International Poetry Slam champions to perform

International Poetry Slam champions to perform in Oamaru, Dunedin & Christchurch

Wrap yourself in righteousness and prepare for the hurricane of words that tumble like a river of life from the wide-open hearts of Carrie Rudzinski, Ken Arkind and Nelson’s Mark Raffills as they bring their Slam Poetry Show to Oamaru, Dunedin & Christchurch.

Ranked 4th in the world at the 2014 Women of the World Poetry Slam, Carrie Rudzinski has a delivery that holds the space between mouth and ears and makes it her own. Rudzinski has performed her work across New Zealand, Australia, Canada, India and in almost all 50 of the United States. She is the author of four collections of poetry, the Programme Co-ordinator for the Michael King Writer's Centre's Poetry Project as well as the 2016 Programme Director for Rising Voices Youth Poetry Slam.

“If we could bottle the hallelujah on the inside of Ken Arkind’s windpipe there'd be more believers in poetry than there are in Jesus, who coincidently was the last hairy guy to talk this good,” says reviewer Andrea Gibson. Arkind is an American National Poetry Slam Champion, Tedx Speaker, Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam Champion and published author who has performed his work in 49 States, 6 countries and at over 200 colleges and universities. He is the founding Program Director of Denver Minor Disturbance, an independent literary arts organisation dedicated to helping Colorado youth find voice through the mediums of poetry and performance. Ken is the author of Denver and Coyotes. He is a year 3 Creative Writing student at the Manukau Institute of Technology.

Words have been Mark Raffills’ stock-in-trade for over 40 years. Whether scribbling dispatches from the famine-stricken Horn of Africa or penning reviews of rock albums, the story just has to be told. This Nelson-based publisher, journalist, and publicist has crafted text as though his life - and the lives of others - depended on it. Convener of both the Golden and Nelson Live Poets groups Raffills is found telling his poems on street corners, in art galleries and pubs or at festivals and poetry events across the country. He was a finalist in the inaugural NZ Poetry Slam in 2011 and again in 2015 and also tours from time to time with the bluegrass/folk/blues-based Dirt Floor Alliance.

THE SLAM POETRY SHOW:

Oamaru
Oamaru Opera House.
Friday 10 June 7.00pm
$20 Gen. Admission
$15 Seniors / $10 for 18 and under
http://oamaruoperahouse.co.nz/an-evening-of-poetry-slam/

Dunedin.
Dog With Two Tails.
Sunday 12 June 7.00 pm
$20

Christchurch.
Space Academy.
Monday 13 June. 7.00 pm
$10 Gen Admission / $5 Students
18+ only venue

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