itself. What will stay with him
Is the silence
The absence of anything before his explosion
The way the white sucked at his skin
Like his 9 year old forearms by the vacuum attachment

I never took you for cannon
your mouth a flash of opportunity and reconstruction. I pray the monuments of lesser
are never flattered by your explanations. At your best you are collapsed towers
and brick dust. A concert of open fire hydrants responding to your outburst
I hope to be the white between your words. My name an explosion when it leaves
your iron clad lips. Sing. Please sing me. I have never been chord or wrecking ball

30/30 Starts on THURSDAY!

Yes, April is upon us. That means for poets, its 30/30 time! 30 poems in 30 days people that's the challenge. As for having a safe place to post them on-line for critique from your peers, you can put them up right here.

so starting Thursday, lets get on it!

Writing Prompt / Exercise #1 (for 2010)

Ingredients:

1. First off pick from 1 of 3 people. A 24 year old female Runway model, a 63 year old grandmother or a teenage boy. Write that person at the top of your sheet.

2. Split your sheet into two halves and label the categories - "Cause" and "Effect".

3. Here are your causes - Unbuckled seatbelt, Open Bedroom Window, snowy driveway, first date, unattended stove, declaration of college major, breached firewall (computer), a present from a secret admirer, missed appointment, 3 consecutive hours on the internet.

4. Now, list an effect for each cause. Be descriptive, but not necessarily wordy, ie...a hand lifeless on the car hood or a pregnancy notification delayed.

5. After finishing the list, take the person you identified in #1 and write a poem using at least 5 of the effects you listed. You must use the effects to only describe the attributes of the person. For example; 'her smile was a hand lifeless on the car hood' or 'she laughed like a pregnancy notification delayed'.

Have at it!

Writing Wrongs first Full Year '09

Writing Wrongs had a pretty good year, for it being the first full year of its existence. The audience stayed up for the most part with a consistency I couldn't have really expected. We had some great features, I mean great. I'd have to say that my favorite features of the year were Blair and Brian Ellis, though we had so many just destroy the spot. I'm quite sure Rachel gave the best feature nobody saw (as part of an experimented Saturday night show, a spectacle I plan to make amends for in 2010). Some of our shows were so packed, we had to steal chairs from the coffee shop itself and we would still have a standing room. I saw so much growth amongst poets this year that I hope it becomes a trend for years to come. As far as slamming goes, here's how it went down

Women of the World Poetry Slam '09
Rep: Barbara Fant


If you've got a problem with Barbara Fant, then you're a horrible human being that needs to question your existence. Yeah, I said it. People LOVE Barb and that's before they hear her actually recite a poem. Then it just gets stalkerish. At any rate, this was Barb's second WOWPS appearance and she finished 24th overall

National Poetry Slam '09
Team Members: Wyk McGowan (1st), William Evans (4th), Barbara Fant (2nd), Mike 'Spike' Cowell (3rd), Ethan Rivera (1st)


This team was pretty fun. We should've had more than we did. This team did well. We should've done better. I'll chalk that up as my shortcoming for not utilizing the prep time the best in having our team ready to perform like we could've. Nevertheless, we finished 27th (out of 68 teams). Its the best finish for a Columbus team since 2004. I'm quite sure its a top five finish for Columbus' history. A nice building block, especially for the first year of Writing Wrongs being in competition

Individual World Poetry Slam
Representative: Ethan Rivera


Ethan was the lightning rod for Writing Wrongs for the duration of the year. He showed the most growth and work ethic in making himself a better poet and it showed when he won our IWPS slam-off pretty easily. He finished 76th at IWPS, which I know disappointed him initially, but it became evident that he was learning on the fly and earning the respect and admiration of his peers. His poetry will be a force to deal with in '10.

So many crazy things are set to pop off this upcoming year, I'm definitely happy to have such a great seat for the show that Writing Wrongs will be.

Exercise #11

Tell the story of your birth from your father's perspective.
You are not allowed to use 'you' or 'I'. It should be your father's voice, not you in your father's voice if that makes sense. A couple things to consider: What kind of man was your father? Was he there? How empathetic was he? What about his relationship with your mother before or after you? Don't be scared to go there with this one.

Exercise #10

Take a look at this picture



What would be the last Will and Testament to the person living here? What was their occupation? How long did they live there? Any children? Are they alone in the house? Who built the house? What would the promise if they survive?

Writing Prompt / Exercise #9

He was a tree that was easy to forget...

Ethan's prompt 6

If you told me our
last hug was a lie
I would gargle arsenic
to get the taste out.
Sand your name
from the surface,
sweep up that feeling
and place it under my bed
where I keep all of the things
I am afraid of.
I keep nightmares beneath
my dreams.
Why should your heart
be any different?
I would blame love poems on you.
Find spiders stretching
to the corners of your picture frames.
Fill trash cans
with your puppet strings.
I would apologize
for making you pretend
that this was what you wanted.
You created a beautiful
painting on my chest.
You may erase the pencil marks
but I will keep
these graphite scars
as a reminder
to not look down.
That love is a a tight rope walk
you can never prepare for.
If it was a lie
then it was a good one.
I won't regret believing it
because I was not built
to hate you.

Writing Exercise #8

1) Remember something that frightened or threatened you when you were young (a neighbors dog, shadows, the moon, parents seperation, failure, etc).

2) Now imagine that same thing is being tried publicly. How would you react? Would you be happy or sad? Would you want to defend it or prosecute it. Is the court room a civilized hall of justice or something closer to the times of the Crucible. How do other people feel about? The same as you or different? What will the punishment if it is found guilty? Stoning? Electric chair? Torture or solitary confinement? Are you happy for its existence or do you wish it never existed at all?

Writing Exercise #7

Ok, this one requires a little bit of work, but should be fun.

1. In one (or two) word(s), state what you feel is your biggest strength (charisma, singing voice, athleticism, etc)

2. Go to this website and click on your birthday. Find anyone you recognize (or at least sounds interesting). The first line of your poem will be: Dear (celebrity), when we were switched at birth, you used my (talent from question #1) for __________.

I'm guessing you'll get some weird and funny stuff out of this one.

Ethan's Prompt 4

Dear Ethan,
This is your tongue. Thank you for the airtime. I have yet to feel under appreciated by you and that is something rare in my world. I have seen the sun for 734 consecutive days and not once did I force you to make that happen. You have kept me safe when the war outside was not worth my liquid.
But I would be amiss not to tell you I do not appreciate you holding my hand when we cross the street. I was born far before you and do not need a chaperon in shallow waters. Your moth is no YMCA. This is a mine field of subjects filled with Ts and Ds that should not be soft spoken. Do not fear what you do not say. It can only hurt me. Your molars are sharper than your silence and know more about inflicting pain than your fists.
Do not fear me touching someone other than you. There is something learned in that moment. I need interaction too. Do not hold me back. You protect your heart far more than you even think about me and that is a mistake. I am the strongest muscle in your body and believe me, your heart is crystal stemware begging for the shatter. I am whole. I am pure. You will never break me despite the disclaimer. I spend my days in isolation and spend my time out growing this life sentence.
Just keep in mind, I think about her just as much as you do. I am not as introverted as my life story would claim. I am lonelier than your arms because they get to hug her. Your eyes get to see her. I only get to dream how she would feel. Let me cross the street already. I promise, I don't bite.

Sincerely Yours,
The Tongue

P.S. Don't bother writing back. I already know what you are thinking.

Ethan's Prompt 3

During movie night,
my girlfriend told me
I come from a violin
string of baristas.
The constant vibration
in out of tune lattes
with whipped cream
stains my coffee table.
A caffeine rush away
from letting everything out
this was how she told me.
I am the music
coffee shop cashiers
want to play.
The number one hit they
dream of writing.
The big break
in a small town
that never happens.
But she told me I was
trapped behind the counter.
That ringing up customers
poised to never finish their
memoirs was holding me back.
She said that I spend
too much time inhaling
and I have forgotten
what release tastes like.
It is not a crime
to field your dreams in a coffee shop,
she told me,
but I shouldn't expect her to follow
or a better tip
than this one:
Let the past die
in its bloody tuxedo shirt
and stop playing that sad song
on the violin
when there are so many other songs
that you can be playing.

Writing Exercise / Prompt #6

'If you told me our last hug was a lie...'

Have at it!

Writing Exercise #5

In memoriam of 9/11.

1. Pick something peripheral to the towers. The air. The clouds. The street. The buses or car on the streets. Fire hydrants. Pick one. Exclude the towers or planes. No people. Please no people.

2. After you have chosen the object, write from its perspective on 9/12, the day after.

Its emotional, but you might get something worthwhile out of it.

Writing Exercise #4

This one is inspired by the Brian Ellis feature.

1. Pick your favorite (or least favorite) body part or function. This could be your arms, throat, smile, glance, voice, stomach, etc.

2. Write a letter from that body part in the first person perspective to the rest of you. For example: 'Dear William. This is a letter from William's eyes....'

What would they say? Are the envious of other body parts? Do they feel neglected? Flattered? Are they real or synthetic? How are they viewed by other people.

Writing Excercise / Prompt #3

This one is tough, but work with it. Good for some imagery and non-linear expansion

Ingredients:

1. A measure or length of distance - A yard, an inch, a caterpillar, a light year, a sword handle, whatever.

2. A profession of any kind - A carpenter, prostitute, crisis counselor, etc

3. A person from your past (real or imaginary)- The doctor that delivered you, a grade school teacher, your first bully

4. A time of day - Morning, brunch, post-coitus afterglow, etc

ANSWER ALL OF THOSE QUESTIONS BEFORE PROCEEDING!

Now, the first line of your poem should be:

During (Answer #4), (Answer #3) told me I come from a(n) (Answer #1) of (Answer #2).

Example: During the bloody sunset, my still-born twin told me I come from a sickle blade of executioners.

That's the prompt. When you post your poem, DO NOT include the first line, so we're just left with the poem. GO IN!