Congratulations to Megan Thoma of Providence Slam, our 2010 NorthBEAST Individual Champion!
Megan's poems showcased her wit, emotional depth, and her more-than-passing familiarity with the surreal. She narrowly edged out Ryan McLellan of the home team Slam Free or Die for the win. Joining Ryan and Megan in the final round were Loser Slam's Ian Khadan and Steel City Slam's Adrianna Ramirez.
Want scores? Of course you do. We're hoping to get them up tomorrow (Sunday). Meanwhile, remember that NorthBEAST is not quite over yet! The after-party is still going on, and there's still brunch tomorrow for goodbyes and perhaps a chance to buy that chapbook you were too starstruck to ask for last night!
We've finished our first night of NorthBEAST competition!
What a beautiful venue, what a warm and lively crowd, and what poems! Punching sprees, hype men, comic book crushes, and not one but two refrences to living-room forts built from couch cushions. Judging was fierce, as is our preference, and at the end of our first night of competitions, our results were as follows
First Bout (12/4/09)
| Place | Team | Cumulative |
| 1st | Loser Slam | 104.5 |
| 2nd | Slam Free or Die | 104.4 |
| 3rd | Port Veritas | 102.8 |
| 4th | Poets' Asylum | 101.8 |
Second Bout (12/4/09)
| Place | Team | Cumulative |
| 1st | Providence | 110.4 |
| 2nd | Cantab | 107.2 |
| 3rd | Hampshire | 106.6 |
| 4th | Steel City | 105.5 |
Thank you for a great first night, Manchester! Are we done? Not by a long shot! We'll see you on campus tomorrow for writing and performance workshops, and the Hugeity Huge Saturday Night Individual Finals!
Tonight, we'll crown the 2009 NorthBEAST Individual Champion!
Of course, he or she is going to have to earn it. Tonight's competition will feature a champion from each of the eight teams that competed in Friday night's tournament. Plus, as an added treat, two champions from other local poetry slams will attend as "wild card" contestants. Ten poets enter, one poet leaves!
(Okay, well actually they will all leave, but one of them will have a heapload more bragging rights than the others.)
The competitors will be:
- Ian Khadan (LoserSlam)
- Sam Teitel (Portland)
- McKendy Fils-Aime (Worcester)
- Ryan McLellan (Manchester)
- Adriana Ramirez (Pittsburgh)
- Megan Thoma (Providence)
- Maxwell Kessler (Cantab)
- Sophia Holtz (Hampshire)
- Cole Rodriguez (Lizard Lounge)
- Patrick S. (Mill City Slam)
Contestants should report to the stage (Robert Frost Hall, Southern NH University) by 7PM SHARP! The rest of us can get there closer to 8PM. If you bought a two-day pass last night, please be sure to bring it along! Otherwise, we'll sell tickets at the door for $5 cash. We'll see you tonight!