Author Topic: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E  (Read 14130 times)

RCW

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Here's his note

so, the austin poetry slam has a history of people going as long as they can without repeating.

the first record was set by danny strack. he performed 39 poems in a row without repeating. it took him quite some time. the slam is weekly, and there are three rounds slam, so the most you can do in a week is three if you make it all the way to the third round. that's about 4-5 months with no repeats.

when tony jackson heard about danny's feat, he challenged himself to do the same, and he made it all the way to 40 poems in a row with no repeats.

well, shit... i saw this as a bunch of happy horseshit, so i went and doubled tony's record and did 80 poems in a row with no repeats. it took me about nine months. some weeks, i didn't make it out of the first round, so i could only perform one poem that week. but lots of times, i made the second and third rounds.

danny and i are now racing each other to 100 poems performed in a row with no repeats, and the first person to make it there wins! what do they win? we haven't really thought about that yet, but the audience at the austin poetry slam will certainly hear a whole hell of a lot of poetry from the two of us, lots of old stuff that hasn't been heard in forever, lots of new stuff written on the fly, experimental stuff, golden oldies, greatest hits, and very definitely b-sides.

100 poems in a row without repeating. think you can do it? i freaking challenge you to join us! we start next wednesday.

p.s. and this includes quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals to make your team, too, so you'd best be holding some shit back to save until then. or else write some new shit!

Sean

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Re: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2009, 03:02:38 PM »
I'm actually going to give it a go...I got the facebook message yesterday and I figure it will give me the motivation to get my word on more regularly...not to mention my write on. I'll stake the challenge for anyone else in our scene. No repeats in vancouver, at the slam for 100 poems. Winner gets a smoothie or a beer from anybody else who's in the competition. 1st one to a hundred wins.

RCW

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Re: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E
« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2009, 03:45:10 PM »
would we begin with poems that have never been performed or do we give amnesty to all poems we have previously performed up until this point and go from there?

Sean

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Re: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E
« Reply #3 on: August 25, 2009, 09:17:43 AM »
I want to say start from scratch but that would require a lot of...a heck of a lot of new writing. We'll say...and it sounds like Joe MacDonald's in too...maybe we could start Sept 21st? And I say (because we will probably end up with a cap on how many times we get to perform at the slam during the regular season) we also include the open mic at the slam and the themed slams...otherwise it will take a long frigging time (4 years or so) to reach 100.

What do ya think? Anybody else want in on the "slammaster's challenge"?

Shannon

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Re: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2009, 09:51:53 AM »
This is a fun idea. 

Placing a restriction on how many times you can slam in a season, as being proposed currently, will take some of the fun of this challenge away though.


Sean

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Re: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E
« Reply #5 on: August 25, 2009, 11:05:03 AM »
Yeah, but we also need to be fair to those that want to make the team next year.

Shannon

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Re: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E
« Reply #6 on: August 25, 2009, 01:22:41 PM »
There are also people who do not want to make the team but enjoy participating in the slam.

gilhan yuri

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Re: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E
« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2009, 02:37:28 PM »
i think what would be much more of a challenge would be doing one poem 100 times in a row.

Shannon

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Re: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E
« Reply #8 on: August 29, 2009, 11:07:10 AM »
i think what would be much more of a challenge would be doing one poem 100 times in a row.

Hee hee, and a special challenge for the audience :)

RCW

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Re: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E
« Reply #9 on: October 01, 2009, 11:19:26 AM »
I've now done 8 poems in a row without repeating.  9 if you count a Leonard Cohen cover...but I don't. 

Writing on Water
Non Sequitor Love Poem
Sometimes Love Does Win
Plasticene Brothel
Olive the Dove
Fire in the Hole
Making Love in the Bern Ward
Non Sequitor Madness #1

And I only counting poems done at slam related events.  Not TW or the Speak n Sing or elsewhere.

Duncan Shields

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Re: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E
« Reply #10 on: October 01, 2009, 01:16:06 PM »
I think so far I've done

Cliches
Love Poem
I Like You
The Plan

at the IWPS finals

and the Nirvana poem at the Nirvana thing.

I plan to keep going.  I doubt I'll make it to a hundred but it'll be cool to see how far I get.


Sean

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Re: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E
« Reply #11 on: October 01, 2009, 01:47:42 PM »
I've got five in a row on the cafe deux soleil stage...95 to go.

RCW

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Re: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E
« Reply #12 on: October 01, 2009, 02:29:09 PM »
I thought the start date was Sept 19

Duncan Shields

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Re: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E
« Reply #13 on: October 01, 2009, 04:34:04 PM »
Totally.  Fine by me.  If the start date was the 19th, then so far I've done one poem.  I like that way better.   :)

RCW

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Re: 100 poems, no repeats, an interesting challenge from Big Poppa E
« Reply #14 on: October 02, 2009, 08:52:35 AM »
I was just checking.  If it's another start date that's cool too.  I just want(ed) to know when we should start counting.