Rust Belt Regional -- Details, Part IV -- Drama and More Drama

Ann Arbor sends in Logic. Okay.... I'm a little nervous now. This guy has been upstaging all night, using all the kickers.... startin' his poems from his seat as soon as his name is called, using the center of the theater floor rather than stage, everything possible to get up close and personal with the audience, grab attention--Dude is a bag of tricks (fine poet, though)! Not to mention he had just won the Indie finals and is the crowd favorite.

(Now... a little back-story here: Logic wrecked his car or had car trouble, one or the other, on the WAY to Rust Belt from what I hear, and he NEEDED to win Indie Finals to help get his car repaired and returned to him. His car was apparently sitting in a repair shop or some such in Chicago. I assume his team had more than one or flew... don't know. Naturally, he's gonna walk into the place and "do what he gotta do" to make that money. For those of you who don't know it, Rust Belt Regional does offer cash prizes for 1st place, indie and team. It's been a small fundraiser for Columbus Nats team budget in past years.)

Okay... so... Logic blows up, hits a piece hard and gets a 29.0. I'm realizing at this point I needed to get a 28.6 or better to back my team. I had averaged 28.6 all day. Rose, whatever you go in with, you better DO the poem, girl. The room was electric... either that or I had a little tangible spiritual help (some of you know what I mean). Either way, I will never forget delivering that poem. And it scored 29.4 for the win, but get this:

Dasha begins announcing winners, "... in third place Madison with an 81.2. In second place with an 83.9, Columbus. And our new Rust Belt champions with a 85.0, Ann Arbor."

Now... hold the show, folks!

At this point, THANK GOD I have been on teams with Scott Woods and Ed Mabrey for the last couple of years. I had been following the bouts and keeping score all evening, and I protested and stopped Dasha before she brought Ann Arbor up to the stage. I was next to the scorekeepers, so I just took them my book. They rechecked all the scores and realized they had charged Columbus with Ann Arbor's time penalty. Logic (from Ann Arbor) came over there, agreed with me as well. He, too, had kept scores all night.

They confirmed the scores, Dasha gracefully apologized, and we (Columbus, Corn Field City) picked up the belt -- THIRD YEAR IN A ROW, WOO HOO!

What a tremendously exciting time!

Sudie? The man set in his ways, and wants to be right all the time. He clashed on and off with me and with Gina on the way home, but mostly with Gina. It turned into a healthy extended debate on the uses and validity of humor as poetic device, and why do so many Black poets write about bein' Black, and how you 'sposed to conduct fiduciary exchanges while in a moving car going at high speeds. Little Gina stood her ground her perspectives on the way back. I believe Sudie has a newfound sense of respect for Gina, but in her words, "Yes, but I'll always be 'the white girl.' " (There's a story in that, too; but -- maybe some other time.)

Rust Belt Regional -- Details Part III

Indie finals... I didn't keep track of score during individual finals and I probably owe Tiffani an apology for that. Girl did her thing and got into the finals slots. She had some tough poems choices to make here. Tiffani is new to slamming and had limited options available. We talked about how to best utilize the poems she had available, and she went in with a positive mindset.

I had to use that time to work with Gina on her poem choices and why and how to best deliver them for this type of crowd and run through my own poems to figure out what was cooking inside. I absolutely had NOT wanted to use Lithia Park or Crumb at this event because they are poems I'm known for regionally. I found myself working Pressure Switch over and over in my head. The room had been full of politics all night, and it had served me well in its early form on the steps of a war memorial in Canada.

Back in for the bout...

I had committed to use Gina in finals no matter what, and Sudie was not havin' it--introducing funny poems into this serious competition? Puhleese. Sudie at this point has little respect for funny poetry and being the died to the bone angry Black man that he is. But I had confidence in Gina's ability to pull this off with the adjustments we'd discussed and considering this location and crowd. Finals in the spotlight of a small dark theater surrounded by crowd on three sides was a better venue for some of Gina's strongest poems than the middle of the arts festival in a brightly lit sprawling theater inside the (by the way absolutely awesome) museum with the potential of children in the audience. So ...

Ann Arbor sends in Gilberto, who does a beautiful poem, scored 26.9 but had a 1 point time penalty.

Sudie: 411 on the 911. 27.2--the crowd loved it; the judges didn't give him his due, but he came out strong.

What was really cool at this point was that we had not used Gina's voice all day, so not only was her poem a great poem, but it was perfect for the situation with her being that conspicuous WHITE member of the Columbus' historically Black team and sitting there quietly all day looking like a little teenager. Being mistaken with her tiny voice for someone quite a bit younger is the bane of her existence, but it's perfect for Columbus at this point. Gina hit the stage, performed What Do White Women Write About, and took a 28.3 (and left Sudie chanting "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty" to himself).

Ann Arbor sent in Paco after Gina, a young kid, lots of potential. He scored a 29.1 (yes, I said 29.1) at which point Logic came over to me and shook my hand and said, "Good job." Maybe he was genuine; I don't know. You see, I know Logic, but I don't KNOW Logic, and this guy has just kicked everyone's proverbial behind in Indies. I sort of wondered if he was really saying, "Nice try, but we just beat you guys." Based on my earlier scores of the day, he probably had the right to be very confident. But Pressure Switch was cookin' on the inside of me, and I didn't want to let my team down.

End of Finals Round 2... - Ann Arbor 55.0. - Columbus 55.5. - Madison 52.3.

Rust Belt Regional -- Details Part II

Bout 2--same basic lineup.

Sudie went in with We Be Da Blues (an absolutely awesome piece of poetry), got lost in it and closed his eyes, but the crowd and the judges were lovin it. He got a 29.9--28.9 after a 1 point time penalty.

Next move.... Tiffani was the highest scoring poet in round 1, so I had talked it over with Gina and decided to use Tiffani in Bout 2 second slot as well, since she had an opportunity to get into individual finals. Tiffani did "Run" and got a 28.6.

I went in with Lithia Park (not "Black enough" for this crowd, but I didn't want to use "the girls" on paper and another primary choice had been severely hobbled at this point and I'm suffering from fried brain trying to manage things) . I wanted a solid score with no risks--it got a 28.6--good enough for me.

Columbus ahead 3.1 after two bouts, and at this point, I'm thinkin' riding to Milwaukee with Sudie all grumpy and vocal and refusing to just go to sleep was worth it .

Rust Belt Regionals 2005 -- Details Part I

Well... Kimberly asked for details.... give us details.

Girl, there's too much to tell. We got there a lot later than planned and barely had time to use the bathroom before the draw. Contrary to some folks' expectations, everyone on the team took coaching very well. Gina and Tiffani were okay with things, whether they got to read or not.

Heavy Blackness rolling around in about 35% of the poetry, but especially that first bout. Sudie went in with his poem about burying the hatchet between the races and scored a solid 27.1. The plan was to send Gina in next if it felt right, but we ended up sending Tiffani instead, with her Woman of Another poem (the angry one about her Dad). She hit it with passion and scored a 29.4--exactly the type of score I'd expected for her with this piece and the audience in that place. Lamentable, though--at this point, we'd pretty much run most of the "not yet slam-hardened" members of the audience away.

Round 3, Rose falls victim to an incorrect rotation sheet (that had been given to her). It showed us going last, and we were actually first in the round instead. Dasha called on us when I was not nearly ready--and it showed. I hit the stage with A Good Wine in my hand (paper). The moment I hit the stage, I was wishing I'd left the paper at my seat. Holding it basically committed me to doing that piece and Tell Mary was bubbling up on the inside. I took a second or two to make a decision, and it probably convinced the judges I wasn't ready. I did the paper poem, stuttered, scored a 28.6 but went 2 seconds over for a 28.1. Bad Rose. Very bad Rose! Columbus ahead 1.3.

WE HAVE BELT!

You know... wrote a long diatribe for a very intimate list of friends--full detail about the trip and the competition, but I don't want to post it here. Sufficient to say: Columbus has brought home the coveted Rust Belt for a third year in a row.

Bout 1
76.4 Milwaukee
74.9 Dayton
83.3 Ann Arbor
78.3 Bloomington
84.6 Columbus
80.0 Madison

Bout 2
89.4 Milwaukee
83.6 Dayton
86.1 Ann Arbor
83.5 Bloomington
86.3 Columbus
85.5 Madison

Preliminary Totals
166.8 Milwaukee
158.5 Dayton
169.4 Ann Arbor
161.8 Bloomington
170.9 Columbus
169.4 Madison

Finals

Round 1
24.7 Madison
27.2 Columbus
25.9 Ann Arbor

Round 2
28.3 Columbus
29.1 Ann Arbor
27.6 Madison

Round 3
29.0 Ann Arbor
28.9 Madison
29.4 Columbus

Totals
84.9 Columbus
84.0 Ann Arbor
81.2 Madison

Competition was strong. Strategies were preset and had to be modified on the fly, but we did it.... we came away with a win with an ad hoc, not-Nats-team team. Gee... good poetry in Columbus extends beyond the chosen few who get to go to Nationals? You betcha. We are a larger family than we know. We are a family. Life is good.

Off to Rust Belt Regional

Okay... off to Rust Belt Regional Poetry Slam tonight. Gotta get some sleep and do my best to stay awake behind the wheel for 10 hours. Team and I are supposed to meet at 4:00 a.m. at Skambo--interesting choice of departure points.

I'm sure Gina wants to know what a regional event is like--something bigger than our local slams and different than Midwest Slam League. Tiffany? I think Tiffany just wants a little bigger test of her work, a chance to take a bite out of slammin' on a larger level. Sudie... hmmm. Sudie wants to win.

Me? I just want to maintain Columbus' tradition of participation in this event. It is an event that should be sustained. An event that should not be allowed to die. I don't want to see it suffer because teams pull out when conditions aren't perfect. It's not ALL about winning, after all. It's about community, this vast community of poets who meet and share, in words, what we cannot share in proximity and daily interaction. And I want someone with a little experience to accompany this team of poets Ed has put together. Scott says I shouldn't go and try to coach the team, that they won't do what I say, to go as a poet if I want togo. He's our slammaster. I respect that, but I think I know these three people well enough to know they will listen. Besides... we have the Belt from 2004. We should at least return it so this year's winner can take it home.

Today at Salon

Great day today at Salon.

Session was led by Kathleen Burgess, who did a tremendous job of keeping the momentum going while we conducted the morning "read around." Each poet presented new work or work for which feedback was needed. The poems were evocative and interesting, and our afternoon workshopping session was casual and easygoing.

Jennifer, of course, was out of town today (which you know since she was not leading). What a joy it must be for her to know that things do not fall apart at Pudding House the moment she walks away.

Great joy to all of you, and keep writing.

To Belt or Not to Belt

I've been approached by Ed Mabrey and advised that Scott has decided not to field a team for Rust Belt Regional this year. Comes as a tremendous surprise to me, since it has been a tradition at Columbus that the Nationals team go to Rust Belt as sort of a proving ground, a practice session of sorts. Ed has found other poets who want to go and he's looking for a Rust Belt vet or seasoned multi-city slammer to send with them. I'll have to think hard about this. I am feeling a little like sandwich filling.