Writer’s Ink
“Promoting the oral tradition of poetry as the root of all the literary art
forms”
3125 Kay Street
Houston, Texas 77093

Press Release

Contact:
Cedric Ary
Member, Writer’s Ink Board of Directors
Phone: 832-656-7829
E-mail: aryslammer@hotmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

More Than a War of Words
Local Performance Poets to Compete for the Title of Houston’s Poetic
Champion

(Houston, TX –November 29, 2005) Twelve top ranking performance poets
compete for the title of Houston Individual Slam Champion during the first
annual Houston Individual Slam Championship on December 16.
Most of Houston’s performance poets have had to practice their unique art
form called “poetry slam” in relative anonymity, struggling through
haphazard fundraising efforts and inevitable internal team conflicts to send
a Houston Slam Team to the annual National Poetry Slam since 2001. Four
members of the 2004-2005 Houston Slam Team returned from last August’s
National Poetry Slam (NPS) determined to not only raise awareness for poetry
slam locally, but to also better organize local competition in a way that
could alleviate conflict on future teams. They formed a non-profit called
Writer’s Ink to govern the program they dubbed Houston Poetry Slam and to
organize annual fundraising efforts. The regular season for Houston Poetry
Slam commenced on October 7th, and the slams that occur every Friday at a
comedy club called the Social Room are about to culminate in the new
mid-season Houston Individual Slam Championship (HISC).
“Poetry slam” is competitive performance poetry in which poets perform
original poems no longer than three minutes in length. The winner is the
poet awarded the most points by five judges picked from the audience. The
Houston Slam Off is the season ending contest from which five finalists form
the Houston Slam Team with the top finalist being referred to as the Houston
Slam Champion. The new HISC changes that.
“That was the source of the conflict on past teams,” says Christina Carter,
a member of the 2004-2005 Houston Slam Team, and one of the founders and
directors of Writer’s Ink.”The slam champion expected to compete in the
majority of the bouts at Nationals, even if someone else on the team had a
poem more suitable for that round.”
“As a former champion on past teams, I let the coach know sometimes I should go up in this bout, “ adds Marcell Murphy, also a founder and director of
Writer’s Ink, “but there would be resentment from other team members. So
this season our board followed the lead of PSI which recently began
promoting the Individual World Poetry Slam as a event separate from the
National Poetry Slam.” PSI is “Poetry Slam Incorporated”, the governing body
of NPS and slams worldwide.” The HISC will emphasize just five finalists
with no champion. The champion will be chosen at the HISC and that person
can represent Houston at the Individual World Poetry Slam in Charlotte, NC.”
Local Slam Master and host for Houston Poetry Slam Jerome Washington wants to fund the champion but:” This year we can’t afford to pay for the
champions expenses. By next season our brand new nonprofit will hopefully be
solvent enough to do so.” For poets interested in qualifying for the HISC
12/2 and 12/9 are the last dates to qualify at the Social Room on 4812
Almeda.
The Houston Individual Slam Championship will be at the Social Room at 4812 Almeda. Poets sign up at 7:30PM. The slam starts at 8PM. Proceeds support Houston Poetry Slam, sponsored by Writer’s Ink, a Texas non-profit
corporation seeking 501.c3 status. The mission of Writer’s Ink is to promote
the oral poetic tradition as the root of all literary art forms.
###

For more info or to schedule interviews contact Cedric Ary at 832-656-7829
or e-mail aryslammer@hotmail.com.