Tag Archives: weslam

WeSLAM presents: The New Sh!t Slam

new shits on the block

WeSLAM‘s heard that poem, like, a thousand times and they’re totally sick of it, okay??

WeSlam is calling all Wespoets to the stage to share whatever’s just hit the page. 2 rounds of brand spankin’ new poetry. It’s the perfect chance for novice poets to hit the stage and for vets to get back to the page. ‘Cause hey – if it’s new, it’s gewd. Bring one new poem if you have sh!t to share; bring two new poems to go for gold. Also, open mic! Woah! If you’re down with the new sh!t, send an email to weslam[dot]wesleyan[at]gmail[dot]com after 5pm on Saturday (the day of the slam).

Date: Saturday, March 29th
Time: 7 pm
Place: 200 Church
Facebook: no newds

WeSlam Presents The Prop Slam

Aziza

First slam of the spring! Fuck the rules! WeSlam’s rewriting them this time around. This slam, as the title states, is a prop slam. Did that rule about not being able to use props dissuade you from slamming before? This is your time. Prop away. Eat a sandwich in a poem about sandwiches; caress a stapler in a poem not about staplers – any prop is welcome!

If that’s not enough cause for excitement, the incredibly talented Aziza Barnes will be featuring! A member of the 2011 & 2012 NYU slam team, which placed first at CUPSI, the national collegiate poetry slam, Aziza is the winner of the 2013-2014 NYU Gallery Prize for Radical Presence in Black Contemporary Art and has a chapbook, me Aunt Jemima and the nailgun, published through Button Poetry. Basically, she’s a rock star – check her out here.

WeSLAM Presents: The Prop Slam

weslam

If you ever wanted to slam it up, now’s the perfect time! WeSLAM’s spring semester slam series is more chill than the fall – with slams not geared to forming a team; rather, the focus is on creativity and the beauty of the spoken word. With that said, WeSLAM’s first slam of the semester is…
THE PROP SLAM! Though it takes the same three-minute-and-ten-second format, this slam ignores the evil “No Prop” Rule! So you can recite an ode to a banana, drum to give your slam rhythm, speak a poetic diatribe of how your toaster wronged you: anything goes in terms of the props So get creative! Just remember only one prop per poem. This slam will be held on February 8th, so start preparing! If you’re interested in signing up, email weslam(dot)wesleyan(at)gmail(dot)com after 5pm on the day of the slam. If you’re interested but don’t know where to start, be sure to check out Writers’ Bloc, every Sunday from 4-5:30, for some nifty prompts to get the ideas flowing. More information will be revealed closer to the slam, but now’s the chance to get a head start on writing poems for the slam! We’d love to hear your words and see your banana or toaster or whatever you choose to prop it up with!

Date: Saturday, February 8th
Time: 7:30 PM
PlaceAlpha Delt

Puppets, Family, Slamily: Things Happened This Weekend

This wonderful photo completely sums up Avenue Q. We borrowed it from Andy Ribner ’14 at the Argus. 1470323_642176665834299_1848190613_n

An editor’s note from Gabe: 

Here are the events this past weekend that this post could not cover: Samsara at Crowell Concert Hall, An Intimate Party Experience at WestCo, “The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano” in Memorial Chapel, Greedy Lying Bastards at Downey, Magic Man at Art House, Chrome Sparks at Eclectic, Freestyle Rap Battle at WestCo Cafe, Stand Clear of the Closing Door, The Palm Beach Story, and Fruitvale Station at the Film Series, Feministing at PAC, Ricordati di me at Fisk, Zongo Junction at 200 Church, Wesleyan Experimental Music Festival at Russell House, Gamelan at World Music Hall, Improv Comedy Tri-Show in the Nics lounge, and probably other things. (If you want us to cover more of these things, then maybe you should think about joining the Wesleying staff. Just saying.) (Also, here’s separate coverage on Wes Thinks Big.)

On any given weekend at Wesleyan University, a lot of stuff happens. Honestly, it’s the biggest problem of my undergraduate experience that I can’t actually attend everything I’d love to. So, you see what you can and hear from other people how everything else went. 

I asked Wesleying staffers to attend one of the many theater or performance events going on this past weekend, between November 21st and November 23rd, and give them some proper coverage. These are the events they chose, and these are their observations, critiques, compliments, and impressions. If you want to take something from this post, it’s this: Leave your dorm room and attend something. It’s worth it, and the students here are damn talented. You might just enjoy yourself.

WeSLAM presents: The 2013 Grand Slam

Grand Slam Poster Final (color).white
WeSLAM encourages you to rethink your Saturday plans:
The biggest slam of the semester has arrived! It will be entertaining; it will be beautiful; it will be grand. 10 poets. 2 rounds. 5 victors. Come support some super-talented poets as they vie for a coveted spot on the 2014 Wesleyan Slam Team!
Come see the following Wesleyan students compete:
Coz Deicke ’15
Max Friedlich ’17
Markeisha Hill ’16
Morgan Hill ’15
Cherkira Lashley ’15
Rick Manayan ’17
Chando Mapoma ’16
Oscar Parajon ’16
Arielle Trager ’14
Emily Weitzman ’14
…and see Jess Best ’14 (whose senior recital is tonight and you should go to it), Jeff Berman ’14 and Will Fraker ’14 play some lovely tunes…
…and see our wonderful host and featurethe one and only Simone Beaubien, who has organized the National Poetry Slam twice and is a beautiful wordsmith and individual…
…and experience the power of words you probably couldn’t imagine. Seriously, you don’t want to miss this.
Date: Saturday, November 23
Time: 9pm (doors at 8:30)
Place: CFA Hall
Facebook: Yes.

WeSLAM presents: The Third Preliminary Slam

prelim3 flyer

Feeling spooky? Cool. Come to X House this Saturday, November 2nd, for WeSLAM’s Third Preliminary Slam! Get haunted by the words of some great poets facing off for a spot on the Wesleyan Slam Team. There will be blood. One poet will be sacrificed. Ten poets will slam. Three poets will survive.

Sean “Mega” DesVignes will be featuring! He’s a sick poet; check him out here.

Additionally, there’s a open mic before the slam. Totally non-judgmental environment. Show off your stuff. Get some feedback.

If you want to sign up for the slam, please send an email to weslam[dot]wesleyan[at]gmail[dot]com after 5PM. If you sign up between 5 and 6 but don’t make the first nine slots, you’ll be in the lottery for the tenth spot.

Date: Saturday, November 2
Time: 7:30 PM
Place: X House
Facebook: koobecaf

The Second Preliminary Slam

 

weslam second prelim

WeSLAM‘s killing it with the events lately. This is the second of three preliminary slams. Ten poets. Three victors. The victors are guaranteed coveted spots in The Final Slam, in which they’ll be competing for a place on the 2013-14 Wesleyan Slam Team. If you want to watch your peers spill their hearts out or make you laugh in poems under three minutes and ten seconds, you don’t want to miss this. Also, the slam will feature two amazing poets – Safia Elhillo and Connor Sampson! If you’re interested in competing in the slam, want to check out some of Safia and Connor’s poems or just want to see where you’ll be this Thursday, venture beyond the jump.

WeSLAM Poetry Workshop – Saturday, 4:00 PM

poetry forever alone

WeSLAM wants you to be the very best (poet), like no one ever was:

Do you have a poem that you are thinking about performing in a poetry slam, but you want some help and suggestions and edits? Or do you just want to work on some material with a lovely, good-looking group of poets? We are having a poetry slam workshop this Saturday at 4 PM in Allbritton 311! All are welcome. We will help out with page edits or performance edits or both. Bring what you are working on!

Date: Saturday, October 12
Time: 4PM
Place: Allbritton 311

WeSLAM presents: Anis Mojgani in the Chapel

anis

Anis Mojgani, two-time National Poetry Slam Champion and winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam, is coming back to Wes! He killed it in 2010 and he’s back and better than ever. He’s authored three poetry collections was nominated for the National Book Award in 2011. His poems will make you feel things you didn’t know words can make you feel. Embrace the feels – come to this showcase.

WeSLAM Alumni Mike Rosen ’11, Josh Smith ‘11, & Nate Mondschein ‘12 will be opening and Tory Mathieson ‘14 and Will Fraker ‘14 will make beautiful music.

Check after the jump for videos of Anis performing and location info.

WeSLAM Presents the Haiku Bake Sale

poetry cake

WeSLAM knows that your favorite flavor of cupcake is haiku:

We’re back with the Haiku Bake Sale! Here’s how it works: for $2, you get to pick a delicious treat (we have some lemon bars, gluten-free oatmeal cherry chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes and oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies – all homemade, all delicious) and a beautiful, charming and talented wordsmith will write you a haiku on-the-spot. Give them a word and they’ll make some sweet, sweet poetry out of it. Also, last year’s WeSLAM chapbooks will be available for purchase on a pay-what-you-want basis.

Date: Thursday, September 26th
Time: 11am-2:30pm
Place: Usdan, Table 6
Facebook: Facebook