#ArtLitPhx: Sparky Slam Poetry Competition

ASU is hosting their inaugural Sparky Slam poetry event emceed by the spoken word poet Tomas Stanton of Phonetic Spit. Sparky Slam is a valley wide poetry contest for students in grades 5 through 12, with a writing workshop that is taking place immediately before the competition. The purpose of the Sparky Slam is to welcome young people onto a college campus, to celebrate youth voices, and to provide young artists with writing support from ASU faculty and students.

Poets will perform an original poem, a maximum of 3 ½ minutes in length and there will be at least 20 performers.

Sparky Slam will be held at ASU’s West campus Herberger Young Scholars Academy Black Box Theatre on Saturday, February 3rd. Poets check-in is at 4:45 p.m. and the Slam begins at 6 p.m. Arrive early as seating will be limited.

For more information or registration click here

#ArtLitPhx: Phoenix Poetry Series ft. Anna Flores & Megan Atencia

Phoenix Poetry Series Anna Flores and Megan Atencia

The Phoenix Poetry Series showcases some of the best poets in our community. This month spotlights Anna Flores and Megan Atencia in the “Millennials That Rock” edition. Flores and Atencia will be reading at Fillmore Coffee Co. (600 North 4th Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85004) on Friday, August 25 at 6pm.

Anna Flores is probably best known for starring in the play 1070, which premiered June 23 at the Herberger Theater. The full-length drama “tells the story of an immigrant family in Arizona struggling to survive the fallout of Senate Bill 1070.” For more on 1070, check out this article and this website.

Megan Atencia is known for her work with Phonetic Spit and Criss-Cross Poetry. A recent graduate of Arizona State University, Atencia is also an editor at rinky dink press, which will be selling zines at the event.

As the Phoenix Poetry Series says, “They’re arguably two of the most dynamic and skilled young performers/poets in Phoenix today, so we’d hate for you to miss them!”

For more information, please visit the Facebook page.

#ArtLitPhx: Spoken Word Poetry Workshop and Slam

Screen Shot 2016-11-02 at 9.40.25 PM

 

Spoken Word Poetry Workshop and Slam takes place on Saturday, November 5 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Aravaipa Auditorium, ASU Polytechnic Campus.7211 Innovation Way, Mesa. The workshop features Tomas Stanton.

Stanton is a poet, educator, teaching artist, hip hop thespian and community organizer. He is co-founder of Phoenix-based Phonetic Spit, which uses the literary arts, youth development, and social justice programs “to empower young and emerging adults to find, develop, and publicly present their voices as agents of societal change.”

The event is organized by Wendy R. Williams, assistant professor of English education in ASU’s College of Integrative Sciences and Arts.  The event is free and open to the public. Make sure to RVSP here.