The thunder that ran through last nights poetry slam is still running rampant under my skin - the energy was intoxicating, the audience was present and powerful, and the poets, oh the poets....
The nine people who bravely signed up for our first slam completely tore the roof off. Many of them had never participated in a poetry slam before. Some of them had never even been to/heard of a poetry slam before! Each and every poet performed heartfelt, gut wrenching, powerhouse pieces. They persevered through any nerves, any shaking hands or stumbled words, and they killed it. It is not easy to get up on stage and read your hearts secrets, but these folks did it with style. We laughed, we cried (don't act like you didn't, I know I did), we fell in love and got our hearts broken, we lived moments of so many different lives, all in one night. And for that incredible experience, we owe our poets gratitude.
Though everyone was amazing, there has to be a winner, so let's take a second to celebrate the winner, TC. She took the stage with an incredible presence and spoke directly to the audience, drew us in with conversation, and then fed us some knowledge. The three pieces she brought were moving, sincere, and fierce. Thank you TC! She of course won a $10 roll of quarters, provided by Karma Rags.
I cannot wait to do this again. I have to admit I was insanely nervous leading up to this event. What if no one wanted to participate? Obviously, after seeing the amount of support of spoken word we have here in Huntsville, its clear I didn't need to worry at all. I am so humbled by all this, and so grateful for each and every one of you for helping make this happen. I'd just be yelling poems in my room by myself if it weren't for you!
I don't plan to write about every slam on this blog, but this was a huge milestone for Out Loud. I knew a long time ago I wanted to start hosting slams, and I can blame nerves all I want, but truth is, I wasn't ready. It would be a whole lot more responsibility to organize more than one event a month, and I wasn't having it. But I am committed to this. I am ready to keep this going. And I wouldn't have gotten here if it weren't for you. I mean it, each and every one of you.
The next slam will be on January 24th, and they will continue on the second and fourth Sunday of every month till I explode or die of exhaustion or till you all drag me off stage. Check the facebook page soon for a lot more photos from the night, and I hope to get video up by the end of this week as well, so subscribe to our YouTube channel if that's your thing.I don't plan on posting a video of every performance as I used to, because I am at a point where I have to leave you wanting more!
Also, for those interested in reading but aren't ready to slam, check out our open mics. They are full of vibrant sparks who speak beautifully. You'd enjoy it. The next one is January 20th at 6:30 pm in the Lowe Mill classroom, Studio 2008, where we will be releasing an anthology of some of the incredible work read at our events over the past year. This book (real book, its got a spine, and over 100 pages of poems and fiction) is another thing that I plan to keep doing until I physically cannot anymore or until books go extinct or something equally as horrible. This year they are $12 and all proceeds will go to Lowe Mill for use of their amazing venue.
Lets keep doing this shit, shall we? No seriously, please come to the next one. I fell in love with each and every one of you last night, and I need to see you again! And those that missed it - there will be more, and they will grow, so get ready.