Poetry Slam Champion Heats Up Poetry Slam

The next Poetry Slam @ The Max will "up the ante" when the 2006 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion Mike McGee performs Thursday, January 11 at 8 p.m. Also a 2003 Indie National Poetry Slam Champion and the 2003 West Coast Slam Champion, McGee has appeared on Def Poetry Jam's 2005 season.

"Poetry Slams @ The Max," sponsored by Starbucks Coffee, welcome the area's finest spoken-word artists for a series of monthly slams that culminate in a finals competition. Mike McGee will be featured on the next Poetry Slam on Thursday, January 11 at 8 p.m. Hosted by Kalimah Johnson, Poetry Slams @ The Max take place in Allesee Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center.

Mike McGee began performing comedy and poetry for audiences in his hometown of San Jose, California in 1998. McGee has competed at the National Poetry Slam on the San Jose team several times. In 2003, he won the coveted National Poetry Slam Individual Grand Championship, besting more than 300 nationally ranked poetry slammers. He has since toured more than 170,000 miles throughout the United States with fellow National Poetry Slam Indie Champ Shane Koyczan and beat-boxer poet extraordinaire C.R. Avery of Vancouver, B.C. joined in the group to create Tons of Fun University in 2004. They have since headlined music festivals across Canada, bringing their unique blend of poetry-laden "talk rock" to massive audiences all over the country. In 2006, McGee became the first slam poet ever to win two separate individual titles by being crowned the 2006 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion, beating more than 70 of the world's best ranked slam poets. As a solo artist, McGee's work and performances are well-known to Poetry Slam enthusiasts across the United States and Canada.

This very special Poetry Slam @ The Max will also welcome spoken-word artists showcasing their talents during a three-minute performance in which they read one poem. Select members of the audience judge the performers. Kalimah Johnson of the PicNap Poetry Series hosts the Poetry Slams, with music provided by DJ inCreDuBle.

By www.detroitsymphony.com