MENTAL GRAFFITI
Every Monday at THE FUNKY BUDDHA LOUNGE
Doors open at 7:30 PM, feature 9:15 PM
Central location! The Buddha is right at the Grand Ave Blueline Stop,
and Halsted, Milwaukee, and Grand Avenue Bus lines. Free parking !Well
lit Area !
728 W. Grand Ave 312 -666-1695
Hosted and DJ’d by Anacron and Krystal Ashe
$3 Corona and Red Stripe, $5 Organic Mixed Drinks
Only $5
mentalgraffiti-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
after the notes and features are some announcements below*
Mon Nov 25th Notes
FIRST NIGHT AT THE FUNKY BUDDHA!!
HUGE, AWESOME NIGHT!!!
WOW, I don’t think we will be hearing the “Mad Bar” was so much
better comparison anymore. The Buddha lounge rocked on Monday, many
familiar faces, and many new faces!! And faces that we haven’t seen
since Mad Bar–
The space itself allows for us to get back to the more intimate, page
oriented material that MG is known for. The feature of the evening
Michael Cirelli, also paid us a huge compliment by reading material
that he doesn’t read in LA, and a new piece never performed anywhere
before–its nice that a new freind felt comfortable enough to share a
new piece with us. Cirelli totally rocked the Buddha, while making
us all so hungry we had to head over to Ezuli to eat!! The staff is
awesome, I mean, people were coming up and saying how cool the staff
is, what a change!!! The owner also bought one of every product on
our merch table, and he wants to make little funky buddha zip up
hoodies for the slam team, just cool. Great vibe all around, the show
was so good, I was nervous hosting. . .thats new 
Readers on the open mic: Nikki P, Def Tone, Brandi, Aaron Fagan,
Magician Arthur Trace, Ayani, Mondo, Lucy Anderton, Jerome, Eckzeikial
(sp) Brown, Trooper Tru, and Bob Chico.
IN THE SLAM!! which was like a semis bout at The Nationals!! I don’t
have all my notes, so places aren’t listed for everyone.
First Place: Buddy Wakefield (Long Beach 2002)
Second Place : Tie to be battled out at a later date
Maria McCray (Green Mill many years) Eitan Kadosh (SF 1999,
Los Feliz 2002)
Third Place :Bonafide (Union Square NYC 2002)
Drew : (Dayton many years)
Kelly Tsai : (Normal 2000)
Billy Tuggle : Midwest Slam League
Danny Boy --newcomer
Kate Culan - new comer to slam
Please come out and join us this Monday, Tennesee Mary is an
excellent performer, with a realness to her work that keeps your ears
open.
**MONDAY DECEMBER 2nd
Tennesee Mary!
Mary Fons (a.k.a. “Tennessee”) has performed her poetry in many
venues around this great country, including The Ebony
Box in New Orleans, LA, The Bowery Poetry Club in NYC, and spots in
Phillidelphia, Kansas City, Chicago and San
Diego. Tennessee was a finalist for the Green Mill 2002 National
Slam team, was featured in a Green Mill documentary
by Backlight Productions (due out next year) and has hosted the
Uptown Poetry Slam several times when Marc Smith
was out slacking in Europe. In her spare time
Tennessee works a couple jobs, contributes to The Gift Theatre
Company as an actor/designer, is actively involved in
giving her support to public radio and never, ever eats fast food.
(And neither should you.)
**MONDAY DECEMBER 9th
LUCY ANDERTON’s GOING AWAY ROAST AND TOAST AND BENEFIT!
If you don’t know Lucy, or haven’t heard of her work, this is one of
your last chances to hear one of the most amazing poets in CHicago.
**MONDAY DECEMBER 16th
Hadji! and BLAIR from 2002 Slam Champ team Detroit
**Hadji is hadji’s real name. It’s an Africa/Muslim name loosely
translated as “one who’s made the pilgrimage to Mecca”. Not
surprisingly, his poetry is about journeys—mental physical and
spiritual; plus all the things that divide and unite us as human
beings. Born on Chicago’s Westside, he’s held down every job
imaginable; legal and otherwise.
He’s finishing up his first book, a critique/survival guide to
corporate America. He’s also working on a book of poetry.
And last but not least, Hadji’s currently trying to get his
spring-break sexcapades deleted from “Girls Gone Wild 12.” So if
anyone knows a good lawyer, call him.
**BLAIR is a Detroit based poet/singer/songwriter and winner of this
years National Poetry SlamTeam Championship-Team Detroit. His writing
and performance has earned him respect from Performing Songwriter
Magazine and he’s been called one of the “Voices of the New Black
Millenium” by Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music and voted Best
Folk Artist 2002 by Real Detroit Weekly. He calls his writing style
Urban Folk. His poetry and music focus mostly on the hope that rises
from the ashes of despair and on the celebration of life. He mixes
spoken word, classical, urban and folk music into a lyrical and
poetic
style all his own.
December 23rd -Marty McConnel, secret santa haiku
December 30th - Poet’s Ball featuring Ken Green, Lisa Hemminger SLAM!
January 6th- Aaron Fagan,
January 13th - Becky Austin -2002 CO Championship Detroit Hamtramck,
Jeffree Paul St. John, Ed Mabrey-Columbus OH
January 20th- Mike Henry from Austin texas
January 27th - Kate Makkai, Denver, Rob Neil -NYC , SLAM!
Derrick Brown in Feb,
Team Berkeley in March