So I’m using that new intertubes feature, “stumble” and I come upon a poet on YouTube. His name is Taylor Mali. From his wiki:
Taylor Mali (born 28 March 1965) is an American slam poet and voiceover artist. He has been on seven National Poetry Slam teams; six appeared on the finals stage and four won the competition. Mali is the author of What Learning Leaves and has recorded four CDs: The Difference Between Left and Wrong (1995), Poems from the Like Free Zone (2000), Conviction (2003), and Icarus Airlines (2007). He appeared in Taylor Mali & Friends Live at the Bowery Poetry Club and the documentaries “SlamNation” and “Slam Planet”, as well as “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry”. He won the jury prize for best solo performance at the 2001 U. S. Comedy Arts Festival for his one-man show “Teacher! Teacher!” and the Golde Earphone award for narrating The Great Fire.
His mother was the children’s book author Jane L. Mali, a recipient of the American Book Award.He worked at a prestigious Upper East Side all boys school, Browning School
He has performed with Billy Collins and Allen Ginsberg, and is the former president of Poetry Slam Incorporated.Mali attended the Collegiate School for Boys in New York and holds degrees in English and Creative Writing from Bowdoin College in Maine and Kansas State University. Additionally, he studied drama with the Royal Shakespeare Academy at Oxford. He taught in the classroom for nine years, and in 2000 he set out to create 1,000 new teachers through “poetry, persuasion, perseverance, or passion.” As of November 12, 2007, there are 176.
Never been a big fan of Poetry Slam — until now. This is a great performance. Check it out:
Nice.