Jelena aka Helen the Bashful Dragon 9.28.01

Wham! Bam! Wanna Slam?!

For those who've been sleepin' in on my writing skills, it's about to be on... it's about to be on! Ooooops! Rewind!

Thought there for a moment I was channeling Wyclef Jean... What I wanted to say is, for those who have slept through the 2000/2001 slam poetry season, it's time to wake up. The 2001/2002 season has begun.

This week, both Hollywood and Los Angeles had their first qualifying slams of the season. Da Poetry Lounge hosted a large crowd (as usual) on Tuesday and chose the first two slam semi-finalists in a tight competition. Five poets made the final round: In-Q, Jovan, Jerry Quickley, Azikiwe, and (LitRave's own) Jelena. In the end, In-Q came out victorious with a score of perfect 60. Jovan also qualified for the semis with the score of 59.7 points.

Los Angeles team held their first official slam of the season on Thursday night, and also got their first two semi-finalists: Thea and Gimel aka King Lyric G. In the final round, the two of them competed against Shihan and Azikiwe, and even though Gimel scored a perfect 30 with his poem "Reflections," that was still not enough for this current LA Team member to beat the "rookie," Thea. You go, sister! It's good to see that female energy is appreciated in poetic circles.

So, congrats to In-Q, Jovan, Thea, and Gimel! And for you sleepyheads, the next qualifying LA slam is on the last Thursday of October. Wake up and smell the coffee at Tanner's! And while you are there, soak up all that good poetry and Jedi's positive vibes. It's good for your soul...

Slamming, jamming, ranting, and raving for LitRave,
Jelena aka Helen the Bashful Dragon