Youth Slam

On Wednesday I was a judge at the second monthly Toronto Youth Slam, put on by the Toronto Poetry Project. Truth is... was the feature and was great as always. I was not sure what to expect. I expected a lot of teen angst from the 12-19 year-olds, but was surprised by a lot of the maturity of the work. These kids may not be ready to contend for big championships now, but a chance to hone their skills will help them develop and help the art of spoken word in general. Also a big thanks goes to Yehuda Fisher for hosting. He has committed a lot of time and energy to spoken word in the last year.

It was funny. One contestant, who was about 12 or 13 went on a tirade about how someone was ugly and stupid and had a big butt and I sat there thinking, "how do I score this? She's 12." Then at the end she explained these were things she'd say to herself in the mirror before going to school and trying to be one of the most popular girls. It was a brilliant way to turn it around and I gave her a 9.7.

Rochdale Rhymes and Readings

A quick note for Rochdale Rhymes and Readings. We'll be having a spoken word extravaganza on June 4th. Featuring will be Toronto's Gypsy Eyes, Truth Is..., and New York State's Nolan Guiffre. Admission is pass the hat, as always, and there is an open mic. 8 pm, Regal Beagle, 335 Bloor St. W.

I also want to plug May 26th, because I'm reading at the Art Bar with Matthew Tierney and Kate Braid. The Art Bar is Canada's longest running weekly poetry-only literary series. It is quite a prestigious honour to be offered a reading there. It's at Clinton's, 693 Bloor St. W., at the corner of Bloor and Clinton.