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SlamNation
''SlamNation'' is a 1998 documentary film by director Paul Devlin. The film follows the National Poetry Slam in Portland, Oregon. It follows the 1996 Nuyorican Poetry Slam team (Saul Williams, Beau Sia, muMs da Schemer and Jessica Care Moore) as they competed at the 1996 National Poetry Slam held in Portland, OR. The film also features performances by Marc Smith, Patricia Smith, Taylor Mali, Alexandra Oliver and Bob Holman, among many others. The film is one of the first films to document the art and competition of the poetry slam: a spoken word competition where judges, randomly chosen from the audience, score poets on a scale from one to ten and the poet with the highest score at the end of the evening wins. ''SlamNation'' premiered at the 1998 SXSW Film Festival and was awarded Best Documentary at the 1998 Northampton Independent Film Festival. ''SlamNation'' was broadcast on Cinemax/HBO and Starz/Encore, 2000–2002. Though it would only enjoy a limited theatrical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Devlin (filmmaker)
Paul Josiah Devlin is an American independent filmmaker. He is also a professional video editor, often working in sports broadcasting. Early life and education Devlin was born in 1963. While attending high school in New Jersey, Devlin penned a now widely shared "I reject your rejection" letter to the admissions department at Harvard University. The letter was published twice in the New York times, copied and re-purposed, as well as performed by prominent actors onstage through the London-based group Letters Live. Himesh Patel performed the letter at the Royal Albert Hall in October 2022. While attending the University of Michigan, Devlin produced, directed and edited his first documentary Rockin' Brunswick starring Matt Pinfield; broadcast his first music video "You Don't Know Me" on MTV's Basement Tapes, hosted by Billy Crystal; participated in a screenwriting workshop led by Lawrence Kasdan; and worked as a production assistant on Robert Altman's Secret Honor, filmed in Ann ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saul Williams
Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, writer, and actor. He is known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop, and for his lead roles in the 1998 independent film ''Slam (1998 film), Slam'' and the 2013 jukebox musical Holler If Ya Hear Me (musical), ''Holler If Ya Hear Me''. Early life Saul Stacey Williams was born in Newburgh (city), New York, Newburgh, New York, on February 29, 1972, the youngest of three children. He attended Newburgh Free Academy, where he wrote his song "Black Stacey". He graduated from Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Arts, BA in acting and philosophy, then moved to New York City, where he earned an Master of Fine Arts, MFA in acting from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts#Graduate Acting Program, Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts. While at New York University, he became part of the New York café poetry scene. He also lived in Brazil as an excha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beau Sia
Beaufort Benjamin Sia (, born 1976) is an American Poetry slam, slam poet. Life and career Sia was born in Ohio. He is of Chinese-Filipino descent. Raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Sia discovered spoken word poetry on MTV as a teenager. When not participating in his high school's swim team, he spent time at Oklahoma City's only open mic night. In 1995, Sia moved to New York City, where he attended the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts dramatic writing program. He has said that moving to New York City made him conscious of his identity as an Asian American, something that he denied often in Oklahoma City. His cultural identity became a common theme in his poems. Sia began performing at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, eventually earning himself a place on the 1996 Nuyorican National Poetry Slam team. That same year, he was filmed for the documentary ''SlamNation''. The film followed Sia and his Nuyorican teammates (Saul Williams, Jessica Care Moore and muMs da Schemer) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MuMs Da Schemer
Craig O'Neil Grant (December 18, 1968 – March 24, 2021), also known as Craig muMs Grant and muMs the Schemer, was an American poet and actor best known for his role as Arnold "Poet" Jackson on the HBO series '' Oz''. Life and career Grant was born in New York City and raised in the Bronx. His father, Samuel, was a locksmith and carpenter at Montefiore Hospital, and his mother, Theresa (née Maxwell), was a teacher. He attended Mount St. Michael Academy High School, Bronx, New York. He first gained widespread attention as a poet and performer when he was featured in the documentary ''SlamNation'', which followed him and the other poets of 1996 Nuyorican Poetry Slam Team (Saul Williams, Beau Sia and Jessica Care Moore) as they competed at the 1996 National Poetry Slam. Grant took the name "muMs" when he was 20 and performing in a rap group. Due to retaining traces of a childhood lisp, a friend suggested he call himself “Mumbles”, which Grant shortened to "muMs", as an ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patricia Smith (poet)
Patricia Smith (born 1955) is an American poet, spoken word, spoken-word performer, playwright, author, writing teacher, and former journalist. She has published poems in literary magazines and journals including ''TriQuarterly'', ''Poetry (magazine), Poetry'', ''The Paris Review'', ''Tin House'', and in anthologies including ''American Voices'' and ''The Oxford Anthology of African-American Poetry.'' She is on the faculties of the Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing and the Low-Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing at Sierra Nevada University. She is a four-time individual National Poetry Slam champion and appeared in the 1996 documentary ''SlamNation'', which followed various poetry slam teams as they competed at the 1996 National Poetry Slam in Portland, Oregon. Patricia Smith is hailed as the first African-American woman to publish a weekly metro column for the ''Boston Globe''. Her many accomplishments include a Guggenheim fellowship, acceptance as a Civitellian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexandra Oliver
Alexandra Edith Amelia Basekic (; born 1970) is a Canadian poet. She began as a Vancouver-based slam poet in the early 1990s, and appeared in the 1998 documentary film ''SlamNation''. Oliver won the 2014 Pat Lowther Award for her collection ''Meeting the Tormentors in Safeway.'' As of 2025, Oliver is an instructor at OCAD University. Early life and education Alexandra Edith Amelia Oliver was born in Vancouver in 1970. She received a Master of Arts in drama from the University of Toronto in 1992, a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing in 2012, and a Doctor of Philosophy in English and cultural studies from McMaster University. Awards and honors CBC Books included ''Hail the Invisible Watchman'' on their list of the "best Canadian poetry of 2022". Personal life She is married to engineer Dragan Basekic, and she is a parent. Publications *''Meeting the Tormentors in Safeway'' (2013) *''Measure for Measure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 year and in different U.S. cities. The last National Poetry Slam took place in 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. History The first National Poetry Slam was held at Fort Mason in 1990 in San Francisco. Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe. (2008). ''Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam.'' Soft Skull Press. "Chapter Six: Playing Nice; The First National Poetry Slam" Page 45. . It was organized by poet Gary Mex Glazner and featured three competing teams: Chicago ( birthplace of slam), New York City ( Nuyorican), and San Francisco (host city). It was held every year from 1990 until 2018.Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe. (2008). ''Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Sla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marc Smith (American Poet)
Marc Kelly Smith (born 1949) is an American poet and founder of the poetry slam movement, for which he received the nickname Slam Papi. Smith was born in 1949 and grew up on the southeast side of Chicago. He attended/graduated Charles P. Caldwell Elementary School and James H. Bowen High School. Smith spent most of his young life as a construction worker, but has written poetry since he was 19. Uptown Poetry Slam Smith started at an open mic night at the Get Me High lounge in November 1984 called the Monday Night Poetry Reading. Even as poets scoffed at artists "performing" their work, rather than gently "reading" it, the event grew in popularity. Smith saw his approach as an " up yours" to establishment poets he considered snooty and effete, because at their events, "no one was listening". According to Smith, who once attended a conventional reading with his manuscripts concealed inside a newspaper, With a like-minded troupe, Smith hosted the first poetry slam at the Get Me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. He received a B.A. in English from Bowdoin College in 1987 and an M.A. in English/Creative Writing from Kansas State University in 1993. One of four children, his mother was children's book author Jane L. Mali,Obituary: Jane L. Mali New York Times, October 7, 1995. a recipient of the American Book Award, and his father was H. Allen Mali, vice president of Henry W.T. Mali & Co., manufacturers of pool table coverings. He has married three times. His ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soft Skull Press
Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company that Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Shoemaker & Hoard, and Soft Skull Press. The company published books under both the Counterpoint Press and Soft Skull Press imprints. Counterpoint also entered into an agreement for the production, marketing, and distribution of approximately eight Sierra Club book titles each year. Both Wendell Berry and poet Gary Snyder were investors in Counterpoint, with both having works published by the imprint. Jack Shoemaker, Vice-president and editorial director of Counterpoint, had worked with both authors in other companies for more than thirty years. Counterpoint notably published works by Albanian author Ismail Kadare, including '' A Girl in Exile'', ''The Traitor’s Niche'', and '' The Doll: A Portrait of My Mother''. Counterpoint merged into fellow publisher Catapult in 2016. Soft Skull Press Soft Skull Pres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1990s English-language Films
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Mesopotamia is partitioned into two Roman provinces divided by the Euphrates, Mesopotamia and Osroene. * Emperor Septimius Severus lays siege to the city-state Hatra in Central-Mesopotamia, but fails to capture the city despite breaching the walls. * Two new legions, I Parthica and III Parthica, are formed as a permanent garrison. China * Battle of Yijing: Chinese warlord Yuan Shao defeats Gongsun Zan. Korea * Geodeung succeeds Suro of Geumgwan Gaya, as king of the Korean kingdom of Gaya (traditional date). By topic Religion * Pope Zephyrinus succeeds Pope Victor I, as the 15th pope. Births Valerian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1998 Films
Many significant films were released in 1998, including '' Shakespeare in Love'', ''Saving Private Ryan'','' Armageddon'', '' American History X'', '' The Truman Show'', '' Primary Colors'', '' ''Rushmore'''', '' Rush Hour'', '' There's Something About Mary'', '' The Big Lebowski'', and Terrence Malick's directorial return in '' The Thin Red Line''. Highest-grossing films The top 10 films released in 1998 by worldwide gross are as follows: Box office records * ''Saving Private Ryan'' grossed $485 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing World War II film until it was surpassed by ''Dunkirk'' (2017). However, when adjusted for 2025 inflation, ''Saving Private Ryan'' grossed approximately $826 million worldwide. * ''Blade'' became the top-grossing film based on a Marvel Comics character, grossing $131.2 million worldwide at the time of its release. *The ''Star Trek'' franchise became the seventh film franchise to gross $1 billion with the release of '' Star Trek: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
