The

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

Poetry Slam A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word, spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. Poetry slams began in Chicago in the 1980s, with the first slam competition designed to move poetry rec ...

(APS) is one of the longest running poetry venues in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Founded in 1994 by Wammo of the Asylum Street Spankers and helmed for 15 years by former Poetry Slam, Inc. president, Mike Henry, Austin Slam is renowned for memorable and often raucous performances by many of the best poets in the

slam poetry A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. Poetry slams began in Chicago in the 1980s, with the first slam competition designed to move poetry recitals from a ...

world. Austin Slam is best known nationally for hosting the

National Poetry Slam The National Poetry Slam (NPS) was a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and, occasionally, Europe and Australia, participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurred in early August every y ...

(NPS) in 1998, 2006, & 2007, and for Austin teams' national finals stage performances in 1996, 2003, & 2008. Since its inception, many nationally known poets have been regulars and team members at APS, these include

Ernie Cline Ernest Christy Cline (born March 29, 1972) is an American science fiction novelist, slam poet and screenwriter. He wrote the novels ''Ready Player One'', '' Armada'' and ''Ready Player Two'', and co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation o ...

(writer of '' Fanboys''), Ragan Fox (host of Fox in the City),

Big Poppa E Big Poppa E is an American performer of slam poetry. His live performances combined poetry, stand-up comedy, and dramatic monologue. Performance poetry He participated in the 10th Annual Poetry Slam in Chicago as part of the San Francisco team. ...

, Karyna McGlynn, Susan B.A. Somers-Willett,

Danny Strack Danny Strack is a performance poet and juggler, residing in Austin, TX. He currently runs the Austin Poetry Slam, a weekly show at the Spider House Ballroom on Tuesday nights. He has been a regular performer at the Austin Poetry Slam, as w ...

, Andy Buck, Genevieve Van Cleve, Da'shade Moonbeam, Christopher Michael, Shannon Leigh, Tony Jackson, Christopher Lee, Krissi Reeves, Emily Shafer, Phil West, Sonya Feher, Faylita Hicks, Love Robinson,

Peter Nevland Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, Danny Solis, David Hendler, Zell Miller III, Hilary Thomas, Matthew John Conely, Ruff Draft, The Minister Sin, Erin Livingston, Jacob "Ohio Jake" Rakovan, Jeff & Tonie Knight, and far too many others to list. In addition, touring poets regularly stop by. Notable featured poets have included

Jess Howard Jess is a unisex given name, often a short form (hypocorism) of Jessica, Jesse, Jessie, Jessy, Jesswin and a surname. It may refer to: Given name * Jess Atkinson (born 1961), American football player * Jess Cain (1926–2008), American radio ...

Buddy Wakefield Buddy Wakefield (born June 4, 1974) is an American poet, three-time world champion spoken word artist, and the most toured performance poet in history. His latest works have been released by Righteous Babe Records (album) and Write Bloody Publis ...

Derrick C. Brown Derrick C. Brown (born February 7, 1973) is an American comedian, poet/performer and founder of Write Bloody Publishing. He is the author of several books of poetry and is a popular touring author. He lived outside of Austin, Texas in Elgin, T ...

Taylor Mali Taylor McDowell Mali (born March 28, 1965) is an American slam poet, humorist, teacher and voiceover artist. Life A 12th-generation native of New York City, Taylor Mali graduated from the Collegiate School, a private school for boys, in 1983. ...

Mighty Mike McGee Michael Matthew McGee (born January 12, 1976), more commonly known as Mighty Mike McGee, is an American slam poet. Biography McGee is the oldest of eight children from several marriages. He has spent most of his life in and around San J ...

Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz ( ; born November 26, 1978) is an American nonfiction writer and poet. Life A native of Philadelphia, the daughter of Bruce S. Aptowicz and Maureen (O'Keefe) Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz graduated from Central Hig ...

Andrea Gibson Andrea Gibson (born August 13, 1975) is an American poet and activist from Calais, Maine, who has lived in Boulder, Colorado since 1999. Gibson's poetry focuses on gender norms, politics, social justice, and LGBTQ topics. Personal life Gibso ...

, and many others. The Austin Slam has made its home in a variety of venues throughout Austin over the years, including the Electric Lounge, Mojo's Daily Grind, Gaby n Mo's, The Mercury, Ego's Bar, the Scoot Inn, the ND, Progress Coffee and most recently in 2011, The United States Art Authority. In addition to the weekly show, APS has hosted other readings around Austin, including for the Blanton Art Museum and for SXSW. The slam has also released several compilations of local work throughout the years, including Tina's Fine Ass Lingere, a 2007 team CD, and a 2008 DVD recording of the slam-off at the Long Center. The Austin Poetry Slam continues every Tuesday at 8pm at the Spider House Ballroom. The current slammaster is

History

* Hosted the 1998, 2006, and 2007 National Poetry Slam ---- ----

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.Austinpoetry.com Poetry slams Culture of Austin, Texas