All footage from the show can be found on our youtube channel or on individual poets’ pages here. Photos will be trickling on the site in due time. Take a break from finals, relax, and enjoy your funk face injection courtesy of FreeWord.

Davidson College Poets Slam It At Hough

Wednesday performances:
- “Hazel Bryan & Bandaids”  by Kate Kelly
- “Magician” by Ashley Mincey
- “Casey/Brother” by Amanda Ottoway
- “Guerilla Girl” by Melissa Guzman and Kate Kelly

In the words of President “White Thunder” Kate:

Amanda, Melissa and Ashley got up there and rocked it thought. Seriously, these girls were beasts. I have NEVER seen then perform as beautifully as they did that night. Amanda made me cry, Ashley gave me chills and Melissa scared me half to death with her intensity. They were beautiful.

The Davidson team ranked 4th in this round, competing against SUNY Ioneata, UC Santa Cruz and NC A&T.

 Thursday performances:
“Dooley” by James Tolleson and Kate Kelly

“Jam Session” by James Tolleson

“I Should Tell You” by Melissa Guzman

“Swim fan/Stalker” by Ashley Mincey

Again, we were flawless. Everyone gave their best performance yet. This time, the judges listened! We received a first place ranking! We’ve got video of this entire event to share with you guys. It was amazing. There was even a tie in this bout for second place so the two teams had to go head to head. After the face off, they were STILL TIED! It was like a double over-time in the NCAA tournament. So good, so much fun and some really quality poetry all around.

We ranked 1st in this round (I see you, poets!) against Carleton College, SUNY Geneseo and University of Michigan.

Friday:
“Guerilla Girl” was selected to be featured in the Group Piece Showcase! However, the team decided to surprise the judges with the unveiling of a new piece, “Miss Mary Mack.”

We’re all so proud of this year’s CUPSI representatives – we saw just how much passion, hard work, and late nights went into preparation for competition, and we knew they’d nail it at UMich. Thank you so much Kate, Amanda, James, Melissa, and Ashley for representing FreeWord so amazingly and answering with finality the age old question: “Who is Davidson College, anyway?” If they didn’t know then, they sure know now!

“JAM SESSION” JAMES

“THE GOSPEL OF” J SMALLS & ”NEO CLINT” MINCEY

and…

“WHITE THUNDER” KELLY

Join us for the interest meeting tonight at 8pm in the basement of the Multicultural House. We will be going over the spring schedule, meeting times, workshop structure, auditions, and general information about the group.

If you don’t have time to join the group but want to learn about more opportunities to perform and enjoy slam poetry in Charlotte.

Hope to see you there!

Subscribe to us on YouTube, username: FreeWordPoets.

Last Month…

Rodney Saunders and James Tolleson participated in Slam Charlotte’s Speak Up Youth Slam Event. Representing FreeWord’s 19 and under poets, the duo made it through to the second round with Rodney continuing onto final stage to place as first runner up in the slam.

(Above: Rodney Saunders prepping for the slam)

Friday…

FreeWord traveled in to Charlotte this past Friday for the monthly Slam Charlotte competition. Kate Kelly made her debut on the Slam Charlotte stage, performing ”Thighs, Thighs, Thighs” in the first round, “White Girl” in the third round and “I Hate Poetry” in the third round finals. In the third round she was joined by the poets Blaq Berry (4th place), Mekkah (2nd place) & Ganster Carebear (1st place).  This was the first time in Slam Charlotte history that Final Stage was all-female. Kate ended the night placing third.

(Above: Kate Kelly performing “White Girl” in the second round of Slam Charlotte)

Saturday…

FreeWord and the BSC hosted Davidson’s first-ever impromptu slam featuring the visiting artist N. Stevens. N. Stevens was only in town for the night so we were so lucky to hear his work. The event also featured the poetry of Kelsey Wilson, Elijah Hardway, James Tolleson, Ashley Mincey and Justin Strickland. We had an amazing turn out of 40-ish students. Where else do students leave parties to come hear poetry? Craziness, pure insantiy. Below is a video of N. Stevens’ poetry at the Chocolate Lamp in Lynchburg, VA. Enjoy:

Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY…

Justin Strickland, Damion Samuels, Elijah Hardway, Ashley Mincey and Kate Kelly traveled back to Slam Charlotte for the Speak Up Youth Slam Event. Justin, Damion and Elijah represented the 19 and under FreeWord poets in this event. Damion dominated the slam, performing “Torture Rack” “I Hate The News” & “Her Cry.” Justin ranked within the top three poets of the night performing “I Love Chick Flicks,” “Globalization,” & “William Lloyd Garrison.” Elijah gave a fantastic performance of “The Girl My Mother Warned Me About” in the first round before falling victim to the score creep. These guys owned the stage.

(Above: Justin Strickland, Inkera Oshun of Slam Charlotte & Damion Samuels)

FreeWord Poets Support

While FreeWord poets have definitely proven their poetic skills within the past few months, these select poets were supported the entire way by the remaining 22 members of the group. So here’s the first official shout out to the newbys:

Annie Wells, Ashley Mincey, Briana Kordsmeir, Elif Sumerval, Elijah Hardway, Gabriel Perlow, James Mersol, Justin Stickland, Justin Smalls, Khafre Thames, Myles Teasley, Rachel Beeton, Rachel Richardson, Sarah Steely, Taylor Sorillo, Waylen Roche & Will Reese!

Kate Kelly, Melissa Guzman, Damion Samuels & James Tolleson before their evening performance at St. Mark's School in Southborough, MA.

This past Monday and Tuesday, four members of the FreeWord team headed to Southborough, MA to teach, perform and visit with the students at St. Mark’s School.

As the product of public schools in North Carolina, New York and Kentucky, we weren’t quite sure what to expect from a New England boarding school. From our first moments in the classroom, however, we were blown away by the student’s enthusiasm, creativity and interest in slam poetry. The reception that we received by the St. Mark’s students, faculty and administration was remarkable.

During our morning classroom visits and afternoon workshops, many students shared their written poetry as well as their performance pieces. While some students weren’t completely familiar with spoken word, their willingness to learn, participate and experiment with their own writing was fantastic! By the end of our visit, the students had already began to form their  own a poetry group on campus. This is what our work is all about, motivating other to explore their own creativity through slam poetry.

Our evening performance featured a few older pieces, such as “Torture Rack,”  ”Guerilla Girl,” “Jam Session In Heaven,” and “Thighs, Thighs Thighs.” St. Mark’s also saw the premier of new poems as well, including “I Hate Poetry,” “Mi Tia Juliana,” “White Girl,” “Grandmother,” and “I Wish Someone Had Told Me In High School”–a piece written specifically for St. Mark’s students. Videos of the performance should be up shortly. For more information on our St. Mark’s visit, you can read the following article here: Award Winning Poets Come to St. Mark\’s

FreeWord would like to extend a huge thank you out to all of the St. Mark’s students, faculty and administration who welcomed us with open arms, ears and minds. We are so grateful for this opportunity. Thanks again, for helping us grow as poets and people. We can’t wait to see what you all will do in the future!

Peace, Love & Poetry,                                                                                                                                     FreeWord

(Photo Credit: St. Mark’s School Website. See attached link.)