After Saint Paul spoken word artists (representin’ the cities) took home the grand prize of 2009 National Poetry Slam champions in West Palm Beach, we’ve been the Minnesota miracle of the nation.  How is it that flyover land in the Upper Midwest captured the hearts and minds of the poetry slam circuit.  And compared to the hardened blocks of South Chicago or the wastelands of inner Detroit, slammers are still in spectacle of how Saint Paul(/Minneapolis) conveyed the attitudes, gripes and pleasures of our time.

Now that the 2010 National Poetry Slam will be in Saint Paul, our new team has been assembled with some familiar faces.

Khary (6 is 9) Jackson took first place at the Grand Slam – so This will be Khary’s 4th time representing St. Paul at the National Poetry Slam. Not only will he be on the National Slam team – he will also represent St. Paul at the 2010 individual World Poetry Slam (IWPS) this October. This will be Khary’s 3rd time as St. Paul’s rep at IWPS. He is currently ranked 4th in the world.

Sierra DeMulder will be repping St. Paul for the 3rd time this year. She’s been a busy poet indeed, having just come off a 3 month tour promoting her book of poetry, “The Bones below” (Write Bloody Press – available on Amazon.com, though you should just buy one directly from her) Sierra represented St. Paul at the 2010 Women of the World Poetry Slam (WOWPS) and is currently ranked as one of the top 10 women poets in the world.

Guante is also making his 3rd run as a St. Paul team member. Considering his careers as an activist, teacher and hip hop star, I don’t even know when he gets time to write. but he does, and he does it WELL.

Shane Hawley is new to the St. Paul team, but not at all new to an NPS stage. He has been on numerous NPS teams for Minneapolis – and has proven himself as a powerhouse on the NPS stage.

Sam Cook is also new to the St. Paul team, but that doesn’t take away from his abilities. Sam was on the Minneapolis NPS team last year, and took a perfect score in one of the most difficult preliminary bouts of the 2009 NPS. We are very pleased to have him on board.