Weighing in for Australia in Sunday's slam we have myself,
Emilie Zoe Baker,
Steve Smart and
IQ (aka Benjamin Theolonius Sanders), with Ezra Bix as a more-than-able MC.
Just in, we have the bios of the formidable Singapore team that the four of us are up against this coming Sunday evening:
Marc Daniel Nair is a poet, teacher and photographer whose first book of poetry, Along the Yellow Line, was published in 2007. In between, he has done various chapbooks, including a photo-poetry compilation and a collection of 101 Haikus. His next book, Chai And Other Travel Poems on July 17th. As a slam poet, he has done readings in Malaysia, the UK as well as numerous schools in Singapore. He was placed third in the Indian Ocean Slam Championships in November 2009 and is one of the sixteen poets taking part in the World Cup of Poetry Slam, held in Paris, France in June 2010.
Pooja Nansi born in Gujarat, India in 1981, but brought up in Singapore, moves ably from the performer’s stage to the literary page with her first book of poems, Stiletto Scars. Her work pays homage to the rituals and incense of tradition, the generational ladder of family life and her sometimes ambivalent position climbing up that somewhat precarious ladder. While carrying within her a firm Indian consciousness, she, like other urban-educated members of her generation, has grown up in a fast-paced, multicultural South-East Asian city. Her poetry is also notable for how it grapples with forging an identity as a woman in such a rapidly changing society.She has been a leading figure in the Singapore Slam community and has represented Singapore in Malaysia and in the UK though a recent British Council tour. Pooja teaches literature in Singapore junior college.
Rahimah Rashith: A passionate young poet, Rahimah enjoys exploring emotions through poetry in all forms. As a theatre actress and a poet she believes in the power of creativity to express life and lessons. Her work includes themes of love, death and everything in between. She hopes to be able to publish her own poetry. Rahimah first started writing in the turn of the millennium and has never looked back since.
Benjamin Chow: A performing artist, Benjamin also takes a great deal of pleasure in writing his own poetry and short fiction. He has performed for young people and the general public. As an actor as well as a singer, his writing is often expressive, lyrical and always aims to be contemporary and honest. He makes it a point to keep in mind that there will always be another way to tell a story. Some of his performances include: Poetry Slam 2010, SMU - 1st, Singapore Idol Season 3 Top 24, Dunman High's Fusion Concert 2010 - Guest artist and Lasalle's Sweet Charity - Guest Artist. Some of his stories and poems have been published with Create Le Voyage, 2008.
I gotta say, despite our killer team, I’m getting more worried about our prospects by the minute! But in any case, I’ll be shooting the breeze about the slam, (and Overload Poetry Festival in general tomorrow) on Aural Text, and maybe prancing around with a bit of Mohammed Ali style poetic bravado...
