Watch out – these kids will be appearing at a venue near you in the next few years.

And Kevin Coval came in to host one of the semi-final bouts this afternoon.

–Until next week

One thing I can officially announce now is that we have secured some great competition venues (and are finalizing even more). You may remember that Finals will be taking place in the Berklee Performance Center, just like in 2011, but I’m now cleared to let you know that there will be preliminary bouts at the Lizard Lounge, the Cantab Lounge Upstairs, and the Davis Square Theater, and semifinal bouts at the YMCA Theater and the Middle East Down, which will also host group piece finals. We’re very close to confirming some more great spaces, so stay tuned!

Want to get involved with all this? The closer NPS 2013 gets, the more specific our volunteer needs become. While you can still get your name on the general volunteer list by filling out the form on the right-hand side of this page, our volunteer coordinator Megan Thoma would especially love to hear from anyone affiliated with MIT or with direct connections to a Red Line-accessible, 200+ capacity venue. We’re also looking for experienced sound engineers who can work during NPS – if that sounds like you, get in touch! After all, we’re all in this together.

–Until next week.

Back? Good, because Boston needs poetry now more than ever, and we’re going full steam ahead with our plans for the National Poetry Slam. If you’ve been following our Facebook and Twitter, you know that festival passes are now on sale: you can read all about the different options here, and buy one in the PSi store.

If you’re planning to compete, not spectate, there’s news for you too: we’ve contracted with the Hyatt Regency Cambridge to be our official host hotel for NPS 2013. You may remember it as the overflow hotel from Nationals in 2011; you may also remember that we needed an overflow hotel because the reserved block of rooms in the host hotel sold out by early July. Teams, you should aim to book your rooms as soon as possible, since registration and orientation will take place there, as well as all kinds of shenanigans in the 24-hour meeting space we’ve secured as a poets’ room. Also, it kind of looks like a ziggurat.

We’ve also got a new episode of SlamCenter for you, in which we cover a number of semi-final and final team selection slams in the NorthBEAST region. It’s now available to download on iTunes, so you can marvel at my lack of eloquence on the go! With fewer than 100 days to go until NPS 2013 officially kicks off, it seems like everyone’s preparing for the big event. Let us know if your local slam makes the news, and stay tuned for some more announcements (hint hint venues) in the coming days and weeks.

BOSTON, Mass. – April 26, 2013 — Festival passes for the 2013 National Poetry Slam (NPS) competition are now on sale, Poetry Slam Inc. announced today. Passes can be purchased from Poetry Slam Inc.’s online store at http://www.nationalpoetryslam.com/tickets. Those without tickets may pay a cover charge at the door for each individual event, scheduled to take place August 13-17 at various venues throughout Boston, Cambridge and Somerville. The festival is making its triumphant return to Beantown following a sold-out 2011 outing widely viewed as the most successful in the tournament’s more than 25-year history. The following will be available:

• All-Access Pass ($75) — If you want to see it all, this is the pass for you. It will grant admission to all 50+ official NPS 2013 shows, including day events, late-night events, preliminary competition, semi-final competition, Group Piece Finals and Team Finals.
• Student All-Access Pass ($60) — Under 21? No problem. This pass grants admission to all under-21 NPS 2013 events and includes admission to all day events, at least two preliminary shows per weeknight, and Team Finals.
• Tournament Pass ($50) — This pass grants admission to all NPS 2013 evening competition events, from preliminary slams to semi-finals, plus Group Piece Finals and Team Finals.

Pass purchasers will receive a full-color laminated pass designed by poet and artist Melissa Newman-Evans. Each pass category showcases a different, original piece of artwork of a local performance poet sourced from photographs by artists Marshall Goff and Richard Beaubien. Passes must be picked up during the first two days of the festival. Detailed pickup information is available at: http://www.nationalpoetryslam.com/tickets/festival-pass-pick-up

“These passes aren’t just a ticket–they’re like a membership badge for the poetry community,” said Art Director Newman-Evans. “Every NPS has its own unique look that is exemplified in the passes, and this year is no exception.”
Boston will host up to 84 teams of the top slammers from across the country, who will once again descend on the city for the chance to impress judges (randomly selected from the audience) with performances of original works. To meet the growing demand, this year’s festival will feature more events, easier access to information for fans, and most importantly, bigger venues.

“NPS is the Olympics of the performance poetry world,” said two-time NPS Host City Director Simone Beaubien. “When the festival came to town back in 2011, we called it a once-in-a-lifetime event. Since then, greater Boston has been turning out for poetry in record numbers, so it’s great for us to have this second rare opportunity to host; we’re planning to share poetry slam with even more audience this time around.”

About Poetry Slam, Inc.
Poetry Slam, Inc. is the official non-profit organization overseeing the North American coalition of poetry slams, setting the rules and vision that the majority of worldwide slams adhere to. PSi provides the infrastructure for a national affiliation of poets and slams, making the annual National Poetry Slam possible as a place to pool ideas and share creative resources to ensure the future growth and recognition of slam.

About the National Poetry Slam
The National Poetry Slam is the biggest team poetry slam in the world. Held every year since 1990, it is the definitive showcase for competitive performance poetry. Teams of the best poets from around the country come to compete for the national championship, during a week-long festival celebrating the dynamic oral tradition slam has fostered. Through several nights of competition, poets will perform either individually or in “group pieces” with their teammates, in the hopes of impressing judges randomly selected from the audience. This year a record number of teams is expected for the 24th annual National Poetry Slam in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, visit http://nationalpoetryslam.com. Follow NPS2013 on Twitter @nationalslam, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NationalPoetrySlam.

Big Poppa E (Erik Ott)

Buddy Wakefield

Harlym 125 (Jamele Adams)

Inphynit (Marlon Carey)

Maxwell Kessler

–Until next week.

April Ranger

Patrick Shaughnessy

Melissa Newman-Evans

Tom Daley

Carrie Rudzinski

Sean Patrick Mulroy

Sue Savoy

James Caroline

Sometimes it’s just about the photos.
–Until next week.

I am also very grateful to have this platform from which to thank everyone who reached out to support your fellow poetry community here in Boston. I know that we are experiencing only a fraction of the compassion and good wishes that have been directed the city’s way, and the kindness of our slam family has been tremendous. Thank you so much for your emails, texts, calls, Facebook posts, tweets, and positive energy.

Many folks have contacted to ask us how they can help the survivors and their families. As in any managed disaster, the most flexible and efficient donation you can give is cash: we recommend donations to The One Fund, a non-profit founded by the Massachusetts governor and Boston mayor specifically to reach those affected by the bombing. The Huffington Post has also gathered a selection of ways to donate directly to some of the families who have experienced loss. In addition, you can donate blood on a local level any time to help the many people who are in need each day; even if you are deferred from donation, you can consider hosting a blood drive for others to donate.

Some folks have also asked how they can help our poetry community during this difficult time. We deeply appreciate your continued support and good wishes, and ask only that you keep us in your hearts when spreading positive thoughts about the upcoming National Poetry Slam in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville.

Which leads us to the next concern to address: yes, the show will go on in Boston this August! After Governor Patrick’s assertion that “Next year’s Marathon will be even bigger and better,” we are confident that the city will support our efforts to bring the National Poetry Slam back to Boston. As a long-time arts organizer and working artist, I strongly believe in art’s ability to heal, not only with stories of survival and empathy, but also through continuing to create and share —and, yes, entertain —even in difficult times.

Our entire community offers our thanks to you for helping us heal, move forward, and continue to make art. I look forward to welcoming each and every one of you at the 2013 National Poetry Slam this summer.

Sincerely,
Simone Beaubien
Host City Director, 2013 National Poetry Slam
SlamMaster, Boston Poetry Slam

We observe Patriot’s Day on the third Monday in April. Many Bostonians know the holiday as “Marathon Monday”. The weekend is an international affair with runners and visitors from all over the world. But is very much a family holiday from Hopkinton all 26.2 miles to the finish line in Boston’s Bay Back neighborhood.

When bystanders to this weeks attack ran toward the first blast, and never flinched as the second blast went off, the terrorists lost. Author Dennis Lehane said it best, “We’ve been here a long time. You’re not going to change us. Boston’s always been kind of a contrarian city. It’s always been an iconoclastic city and it’s always been a city with a deep love and respect for civil discourse and civil liberties. And so if you think we’re going to suspend any of those because two very harebrained brothers decided to roll a couple of bombs into a marathon, then the sentiment was you got another thing coming. You confused us with another city.”

Yes our sense of security is a bit in tatters right about now. But I hope you don’t think this changes anything, do you? Terrorists cannot terrorize this city. We won’t cancel next year’s marathon nor are we going to cancel the National Poetry Slam.

Now, even more than ever, Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville are thrilled to be welcoming the wonderful, albeit crazy, slam family to our irrepressible city. We are looking forward to seeing you in August. We have never been so Bostonian as we were this week so four months from now come and help us celebrate poetry at its best.

– Until next week.

This just behind the Old North Church in Boston’s North End. It is most famous for signaling Paul Revere. Behind the church in the courtyard is the Dog Tag Memorial – six posts set in a gentle curve, dogtags hung on chains, and a pretty planting of flowers at the base. A remembrance for fallen American soldiers. Each dogtag representing a fallen soldier in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. When the wind blows, the tags make an eerie chiming sound.

This is Denver poet Paulie Lipman. I supplied Paulie a selection of photos as a sort of inspiration. There was no explanation just a bunch of photos I had selected. He was to pick one and create.

This is the photo he chose to use.

Here’s Paulie Lipman’s poem and interpretation of my work…

Letting someone explain a photo without my interpretation is similar to a song, once it’s out there someone can take it on as their own, then I can grow.

– Until next week.