Mental Graffiti

Follow the National Poetry Slam page to see all the updates about coming to Chicago this year Aug 13-18! And follow Lethal Poetry Slam to make sure you support the team representing Chicago on our home turf this year! Tickets to the fest at www.npschi.com or www.nationalpoetryslam.com

Don't miss Friday semi-finals, August 17th! Get your tickets before they sell out! http://bit.ly/NPS_Chi

Reginald Eldridge Jr. will be our featuring tomorrow night at Mental Graffiti Open Mic & Poetry Slam featuring RJ Eldridge. It's our last show before hiatus! Come out and make it a good one =)

We had a killer Grudge Match on Monday! Great fundraiser for the poets going to Denver, CO to compete in the ! Our team hasn't met it's fundraising goals yet, so if you need a little kick in the butt to donate a little more, check out the post that the team's player/coach posted on her personal page: The Mojdeh Project! She's giving away a bunch of gifts for donating!!!

Click here to support Mental Graffiti, Mission: Denver organized by Billy Tuggle For the 18th time in 19 years, Mental Graffiti is representing Chicago at the National Poetry Slam! NPS is August 7-12 in Denver. The fundraising effort will be fueled first and foremost by sales of the team anthology 'Sanctuary (?) City'. Watch for special premiums and add-ons along the way! Th...

Get ready! Mental Graffiti is two weeks away. We're so excited to welcome the incredible Wil Gibson as our feature poet!

Congrats to the 2017 Mental Graffiti Slam Team, Billy, David, Mojdeh, and Grand Slam Champion Nathalie Irmer! So delighted to send these fine poets to Denver for the National Poetry Slam!

Just a reminder to all the members of the MG community that in September 2016, we approved this Anti-Harassment Policy. You can also find this in our notes. Direct any concerns or violations of this policy to any Mental Graffiti organizer.

"Mental Graffiti Poetry Slam is dedicated to maintaining a positive and egalitarian artistic space free of violence and coercion and threats, suggestions, and fear of the same. To that end, Mental Graffiti is committed to the following:

1) maintaining an open mic and slam free from personal attacks, body shaming, hate speech, misogyny, homophobia, racism, and religious-based harassment.
2) creating a space free from sexual harassment and violence. Mental Graffiti takes seriously accusations of sexual violence, values survivors’ accounts, and does not book features who are known sexual predators. If you experience harassment by poets at the show, to the degree that you are able, you are encouraged to report it to organizers. All organizers are committed to being allies and taking proactive steps to eliminate sexual violence.
3) promoting responsible alcohol use. Our venue is 21+ and serves alcohol, but performers will not be called up and may be removed for excessive drunkenness.
4) showcasing diverse talent in our featured poets by seeking and welcoming poets from across the country who represent different gender identities, sexual orientations, faith traditions, racial and ethnic groups, and socioeconomic backgrounds. We seek to create a local experience that represents the broad national diversity of spoken word poetry.

Mental Graffiti maintains full discretion to take actions necessary to maintain a safe space, including the permanent banning of those deemed to pose a safety risk or consistent violators of our artistic community values."

Watch eight of Chicago's best poets battle for a spot on the Mental Graffiti National Poetry Team! Mark your calendars now for the Mental Graffiti Grand Slam!

Thanks to everyone who came out for Dylan Garcia's amazing feature and a hot Last Chance Slam! Here are the results of the slam:
Javon J. Smith 6pts
Mojdeh 4pts
Jonathan Yu 2pts
Chris LeSage 2pts
We'll announce all the poets in next month's Grand Slam shortly. The overall standings are:
Javon J. Smith 8pts
Billy Tuggle 6pts
Nathalie 6pts
Mojdeh: 5 pts
Hillary Kobernick 4pts
Toaster 4pts
Dave A. 4pts
David Wilson 4pts
Hannah Rae 3pts
Chris LeSage 3pts
Kwabena Foli: 3 pts
Mechelle 3pts
Vita E 2pt
The Book of Mark 2pts
Raych 2pts
Victor Alquieira 1pt
Ali Mae Miller 1pt
Andy Karol 1 pt
Martian-Peace Child 1pt
Chris Warren 1pt
Shannon 1p
Jonathan Yu: 3 pt
Erica Dreisbach: 1 pt
Hannah Williams: 1 pt
Victoria: 1 pt

Huge thanks to everyone who came out to Mental Graffiti last night! Deonte Osayande was incredible! The slam was hot! A good time was had by all!
The slam results are as follows:
Kwabena Foli: 3 pts
David Wilson: 2 pts
Jonathan Yu: 1 pt
Erica Dreisbach: 1 pt
Hannah Williams: 1 pt
Victoria: 1 pt
Mojdeh: 1 pt
Dave Abbotangelo: 1 pt

*We'll announce details soon about March's Last Chance Slam. If you've qualified for the Grand Slam, you'll be notified in the next few days.

For those who are curious, the overall standings are as follows:
Billy Tuggle 6pts
Nathalie 6pts
Hillary Kobernick 4pts
Toaster 4pts
Dave A. 4pts
David Wilson 4pts
Mechelle 3pts
Hannah Rae 3pts
Kwabena Foli: 3 pts
Javon J. Smith 2pts
Vita E 2pt
The Book of Mark 2pts
Raych 2pts
Chris LeSage 1pt
Victor Alquieira 1pt
Ali Mae Miller 1pt
Andy Karol 1 pt
Martian-Peace Child 1pt
Chris Warren 1pt
Shannon 1p
Jonathan Yu: 1 pt
Erica Dreisbach: 1 pt
Hannah Williams: 1 pt
Victoria: 1 pt
Mojdeh: 1 pt

The next Mental Graffiti is February 27 featuring the talented Deonte Osayande! This is your second-to-last chance to qualify for the Mental Graffiti Grand Slam and your chance to represent Chicago at the National Poetry Slam.