Phoenix poet Jeremiah Blue was crowned the best slam poet in the city at Lawn Gnome Publishing on Friday, but, due to scheduling issues, runner-up Randy Morris will replace him at the Individual World Poetry Slam in Washington.
About 40 people gathered at the used bookstore on Fifth and Garfield streets Friday night to view the culmination of months of hard work among a handful of talented poets. The Lone Gnome Slamoff competition determined the poet who will represent Phoenix in the Spokane, Wash., competition next month.
Blue went to the competition last year. This is the second year Lawn Gnome has sent a poet to the competition.
Poets collected points in weekly competitions throughout August, and judges from the audience rated each performance on a scale of 1 to 10. Points were recorded and tallied for the final moment when the champion was selected.
Blue competed against Phoenix poets Randy Morris, Roanna “Rowie” Shebala and Tristan Marshell. Each contestant took a turn performing a poem that was then rated by the audience. Performances followed Individual World Poetry Slam guidelines, where participants must recite one-, two-, three- and four-minute poems.
With a total of 115.9 points gathered from the beginning of August until Friday, Blue won the competition but said he is unable to travel to Spokane due to a scheduling conflict.
Morris, the runner-up, will travel to Spokane in Blue’s place. Morris gathered a total of 112.5 points.
Morris has been on the slam poetry scene for many years but calls this his first year of competition.
Morris appeared humbled and surprised he made it to second place. His rise to the poetry slam scene was quick and unanticipated.
“I wasn’t necessarily trying to take first — I was aiming to not take last,” Morris said of his performance.
Lawn Gnome pays registration fees for poets who make it into slam tournaments and helps poets raise funds to travel, Lawn Gnome owner Aaron Hopkins-Johnson said.
Morris said Blue and Shebala, along with fellow slam poets Joy Young and The Klute, will help him prepare for the Individual World Poetry Slam by assisting him in writing new material.
Hopkins-Johnson said part of the reason the used bookstore opened was because there was no venue to host poetry slams.
“This is the primary source of poetry in the Valley,” Hopkins-Johnson said.
Bob Nelson, who ran a poetry slam in Arizona, mentored Hopkins-Johnson and inspired him to open Lawn Gnome as a central, sustainable location for poetry slams.
Lawn Gnome hosts free slam poetry competitions on Thursdays and open mike sessions on Mondays.
Contact the reporter at Amanda.Lacasse@asu.edu
