Young Chicago All-Stars Place 3rd at International Poetry Slam!
July 14-19, 2008, Chicago descended upon Washington DC for the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam with two amazing teams and a butt-load of support. The team from Kuumba Lynx - this year's LTAB winners - had an excellent showing and left a powerful mark on the international spoken word community. "Big ups" to Hera Shakir, Marvin Gutierrez, Junior White, King Keith Redmond, Kee-Key Itson, and Cydney Edwards as well as LTAB coaches of the year, Jacinda Bullie and Jaquanda Villegas.
Made up of the top 6-scoring indy poets from LTAB, the All-Star team blew up the entire tournament. After winning their semi-final, they moved onto the final placing third overall (beating approx. 43 other teams). They had a shot to win, but decided to disqualify themselves in order to get the message out that they wanted heard (teams are only allowed to repeat so many poems, and the kids knowingly broke that rule valuing message over competition). I'm. so. proud. And their message will be heard. For making the finals, they will be included in a 6-part HBO documentary focused on Brave New Voices, with the 6th part being the entire final round. It is tentatively planned to air in January '09.
When you see them next, congratulate the Kuumba crew and the All-Stars - Dianna Harris, Nate Marshall, Melanie "George" Decelles, Esther Ikoro, Demetrius Amparan, and Deja Taylor: youth coaches Adam Gottlieb and Adam Levin. Their CD "This IS My Day Job" is forthcoming. And I owe an extra special thank you to Toni Asante Lightfoot for driving her pregnant self to DC to cover for me when i had to leave early! The whole experience was magical and next year the magic comes to Chicago! Keep an eye out for BNV '09 all over the Chi!
Written by: Robbie Q. TelferYoung Chicago Authors 1180 N. Milwaukee Ave., 2nd Floor Chicago, Illinois 60622773-486-4331
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