See the slam poets who competed and won the right to be on the 2004 Omaha Slam Team!! Members of the 2004 Omaha Slam Team, including University of South Dakota alumnus and Pierre, South Dakota native Elliot Harmon, will perform original slam poetry at the Coffee Shop Gallery, 24 W. Main Street, downtown Vermillion, on Thursday, July 29, 2004, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door. Everyone is welcome to attend.

A veteran of the Vermillion Literary Project’s slam scene and a USD English major, Elliot Harmon won the VLP’s first ever slam in October, 2002 and has been impressing audiences in Omaha and elsewhere ever since with performances of his poetry. Elliot has also worked with the Children’s Theatre Company of South Dakota this past year, as an outreach of the Black Hills Playhouse, travelling to schools around the state.Elliot’s own plays, Billions Served and Stop/Eject, were performed at USD.

The other members of the 2004 Omaha Slam Team are Bad Andy Neely, Katie FS, Zedeka Poindexter, and Jim Morrison. A feature poet for the Vermillion Literary Project this past year, 2004 Omaha City Slam Champion Bad Andy (Andrew) Neely has performed as a feature on Gary Glazner's 2000 Slam America tour and a clearing poet at the 2000 Nationals and has won over 25 slams. Katie FS was the assistant coach for last year's Omaha Poetry Slam Team, and, this year, finished second in the Omaha team slamoff. A member of last year's Colorado Springs slam team, Zedeka Poindexter finished third in the Omaha team slamoff. And this is Jim Morrison’s second year in a row on the Omaha Slam Team.

The 2004 Omaha Slam Team will perform at the 2004 National Poetry Slam in St. Louis, Missouri on August 3-8, 2004, competing with teams from all over the United States. For more information about the Omaha Slam Team, visit www.omahapoets.com. For more information about poetry slams, see www.usd.edu/~projlit/poetryslam.html.

This event is sponsored by the Vermillion Literary Project, a University of South Dakota student organization. For more information about the Vermillion Literary Project, visit www.usd.edu/~projlit.

posted by Michelle Rogge Gannon at 8:38 PM

Enjoy local music and slam poetry! BiHN, a Vermillion emo rock band, will perform on Thursday, June 24th, at 7 p.m., at the Coffee Shop Gallery, 24 W. Main Street, downtown Vermillion. This performance will be followed by a poetry slam, a competition for poets. The event is free and open to the general public. Slam poets should bring at least three poems; slam prizes will be awarded. For more information about poetry slams, visit www.usd.edu/~projlit/vlpslam.cfm . For more information about BiHN, visit www.unifiedprod.com/Bihn.html. This event is sponsored by the Vermillion Literary Project, a USD student organization, and the Dakota Writing Project, a teachers' organization.
posted by Michelle Rogge Gannon at 9:35 PM