The Omaha Healing Arts Center Poetry Slam
Home of the 2003 and 2006 National Poetry Slam semi-finalist Omaha team and 2007 iWPS Finalist Dan Leamen
The Healing Arts Center has been a place for great poetry and performance since January of 2002. Doors open at 7, with an open mic (you have up to 3 minutes to read whatever you'd like) starting at 7:30pm and the slam (competition poetry (see below) 3 rounds (meaning you need 3 poems, none longer than 3 minutes)) beginning afterward. Emceed by Matt Mason and Zedeka and featuring many of the nation's finest poets, it's guaranteed better than a night at the movies for only a $7 suggested donation.
Sign up is limited, so to read you must sign up before 7:30. Sign ups will only be allowed after 7:30 if there are less than 6 on the open mic list or 8 on the slam list.
Upcoming Schedule:
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- It's not at the OM Center, but on March 16th at 7:30, you can catch a poetry slam bout between Omaha and Lincoln at the RNG Gallery (attached to Dixie Quicks restaurant at 1915 Leavenworth St., Omaha call 402/346-3549 for dinner reservations before the poetry!). These bouts are between teams of poets competing as qualifiers for the National Poetry Slam. $5.
- March 23: special show with the founder of the poetry slam, Marc Smith! 7:30pm start, $7. As stated in the PBS television series, The United States of Poetry, a "strand of new poetry began at Chicago's Green Mill Tavern in 1987 when Marc Smith found a home for the Poetry Slam." Since then, performance poetry has spread throughout the world, exported to over 500 cities large and small. Chalking up more than 2,000 engagements in nightclubs, concert halls, libraries, universities -- and on top of the occasional hot dog stand -- Marc continues to entertain and inspire audiences as diverse and eager as any to be found in the realm of fine arts. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Institute, Galway's Cruit Festival, Denmark's Roskilde Festival, Ausburg's ABC Brecht Festival, and the Queensland Poetry Fest in Australia. He has hosted over 1000 standing room only shows at the Green Mill's original slam and has been featured on CNN, 60 Minutes, and National Public Radio. He narrated the Sourcebooks releases Spoken Word Revolution and Spoken Word Revolution Redux. Marc's volume of poetry Crowdpleaser (Collage Press) and his CDs It's About Time, Quarters in the Juke Box, and Love & Politics are available through his website www.slampapi.com.
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April 10, the Omaha Poetry Slam Team Finals! After 4 months of qualifying, we have 13 poets competing for their spots on the 2010 Omaha Healing Arts Poetry Slam Team. Come out to watch Ben Wenzl, Steven Evans, Matt Mason, Pat McEvoy, Nicholas Bell, Jarvis, Cameron, Prahduct, Katie F-S, Tryst the Assassin, Sam Stecher, Zedeka Poindexter, and Candace Freilich compete for the 5 spots on the team. It's always the biggest show of the year, so come early to get a good seat!
- June 12: Boston poet Maxwell Kessler is tonight's feature. Kessler has been a member of two Emerson College Slam Teams (including the 2009 College Nationals Finalists), a member of the 2009 Boston Cantab Team, and he is the current Champion of Champions at the Boston Poetry Slam. He also helped found and run the Emerson Poetry Project, a weekly poetry reading at Emerson College, and organized the 2010 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (also at Emerson).
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The Omaha Healing Arts Slam thanks The Nebraska Writers Collective and the Lincoln Poetry Slam for help booking our features.
If you'd like to receive monthly show updates, send email to mtmason at novia.net asking for the Poetry Slam emailings.
To qualify for the Omaha National Poetry Slam Team, Individual World Poetry Slam, or World of Women Poetry Slam (the 3 annual Poetry Slam, Inc. events) see the Omaha Tournament Page.
Help the Omaha Poetry Slam bring in great features and send poets to events like the National Poetry Slam by donating: click here to donate.
2010 Slam Season Champions
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January 9, 2010
April Team Finals Qualifiers:
1st: Pat McEvoy
2nd: Ben Wenzl (already qualified)
3rd: Nicholas Bell
4th: Jarvis |
February 13, 2010
April Team Finals Qualifiers:
1st: Cameron
2nd: Prahduct
3rd: Katie F-S |
March 13, 2010
April Team Finals Qualifiers:
1st: Sam Stecher
2nd: Tryst the Assassin
3rd: Ose Oseokoruwa (Declined his spot)
4th: (Tie) Zedeka Poindexter
4th: (Tie) Candace Freilich |
2009 Slam Season Champions
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January 10, 2009
April Team Finals Qualifiers:
1st: Steven Evans
2nd: Sara Lihz
3rd: Dan Leamen |
February 14, 2009
April Team Finals Qualifiers:
1st: Zedeka
2nd: Steven Evans (Already qualified)
3rd: Ben Wenzl (Already qualified)
4th: Katie F-S
5th: Jarvis |
March 14, 2009
April Team Finals Qualifiers:
1st: Steven Evans (Already qualified)
2nd: Tryst
3rd: Ron Horner
4th (Tie): Marissa Gill
4th (Tie): Lucas |
April 11, 2009
Team Omaha Finals1st: Ben Wenzl
2nd: Dan Leamen
3rd: Sara Lihz
4th: Steven Evans
5th: Pat McEvoy
6th: Marissa Gill
7th: God's Gift
8th: Katie F-S |
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May 9, 2009
1st: Jarvis
2nd: Pat McEvoy
3rd: Deirdre Evans |
June 13, 2009
1st: Ron Horner
2nd: Tryst
3rd: Kayla Ostronic |
July 11, 2009
1st: Cameron
2nd: Matt Mason
3rd: Steven Evans |
August 8, 2009
1st: Steven Evans
2nd: Andrew Yolland
3rd: Dan Leamen |
September 12, 2009
1st: Tryst
2nd: Dan Leamen
3rd: Kristalynn Busskohl |
October 10, 2009
1st: Katie F-S
2nd: Ron Horner
3rd: Marissa Gill |
November 14, 2009
April Team Finals Qualifiers:
1st: Ben Wenzl
2nd: Steven Evans
3rd: Matt Mason |
December 12, 2009
WoW Finals1st: Prahduct
2nd: Kristalynn Busskohl
3rd: Sara Lihz
4th: Deirdre Evans
5th: Heidi Hermanson |
What's a poetry slam? It's competition poetry; meaning humor, politics, sex, entertainment masquerading as literature, literature masquerading as entertainment. Poets will read, then judges will flash Olympic-style scoring (ranging from 1 to 10) based on the poet's poem as well as performance of the poem to determine who goes on to the next round until there's just one poet left standing as the champion, and only the champion can leave with the Golden Monkey.
The Omaha Healing Arts Slam uses the rules listed at PoetrySlam.com
We're proud to have hosted Marty McConnell, Rachel McKibbens, Roger Bonair-Agard; Buddy Wakefield; Anis Mojgani; Yusef Komunyakaa; Big Poppa E; Ken Arkind and Panama Soweto; Mike McGee; Shane Koyczan; Sean Conlon; Andrea Gibson and Katie Wirsing; the 2006 Normal, IL Poetry Slam Team; Gary Mex Glazner; Detroit's Scott Klein; the 2004, 2005, and 2006 Denver Poetry Slam Teams; Dessa Darling; Jonathan Bryant; the Albuquerque and Des Moines Poetry Slam Teams; Craig Arnold; Luke Warmwater; Charlie Rossiter and more.
Also, closely-affiliated Omaha readings have featured Marc Smith, Eitan Kadosh, Phil West, Anthony R. Miller, Rachel Kann, Morris Stegosaurus, Cat Sanders, Derrick Brown, Hilary Thomas, Bret Axel, and Earl Bates, among others.
For more information or to receive monthly updates on the show, send an email to mtmason at novia.net asking for the Poetry Slam emailings, or go to poetrymenu.com for other info.
Those interested in information on featuring, contact Zedeka Poindexter at znpoindexter@gmail.com.
Links:
MidVerse.com: Matt Mason and Sarah McKinstry-Brown
Last update: March 14, 2010
