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Friday Evening Poetry Slams 2007 - 2008

Slams begin at 7 p.m. (doors open 6:45) at a different library each month:

Emcees - Len Gambin and Armando Garcia-Dávila

Len Gambin

At the age of 13, Len discovered the magic of putting words in poetic form as a means of expressing difficult emotions. It wasn't long before he was using poetry as a tool to get through challenging personal situations like growing up in a broken family, losing love, and the big one, attempting to understand what it's all about. From poetry he turned to playwriting, winning a college contest and experiencing the thrill of seeing one of his plays, Ignorance is Blisters, performed on stage. He has spent his adult life writing screenplay after screenplay in an attempt to make it in Hollywood. He's happy to have at least made it to Northern California and to have received recognition in the 2007 Sonoma County Poetry Slam Finale.

Armando Garcia-Dávila

Armando Garcia-Dávila, a landscape contractor for over twenty-five years, began writing short stories in 1990 and poetry later in that decade. He published two collections Out of My Heart/De Mi Corazón (currently in its third printing) and At the Edge of the River/ Al Lado del Rio (both books printed in English and Spanish).

His writings earned him the Literary Laureateship of Healdsburg for 2002-2003. He has also produced 2 CDs: "YES!," his love poems set to jazz, and "El Gran Viento," which relates the epic story of one who comes to America seeking a better life.

He has been interviewed and read from his works on national radio. Armando moonlights as "The Gourmet Poet," preparing first-class meals for dinner parties then reciting from his collections. Newspaper columnist Ray Holly advises that you "catch (Armando) while you still have a chance to see him in an intimate setting, before he becomes justly famous for his work."

Rules

• Each slam will have an open microphone session prior to the Poetry Slam. At the open mic, 1 piece, by anyone, may be read, with a time limit of 3 minutes.  

• The Poetry Slam consists of 3 rounds, 1 poem per round, with a time limit of 3 minutes per poem. Advancement to next round depends on score. Bring 3 poems. The timer begins as soon as the contestant  begins to speak.

• Contestants may not participate in both the open microphone and the poetry slam.

• The poetry slam is a solo event. There shall be no accompaniment of any kind. Slam is judged on content and performance.

• 5 slam judges will be selected randomly from the audience and must be 16 years or older, and must be able to produce proof of eligibility. Judges may not be slam participants. The emcee and library staff person can stand in as judges if needed.

  For official Poetry Slam rules go to:  http://poetryslam.com/   

To learn more about the official rules of competition Slam Poetry, please see the FAQ at Poetry Slam, Inc.

For further information, contact Vandy Ham at 545-0831.