Hello hungry readers. Some great and amazing things have been brewing in Burlington. This past month has meant a flurry of media attention to our slam. It all began with the Burlington Post A&E section doing a write-up about us. From there we were contacted by 2 different shows on TV Cogeco and a writer for the Sehirdan college weekly newspaper, the Sun. As clips and links from these other media sources become available we will most assuredly proudly post them here on the blog.

That being said, the slam last week was amazing. We had alot of veteran poets from across the GTA showup to slam. We also had some of our local slammers take up the open mic for a change. Last, but certainly not least, we got to enjoy some new faces on the stage and in the audience. It certainly seemed like everyone had a great time. Come out again next month on the 25th and I’m sure you will be amazed again!

In keeping with our goals to give the people of Burlington a chance to take the stage and improve their skills BSP is putting together a team to represent us on a stage, the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word this fall in Ottawa. Over the next few months poets will be competeing for the monthly slam as well as for a spot on the team.

Good luck to all poets and performers. Those in the audience are already lucky to hopefully be seeing their local poets improve in their writing & stage presence as they step up their game to make the team.

Till next month… check the upcoming slams and leave your comments!

So it has been confirmed; BSP is part of SpoCan and WILL be sending a team to the CANADIAN FESTIVAL OF SPOKEN WORD in Ottawa, in late 2010.

The slam-off for the team will begin at February’s slam, when we feature the national slam champs of 2009 – the Ottawa Slam Team.

Points will be accumulated for the top 3 scores of the night for 4 months, with a Finals slam in June.

Points will be awarded as follows:

• 1st place – 5 points
• 2nd place – 3 points
• 3rd place – 1 point

Points will then determine who participates in the Finals and there will be an advantage given based on point gradation. (IE: 0-5 points will be -2 to start finals, 5-10 will be -1 to start finals and so on…. ***this is an example and exact deductions and gradation will be based on how many competitors and range of point spread are actually involved come May).

The team will be determined based on cumulative scores at the night of Finals, with a 4 member team and one alternate being appointed.

Typical PSI slam rules apply; 3mins10secs time limit (0.5 deduction for each 10 secs over), no props or costumes (2 point deduction), original work only, no musical accompaniments (2 point deduction).

There will be obligations of the Team to work together to create group performances, perform at fundraisers to pay for their trip to Ottawa and generally put their best foot forward to represent as well as possible, while having fun and maintaining respect for others.

If you think you’re up for competing on a National stage in the nations capital and meeting some incredible people/ artists from across the country; then this might just be the opportunity for you.

What hopefully becomes an annual event, the first EVER QEW Poetry Slam, was a series represented by the slams in the cities connected by Queen Elizabeth Way highway (Toronto, Burlington, Niagara Falls & Buffalo). Bout 1 was in Toronto on December 4th and the 2nd (final) bout was in Buffalo on December 12th.

We are proud to announce that Burlington took home gold and some US cash as prize money.

For the 4th year in a row Tomy Bewick, BSP’s co-founder, organized the Straight to the Streets event.  the premise is simple.  Collect warm clothes, jackets, and blankets then distribute them staright to the people living on the streets who need them.

This past Saturday, November 28th saw a couple dozen people meeting up at the corner of Queen & Bathurst in Toronto to do just that.  Digital Journalist, KJ Mullins, was there to cover the event (

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/282858

).

This year was my first time participating.  Let tell you, it was exciting.  I truly believe I came away with more than I gave out.  I plan to make this annual tradition and I’d encourage you to do the same.  Whether it’s collecting or being there to hand the items out.

Mark it down now !!!  Thursday November 19th 8pm @ The Black Bull Tavern’s Fireside Lounge (1124 Guelph Line).

The Burlington Slam Project will be hosting another event.  Show & sign-up early for the poetry slam or open mic if you’re interested.  Once the sign-up is done we kick things off with our open mic followed by the slam proper.

This month’s feature is Ntare Ali Gault.  He is a slam poet, actor, playwright, and author of the book “The Sun Will Rise: A Memoir of an Urban family”.  He is one of Buffalo’s best and we are privileged to have him.

As usual, we will be asking for $5 donation to cover the costs of our feature and the cash prize for the winner of the poetry slam.

For October’s slam we are going to be at the Black Bull Fireside Lounge !!

For directions click here for Google Maps or copy the address into your GPS. 1124 Guelph Line, Burlington, On (just North of the 403/QEW).

Sign-up is at 7:45 and the Open Mic starts @ 8.

This month our feature is Seven Dollar Bill. Seven Dollar Bill is Chris Gilpin and Sean McGarragle.

Sean McGarragle is the national slammaster of the Vancouver Poetry Slam, the current chair of SpoCan, and was a member of the 2006 Vancouver Poetry Slam Team. Sean has toured festivals, series and schools in Canada and the United States as a spoken word artist and storyteller and has shared stages with such spoken word stalwarts as Lillian Allen, Shane Koyczan, Dwayne Morgan, Andrea Thompson and Sheri-D Wilson.

Chris Gilpin (aka Faust McKenzie) is a two-time member of the Vancouver Poetry Slam Team (2008 & 2009), the runner-up in the 2008 Vancouver Individual Poetry Slam competition, the champion of Vancouver’s 2008 Haiku Death Match, and winner of the Vancouver’s 2009 CBC Poetry Face-off. Chris always encourages the audience to stick their finger in the wonder socket.

You’ll need 2 great poems to take home the title of October Burlington Poetry Slam Champion. So remains…

Are Ewe Ready?

Do you have what it takes to throw it down in front of a crowd? Do you want to try getting in front of people to share but don’t want to get booed off stage? Do you just want some awesome spoken word & poetry without having to go to Toronto?

Regardless of who you are… the Burlington Slam @ the Queen’s Head Pub is where you should BE!

Tonight @ 7:45 we’ll be meeting in the games room of the Queen’s Head (just north of Lakeshore on Brant St in Burlington). Each month we start off with the Open Mic. People from all walks of life and talent are given the stage. For 5 minutes we give them our attention and then our appreciation because let’s face it… just getting up on stage is frightening enough.

For those with a thicker skin & desire for competition we have the SLAM !! Each poet gets 3 minutes & 10 seconds to WOW the audience judges. Five judges score each poem Olympic style. The top & bottom scores are dropped to give each poem/poet a score out of 30. The poet with the most points wins! Be careful though! You can lose points for going over time, performing someone else’s poetry, or using props or costumes.

Between the 1st & 2nd round of the slam we have a feature poet. This month we have “The Split“. I’ve been told she has this almost magical ability to pull you into her stories and poems like you yourself are there. Don’t miss this!

We kindly ask for a $5 donation. ALL money pays for our feature poet and a cash prize for the winner of the slam.

Good luck and C U there !

Tonight we are celebrating the one year anniversary of the Burlington Slam Project.

No doubt there have been growing pains. Just like a new baby we are still finding our feet. Bumps and bruises won’t keep us down though. We are determined to bring amazing poetry to the people of the Golden Horseshoe.

To celebrate our first birthday with our we have a 3 for 1 feature: The Dream Chasers. They are Tomy Bewick, Dwayne Morgan and Leviathan Grant. Catch them the night before they launch the “I Hate Poetry” show at the Hamilton Fringe Festival until next Sunday. Through satire, humour, and the tackling of tough subject matter, “I Hate Poetry” breaks away from the poetry we hated as students, and offers a glimpse into the world of spoken word, offering something for everyone, no matter how they feel about poetry!

Individually these poets are a force to be reckoned with in the world of spoken word. Combined they are dynamite. So come out tonight for an evening of explosive and mind blowing entertainment. You can even be part of the show! Bring something to share on the open mic or sign up to win a cash prize in the poetry slam. On or off the stage you will have a blast.

Queen’s Head Pub
400 Brant Street, Burlington, ON L7R 2G2

$5 covers the cost of our feature and prize money for the Slam

The madness starts at 8 pm.

No more excuses… B THERE !!!

“Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement” – William Pollard

We are certainly not strangers to the concept of change. Last month we had a last minute Feature cancellation, this month we have a venue complication. This month our venue, Honey West, has double booked for Thursday night. Apparently they had the other group on the calendar longer so we’re SOL (Sadly Over Lubricated).

“For anything worth having one must pay the price” – John Burroughs

We STRONLY believe having a place to express ourselves through words, here in Burlington is very worthwhile. Our benfactor, Tomy Bewick, doesn’t understand the term “quit” and so I have sourced an alternative venue that is just around the corner… We have booked the “Empire Room” at the Queens Head Pub (http://www.thequeenshead.ca/) which is at 400 Brant Street.

They don’t really know we’re having a slam, but I told them that we would have 20 to 30 people eating and drinking so please don’t make a liar out of me…

Come on through, check out our KILLER FEATURE – “Shihan”, and when we pass the hat or ask for your $5 just remember we’re trying to bring you a show that you can’t get anywhere else in the suburbs!

If you need directions or have any questions check out our facebook event page (http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=1176790261131&f=1&e=-12#/event.php?eid=92979257390).

Peace, blessing, and hope to see you there!

June Slam

If you haven’t come to one of our Slams yet then mark this one on your calendars because we have an extra special feature. This is a once in a lifetime chance to see a famous HBO poet in an intimate environment. So join us Thursday June 18th for our monthly Open Mic and Poetry Slam @ Honey West Restaurant & Lounge. Meet us in the back room at 7:45 to sign up for the Slam or Open Mic and we kick off the verbal antics at 8 pm.

We encourage all types of musicians, MC’s, singers, comedians etc to come share their talents and sign up for the open mic. For the more competitive at heart we have a monthly poetry slam where your best 3 minute poems, power rants, battle raps, tragic tales and inspirational speeches can win you a CA$H PRIZE…

Our feature this month is Shihan has appeared 7 times over 6 seasons on HBO’s Def Poetry. He is the 1st & ONLY poet named ‘download of the week’ on iTunes. Shihan has also appeared on CNN, NBC, Oprah Winfrey’s Oxygen Network and many others. You can always read up on him at http://www.shihanisback.com.

As usual the cover is always ONLY $5

For more details you can always check us out on YouTube or join or group on FaceBook so you can know when the next slam is happening.

See you there !
Burlington Slam Project team