Check us out on youtube & Bandcamp!
Sam Sax - “Bow & Arrow”
“A snapshot of our baby grand piano fingers probably looked like the most boring, post-racial, kumbaya, clip-art - but the way his instrument pulsed in my mouth - plays an altogether different tune.”
Sam Sax performing for the Bay Are Unified Slam team at NPS 2012 in Charlotte, NC.
Sam’s work it is truly some of the most breath taking and beautifully crafted performance writing in contemporary slam.
But - don’t just take our word for it…
Cam Awkward Rich - “Love Poem for an Airport Security Guard”
“How did you know that when I bend and spread - I like to be kept waiting.”
Taken at NPS 2012 - Cam performs for (our hearts, and) the Bay Area United Team.
Kait Rokowski - “Bridalplasty”
“…you stack puzzle pieces over your old frame. Each one displaying a genetically perfect body part. What you could look like - with the help of an exacto knife.”
Who doesn’t need a little more Kait Rokowski in their life?
(via buttonpoetry)
Source: youtube.com
Katelyn Lucas - “The Unraveling”
“She is the woman who holds your eyes inside of her mouth. She is the magazine cover at the grocery store. She is the first, and the last, love.”
Another video from last year’s National Poetry Slam! The Bay Area is one of the hot spots for slam in America, and last year, they sent a unified team from across a few different slams. Naturally, they ended up being amazing.
Omoizele “Oz” Okoawo - “The Beast:1944”
“If the lynch mob decides what it wants to eat, it ain’t gonna change its mind.”
Continuing our postings from last years National Poetry Slam, we have a treat for you today. This is Omoizele “Oz” Okoawo, from the Cantab Poetry Slam, who are some of the finest poets in the entire country. There are very few videos of Oz online, but his work is incredible. Enjoy, spread, and look out for more NPS videos in the days to come!
Kait Rokowski and Khary Jackson (6is9) - “Unsent Letters Between Shirley Temple and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson”
“The thing about the movies is when you watch them, you own the people onscreen.”
An extremely rare group piece from the Soap Boxing Slam, in this case between two multiple-time indie finalists. Well worth watching.
Jared Singer - “A Letter to Sarah”
“You became the reason I don’t read letters / without having someone else proofread them first.”
Jared Singer performing for the Urbana Poetry Slam in Charlotte, NC during the 2012 National Poetry Slam. Jared has been a star of the New York City slam scene for the past five years and is the creator of some of the most engaging and idiosyncratic work in slam today.
Khary Jackson (6is9) - “To the African Americans in California Still Supporting Prop 8” (@ NPS 2012)
“…I understand. The civil rights of strangers can seem abstract, distant, disconnected from home.”
Saturdays Are Mlekodays - Episode Three:
NPS and the Three Slam Miracles
Last week, the National Poetry Slam descended on Charlotte, North Carolina, and there was not an episode of Saturdays Are Mlekodays.
Source: buttonpoetry.com
Khary Jackson (6is9) - “Her Name”
“She was an earthbound mermaid, singing the ocean like seashells.”
Our final video post celebrating this week’s National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, NC. Khary Jackson is a two-time NPS champion, a three-time individual finalist, and one of the most impressive performance artists in the spoken word scene today. Tonight is the NPS semifinals, if you’re in or near Charlotte, go check them out: http://scores.poetryslam.com/
Shane Hawley - “Robot Parts”
“Check me out now baby! I got robot parts!”
In honor of the National Poetry Slam this week in Charlotte, NC, Button will be posting videos from the Twin Cities team, who are two-time national champions. Today’s video is of NPS Champion and member of the 2012 Twin Cities Unified Slam Team, Shane Hawley doing what he does best. Talking about robots.
