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On August 3rd-7th, Saint Paul will be literally teeming with poets and spoken word artists from across the country! That’s right, the National Poetry Slam is landing in our fair city this year. Why? Well, it’s all thanks to our own St. Paul Slam Team, who beat out hundred of other poets to take home the title of national champs in 2009. Hence, the honor to host the 2010 event fell to them/us – how cool is that? Over 80 teams consisting of multiple poets will roll into town this week, and will battle it out at numerous venues in town, culminating with the finals on the 7th.

Come out to support our home team on this week and take part in the numerous (and we REALLY mean numerous) events going on both on and off the grid. Preliminary bouts run Tuesday through Thursday from 7-9pm and 9-11pm at Artists’ Quarter, Camp, Great Waters, Lowry Lab, POP, and Wild Tymes. The semifinals happen Friday, August 6th from 8-10pm at Artists’ Quarter, Fitzgerald Theater, History Theater, McNally Smith Auditorium, where the 20 top scoring teams will battle for the #1 spot that will get them to finals stage. The Team Finals happen on August 7th at 8pm at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium, where the four final teams will spout off their best work in a heated battle for the championship.

And that’s not all! Dozens of side events will occur during the day AND after each night’s battles at the Artists’ Quarter and Wild Tymes. Stay up late to check out hip hop shows, an Erotic Poetry Slam (oh-la-la!), a Limerick Battle and much more. During the day, plenty of workshops and some culturally-aligned readings happen including showcases specifically featuring women, Latino & Indigenous, African Heritage, Asian-American & Pacific Islander, and Jewish/12 Tribes showcase and more. We’re especially charmed by the idea of Head to Head Haiku (Wed. August 4th 1:30-3pm at the Lowry Lab) where 15 uber-competitive poets go toe to toe with their best haiku poetry.

We’ll be out and about checking out the shows this week – will you? We’re betting the St. Paul Slam Team takes the crown for the second year in a row. After all, they’ve got a great chance, considering the formidable talent they’re bringing to the table yet again AND they’re on home turf. Returning poets Shane Hawley, Sierra DeMulder, Khary J. (aka 6 is 9), Kyle “Guante” Myhre, and Sam Cook will all represent St. Paul once again at the 2010 National Poetry Slam. Let’s take a look at their bios:

SHANE HAWLEY
Shane Hawley is a spoken word artist who dabbles in hip-hop and stand-up comedy. He is a four time member of the Minneapolis National Poetry Slam team, and a former Minneapolis Grand Slam champion. He has opened for national acts such as P.O.S, Dessa Darling, and Jeremy Messersmith.  As a St. Paul native, he is eager to represent his city in his city at the 2010 National Poetry Slam.

SIERRA DEMULDER
Sierra DeMulder In addition to winning the 2009 National Poetry Slam with Saint Paul, Sierra DeMulder ranked 9th at the IWPS, 11th at WoWPS and coached Macalester College to Final Stage at CUPSI 2010. She was awarded Best Female Poet at CUPSI 2009 and in January 2010, her first full-length manuscript was published by Write Bloody Publishing.

KHARY J. (AKA 6 IS 9)
Khary J. (aka 6 is 9) is a playwright, teaching artist and poet who is glad to represent St Paul for the fourth time. He’s proud of the poetry the Twin Cities is consistently producing, and hopes to remain a part of the scene in various ways in the future.

KYLE “GUANTE” MYHRE
Kyle “Guante” Myhre has been Grand Slam champ of Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Madison, and was part of the 2009 National Poetry Slam champion Saint Paul team.  As a rapper, he’s a member of the Tru Ruts crew and has shared the stage with Talib Kweli, Sage Francis, Brother Ali, Zion I and many others.  Guante is currently serving as arts coordinator of the Canvas, a Saint Paul teen arts center, and continues to lead workshops through the MN Spoken-Word Association.

SAM COOK
Sam Cook was born in Moscow to communists, and was raised in Boulder, Colorado among the white and privileged. Sam  has yet to decide where he will die, but hopes to do it among poets. Since leaving home he has spent his alloted years of ‘youth’ practicing Buddhism, sitting in Sweat Lodges, making wine, riding bikes through the mountains, pwning the interwebs, playing folk guitar with an ear for mediocrity, serving strangers food, writing and reading poems, moving and repairing mobile homes, camping, overcoming insomnia, fighting the man and perhaps importantly, enjoying the sunshine.

The National Poetry Slam happens in St. Paul from August 3rd-7th. Prices, times and events vary. To check out the schedules for both official competition events and extra events including day-time events and late-night events, and to purchase passes visit www.nps2010.com.