Try Out for the 2008 Upstate Slam Team!

Greenville, SC: Wits End Poetry welcomes local performers to try out to be a member of the 2008 Upstate Slam Team in a slam-off to be held on Sunday January 27th at 7:30pm in the Coffee Underground Theatre in downtown Greenville. The 2008 Upstate Slam Team will represent Greenville and Spartanburg at the Southern Fried Poetry Slam in Florida in June. The team may also travel to regional slam events in Charlotte, Durham, Charleston, Atlanta, and Columbia. Team members will also help host the weekly Sunday events at Coffee Underground.

The slam-off will consist of a two round poetry slam judged by five randomly chosen members of the audience. Performers must perform their own original words without props, costumes, or music in under three minutes. The six performers with the highest scores will become the 2008 Upstate Slam Team. Slam Team members will be expected to participate in rehearsals and fund raisers. Please see www.witsendpoetry.com for additional information or e-mail Kimberly Simms at kimberly@witsendpoetry.com.

2007 Upstate Slam Team

The 2007 Upstate Slam Team travelled to Southern Fried in Columbia and wen to Austin to compete in the 2007 National Poetry Slam. Slammaster, Moody Black, led his team to finish twelth at the Southern Fried slam and 43rd out of 75 teams at NPS. The team consisted of Moody Black, Mariangeal Mihai, SimPl, and Moses.

2006 Slam Team

Greenville, SC: Wits End Poetry is proud to offer congratulations to the new 2006 Upstate Slam Team featuring Slammaster Robert 'Moody Black' Mullins of Spartanburg, plus slam champion Moses Rickett of Greenville and slam veterans John 'Sildag' Starino of Lexington and Scotty Tillotson of Spartanburg. The team also welcomes new comers including Square One''s Melanie Masson of Greenville, Spartanburg High School's Shameka 'Poetic Flow' McKinney, and Mariangela Mikai who hails from Romania. The Upstate Slam Team was chosen on January 29th through open competition at Coffee Underground to represent Upstate, SC at the Southern Fried Poetry Slam in Birmingham Alabama June 8-10th.

How does the Upstate Slam Team benefit Greenville/Spartanburg Counties?

Greenville will send seven up-and-coming poets to the Carolina Slam Tour and Southern Fried South East Regionals in Birmingham, Alabama. But what Greenville will get back – will be seasoned Slam veterans who can use their developed talent to help other aspiring poets in Greenville and Spartanburg County, as well as wow audiences with group pieces and top caliber slam performances.

Performance Poetry is not an art that can be learned by reading a text book or listening to a lecture. Instruction may be a jumping-off point, but the only way to develop your skills is by watching other performers and by experiencing large-scale stage time. Slam competition hones a poet's art, drives them to take their skills up a notch, and forces them to look at their own work with a critical eye.

The magic of Slam will capture the imagination of Greenville citizens as they watch team members try out new individual and group pieces at Wits End Poetry and the TK Gregg Recreation Center. This year we are also organizing a Carolina Slam Tour with the Charlotte, Columbia, and Winston Salem slams that will come to Greenville May 2006.

How to Join the Upstate Slam Team?

A slam-off will be held in January every year at Coffee Underground in downtown greenville.The top competitors will become members of the team. To qualify to compete, poets must sign-up by 7:30pm in person on the night of the slam-off. Members of the slam team must participate in fundraisers, help host the weekly Sunday night events, and attend rehearsals.

If a member of the team drops out, the next highest scoring poet from the slam-off will be added to the team. In extreme circumstances, another slam-off will be held in June to add additional members to the team.

Wits End Poetry strives to provide opportunities for the team to raise money to help cover their expenses to Southern Fried and Nationals when applicable. But ultimately it is the responsibility of the team to raise funds and to help cover shortfalls.

2005 Upstate Slam Team

Jus Caus, Kimberly Simms, Carrie Gerstmann

2004 Greenville Slam Team

Jus Caus, Scotty T, Moody Black, Moses, Jonathan Brown

2003 Greenville Slam Team

Jus Caus, Jonathan Brown, Dunnovan Grant Waddell, Kimberly Simms

1998 Greenville Slam Team

Glenis Redmond, Vera Gomez, Kimberly Simms, and Rena Taylor. Southern Fried Champions.

1997 Greenville Slam Team

Glenis Redmond, Vera Gomez, Kimberly Simms, and Pamela Richie. National Poetry Slam Semi-Finalists.