Slam Week Events
Fri., Aug. 14, 1998
VENUES
Book People Sixth and Lamar, 472-5050
Borders 10225 Research Blvd, 795-9553
Electric Lounge: 302 Bowie, 476-FUSE
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema: 409 Colorado,
867-1839.
Blondies: 510 Rio Grande, 472-7343
Fringeware 2716 Guadalupe, 494-9273
La Zona Rosa: 612 W. Fourth, 472-2293
La Quinta Inn Capitol 300 E. 11th, 476-1166
Mojo's Daily Grind, 2714 Guadalupe, 477-6656
Paramount Theater 703 Congress, 472-5411
Public Domain 807 Congress, 474-6202
Ritz Upstairs: 320 E. Sixth, 474-2270
Ruta Maya: Fourth and Lavaca, 472-9637
Twist: 505 Neches, 320-TWST
- Tickets for the Friday finals are available through Star Tickets (469-SHOW) and Paramount Box Office (472-5470).
- A limited number of half-price tickets are available through AUSTIX's The Box Office (454-TIXS, 201 W. Second).
- Q-Passes ($10, good for all Wed-Fri events) are available through AUSTIX's The Box Office and at all bout venues. Bouts are $3 per venue per night without a Q-Pass.
WEBSITE
SCHEDULE
Pre-Slam events begin on Saturday, August 15, at the Electric Lounge when the 1998 National Poetry Slam Organizing Committee hosts their Cage Match and Silent Auction Preview Party. This year's Austin Slam Team will go up against The Ghosts of Christmas Past (former Austin Slam Team members Mike Henry, Hilary Thomas, Wammo, and Phil West) in a head-to-head poetry duel. Silent auction tables, heaped with goods and services from numerous local businesses, will be available for perusal. Admission is $4. 9pm.
TUESDAY NIGHT
OPEN MIKE with hosts Mark Maslow and Sara Wynn. Ruta Maya, sign up before 6pm
THE ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE EXTRAVAGANZA Slam-related movies, including SlamNation, Slam (featuring Saul Williams from the '96 New York team, Beau Sia from the '96 New York team, and the '97 Mouth Almighty team), Wammo's video for "There Is Too Much Light In This Bar," and the '98 Nationals PSA, "which promises to be 30 of the greatest seconds of your life." Marc Smith will also be there to give a reading and the pre-Nationals invocation, $2. Alamo Drafthouse, 8pm
WEDNESDAY
OPENING CEREMONIES Competing teams and individuals meet here and will be introduced. Electric Lounge,1-3pm
MASTERPIECE THEATER Slam Hall-of-Famers deliver the poems that made slam great. Mojo's,4:30-6pm
INCOMMUNICADO PRESS BOOK PARTY A reading with authors Steve Abee and Jimmy Jazz. Fringeware, 4:30-6pm
PRELIMINARY BOUTS Slam teams from all over the country compete for their spot in the finals. See schedule. Rounds begin at 7, 8:30, and 10pm
MUTANT DISCO KARAOKE POETRY EXTRAVAGANZA Sing or read to the karaoke machine or the live band. Electric Lounge, approx. 11:30pm
THURSDAY
POETS LIVING ROOM Taos-style round-robin open mike. Book People, noon-2pm
GRAMMAR RODEO AND SPELLING BEE Not for the faint of heart, thrills and spills guaranteed. Mojo's,
1-2:30pm
MARC SMITH A reading with the father of the slam, Chicago poet Marc Smith. Book People, 2-3pm
POETICALLY INCORRECT Poet talk show discussing the state of contemporary poetry. Mojo's, 2:30-3pm
NIGHT OF THE CHIHUAHUA All Latino poetry with Kenn Rodriguez (Albuquerque), Danny Solis (Albuquerque), Marta Sanchez (Seattle), Guy Gonzales (New York), Trinidad Sanchez (San Antonio), and many more. Mojo's, 3-4:30pm
JUSTIN CHIN, JEFF MCDANIEL, AND TARIN TOWERS Fringeware, 3:30-4:30pm
PROP SLAM Mojo's, 4:30-6pm
MANIC D PRESS BOOK PARTY Hosted by Juliette Torrez (San Francisco), Bruce Jackson (San Francisco) and Jeff McDaniel (Los Angeles). Fringeware, 4:30-6pm
WRITERS CORP CYBER SLAM Borders, 6pm
PRELIMINARY BOUTS Slam teams from all over the country compete for their spot in the finals. See schedule. Rounds begin at 7, 8:30, and 10pm
CHEF'S SURPRISE Could be a Bad Poetry Slam, freestyle rapping, or beat-boxing, Tag Team Challenges - only one way to find out. Electric Lounge, about 11:30pm
FRIDAY
THE ANNUAL EAST VS. WEST SOFTBALL GAME Danny Solis said in SlamNation, "In poet softball, you have about 12 people in the infield and 50 people in the outfield, and the object is to be as clumsy as possible so people can laugh at you." Barbecue, beer at second base, and Shappy and Wammo giving their play-by-play from the pressbox. Sunken Gardens softball fields on Robert E. Lee Street, across from Umlauf Sculpture Garden, 11am
POETS LIVING ROOM Book People, noon-2pm
THE TRUTH ABOUT SUPERHEROES A gay and lesbian showcase with Douglas A. Martin (Athens), Ken Hunt (Madison), Lyska Janacek (Fargo), Justin Chin (San Francisco), Scott Klein (Detroit), Thea Iberall (Los Angeles), and many more. Mojo's, 1-2:30pm
PATRICIA SMITH A reading with the four-time poetry slam champion, Boston poet Patricia Smith. Book People, 2-3pm
POETICALLY INCORRECT Mojo's, 2:30-3pm
CHOCOLATE CITY This African-American writers showcase promises to be delicious. With Boogie Man (Cleveland), Jerry Quickley (Los Angeles), DJ Renegade (Washington, DC), Roger Bonair-Agard (New York), Bruce Jackson (San Francisco), and many more. Garland J. Thompson, Jr. hosts. Mojo's, 3-4:30pm
DOUG MARTIN, SPIKE GILLESPIE AND BOB REDMOND Fringeware, 3:30-4:30pm
HEAD-TO-HEAD HAIKU SLAM Mojo's, 4:30-6pm
SOFT SKULL AND MOUTH ALMIGHTY PARTY Hosted by Sander Hicks and Bob Holman. Fringeware, 4:30-6pm TEAM SEMIFINALS pit the top teams from the preliminaries. Bouts at 7pm and 8:30pm, Blondies, Electric Lounge, La Zona Rosa
INDIVIDUAL SEMI-FINALS The top 10 poets in the individual all-arounds go for two rounds of mayhem. The top six will move on to Saturday night. Electric Lounge, approx. 10pm
SATURDAY
SLAMMASTERS' MEETING La Quinta Inn Capitol, Lady Bird Room, 10:30-1:30pm
POETS LIVING ROOM Book People, noon-2pm
FIRESTORM All-femme reading series with Genevieve Van Cleve (Austin), Christina Springer (Pittsburgh), Lea Deschenes (Laguna Beach), Sabrina Hayeem-Ladani (Albuquerque), Lisa Martinovic (Fayetteville, Ark.), Anne MacNaughton (Taos) and more. Mojo's, 1-2:30pm
BOB HOLMAN A reading with poetry impresario and slam godfather, New Yorker Bob Holman. Fringeware, 2-3pm
YOUNG VOICES SLAM Open to poets 21 and younger. Mojo's, 3-4:30pm
AUSTIN CINEMAKER CO-OP PRESENTS EXQUISITE CORPSE FILM FESTIVAL Super-8 film screening modeled on the poetry-writing exercise. Public Domain, 4-5pm
ELLYN MAYBE AND MATTHEW NIBLOCK W/ SPECIAL GUESTS Fringeware, 3:30-4:30pm
RAP SLAM Mojo's, 4:30-6pm
2.13.61 PUBLICATIONS/SACRED BEVERAGE PRESS PARTY Hosted by Ellyn Maybe and Matthew Niblock. Fringeware, 4:30-6pm
THE 1998 NATIONAL POETRY SLAM FINALS will be held at the Paramount. The Asylum Street Spankers will open the show, followed by Best of the Week Showcase Poems, the first two rounds of the team finals, the individual finals, and the concluding two rounds of the team finals. Paramount Theater, 8pm
go to preliminary bout schedule
