WuSlam Final from KUUMBA TV on Vimeo.

WU-SLam will return to Edison theatre this Saturday, February 16th for the 2013 Grand Slam. The Slam will feature 10 of WU-SLam’s finest:

Adam Segal

Hi my name is Adam.  I think slam poetry is really great because it gives everyone space to be themselves, whether that means confessing a personal story, going on an angry rant, or just being goofy and ridiculous.  You get these shows where everyone tells their stories and everyone has something totally different to say but a lot of people can relate.  I like to write goofy poems and I think humor has a lot of power in moving people and improving understanding.

 Next year I’m going to be a math teacher in Detroit with TFA.  I like marshmallows.

 Ben Tolkin

Ben Tolkin hails from the strange town of Newton, Massachusetts.  He’s been writing poetry for almost two years now (and boy are his arms tired).  He was a wide variety of interests, hobbies, and talents, most of which won’t help him find employment.  He regrets that he appears to have no relation to J. R. R. Tolkien.

Corban Swain  

I am Corbain Swain, a freshman biomedical engineering student from Huntsville, Alabama. I have always enjoyed listening to the words of great speakers, writers, rappers, and poets, but I have only recently gotten involved slam poetry.  I really like to make my poems active and somewhat different. Outside of poetry photography is my main artistic passion, which I have been doing for about 4 years.  On campus I have become involved with BMES, ABS, NSBE, and a high school mentoring program called Learning to Live.  I also have the chance to do research at the medical school every week.

Elliott Scheer

Elliott Scheer is a senior from Portland, OR. Elliott is studying computer science, and spends his free time writing, playing basketball, and watching the Food Network. He joined performance crew in 2011, and competed in the Grand Slam and Individual World Poetry Slam in 2012. He also directed WU-SLam’s 2012 spring show, The Cold War. His writing usually involves childhood, family, drugs, mental health, or American politics and social justice.

Gabriel Cralley

Gabriel Cralley used to eat dirt.  Since then, he has moved on to carrots and injustice, among other nutrients.  He likes to read and procrastinate. He also likes parallel sentence structure, except when it borders on anaphora.  He dreams of one day becoming a Pokémon master but feels conflicted about the implications of animal cruelty.  Sometimes he dreams in cartoon.  He flosses a lot.  He dreams about his teeth falling out.  One of his eyes is better than the other, but he tries to treat them equally so the left one doesn’t feel insecure.  He likes poetry a lot.

Jacqui Germain

Jacqui Germain is a Senior majoring in African and African American Studies, planning on continuing advocacy and human rights work in the future. Although she’s originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, she has found a home in St. Louis. She believes art empowers people to speak, and she believes young people speaking can have a profound effect on the world. She has been published in Young Chicago Author’s magazine, From: Chicago To: Trayvon, See us, Hear us and recently featured at YCA’s weekly open mic night, Wordplay. She plans on having a chapbook out by the end of April.

Maxine Wright

Maxine Kali Wright is a poet from Boston, Massachusetts. Her writing is a product of a natural dramatic flair, a desire to share her story, and the hope that she will encourage others to do the same. She enjoys long walks on the beach, anything by Joss Whedon, and spitting hot fire on stage. In her spare time, she reads trashy romance novels and makes snarky commentary about the general world. She is a Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology (PNP) major with minors in Public Health and Drama. Her lifelong dream is to make fetch happen. This bio seems really sarcastic, but all of it is true, except for the part about fetch. See you at the slam!

Mikkel Snyder

Mikkel ‘Puzzle Piece’ Snyder is a senior Electrical and Systems Engineer by erudition, a lingual engineer by profession, and internationally published performance poet by passion.  A rampant fan of technology, social media, superheroes, and an overwhelming sense of nostalgia filtering the future, Mikkel holds the record for most appearances on a Washington University competitive slam poetry stage, having competed in 7 monthly slams and 3 Grand Slams, a feat that will not likely be replicated any time soon. In an attempt to not fictionalize his life, he keeps an extensive archive of his work. You can find it at chimericnotion.tumblr.com

 Rose McCarty

I am Rose, a junior studying Urban Studies and Psychology. I am also one of the RAs for Dardick 4!!! SHOUT OUT! I write because sometimes I think things and then no ones around, so I tell my computer. Then I mix the words around and call it a poem.  You should try it.

Tayler Geiger

Tayler Geiger is a sophomore studying English Literature and Philosophy. He’s originally a product of Kansas City with some Tulsa on the side, but has fallen in love with St. Louis. This past summer, he competed at the National Poetry Slam where he performed on finals stage as a showcase poet. His writing explores the eerie and distraught through a tendency to offer images rather than explanations. Topics that interest him include but are not limited to: dinosaurs, prophecies, animal societies, and the bits lost in translation. His work has appeared in In Parenthesis, Unshod Quills, Loud Noises, and Spires.