18 April 2011 – Mike McGee features at Van Slam Finals Night

[Chris Gilpin]

Buy advance tickets online: http://vancouverpoetryfestival.com/buy-tickets

Time: Monday, April 18 · 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: The Rio Theatre, 1660 East Broadway

Created By   
Vancouver Poetry Slam, Sean McGarragle

On April 18th 2011, Vancouver Poetry House invites you to the Vancouver Poetry Slam Team Finals featuring Mighty Mike McGee.

“Mighty” Mike McGee is an international spoken word artist, writer, performer, speaker, slam poet and comic. He has performed in thousands of venues all over North America, and was one of the first Americans ever to perform poetry at the University la Sorbonne in Paris, France.

McGee began performing comedy ...and poetry to audiences at home in San Jose, California in 1998. As a Poetry Slam competitor in the U.S., Mike has competed at the National Poetry Slam on team San José several times. In 2003, McGee won the coveted National Poetry Slam Individual Grand Championship, besting over 300 nationally ranked poetry slammers.

He has since toured over 300,000 miles throughout the United States and Canada where fellow National Poetry Slam Indy Champ, Shane Koyczan and beat-boxer poet extraordinaire C.R. Avery (of Vancouver, B.C.) joined him to form the group Tons of Fun University in 2004. They have since headlined music festivals across Canada, bringing their unique blend of poetry-laden “talk rock” to massive audiences all over the great north.

In 2006, McGee became the first person to win two separate individual titles by being crowned the 2006 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion, besting over 70 of the world’s best ranked slam poets. His “stand-up poetry” has been written about in Writer’s Digest magazine, and been featured on NPR, HBO and CBC. Mike McGee books internationally and is on tour damn-near 300 days a year.

Mike McGee was born with Spina Bifida in Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Tennessee, but grew up in and around San José, California. He writes and performs all over the world. He discovered a love of words at the age of three, but didn’t write poetry until the age of twenty-three.

In 2003, he won the National Poetry Slam Individual Grand Championship in Chicago, and then in 2006 he won the Individual World Poetry Slam Championship in Charlotte, N.C., becoming the first person to attain both titles.

Mike has a mighty appetite, an uncanny relationship with ladybugs, several tattoos and siblings, and a passable Scottish accent. He breathes somewhere between Silicon Valley, California and Vancouver, B.C. as often as possible. Mike thoroughly enjoys weather, beverages, and the scent of mock orange blossoms in the spring.

This is the slam for all the marbles but will also be the first day for the Vancouver International Poetry Festival--readings, workshops, slams and collaborative events that will blow your mind.

Tickets are $20 at the door, $15 in advance at the Vancouver Poetry Slam.
Tickets can also be bought in advance online for $16 ($1 extra to cover PayPal fees) at:
http://vancouverpoetryfestival.com/buy-tickets

Doors start at 7:00 PM
Show starts at 8:00 PM

This will be the best show of the year.

Hope to see you there.

Sean

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143442445715753&index=1

[Duncan Shields]

Can't wait.

[Chris Gilpin]

Semi-Finals are done! and the highest-scoring poets are now advancing to Finals Night

Advancing from semi-finals #1: Clint "Father Goose" Wilson, Francis Arevalo, The Svelte Ms. Spelt (Fernando Raguero also advanced, but has since had to pull out due to work commitments).

Advancing from semi-finals #2: Tristan DePlume, Lisa Slater, Zander Warren, Olivia B

[RCW]

There have been a few changes to the Finals night poets...unfortunately Francis Arevalo and Fernando Raguero have to drop out.  Stepping into the competition are Lisa B. and Kelsey Savage.