Watch out: A poetry 'slam' is coming!
Jersey City trio takes on New Brunswick in war of words
A team of poets from Jersey City will try to out-rhyme a group from New Brunswick this Friday in an intense war of words.
The "City to City Slam I" will be held Friday, Aug. 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Jordan's Lounge in Jersey City.
The event is being organized by Jersey City resident Dujuana Sharese along with Hudson County poets who call themselves
"Broken English," "Scripted," and "St. Patrick."
The DJ for the evening will be Jersey City artist Lex Leonard.
Sharese is the founder of the Cypher Movement, an open microphone gathering every fourth Friday of the month at Jordan's
Lounge, where spoken-word artists from the New Jersey-New York area perform while live performance art takes place offstage.
Herself a champion slam poet, Sharese immediately took to the idea of the city-vs.-city poetry battle when the trio of Jersey City
poets presented it to her.
Sharese said the audience will see not only individual performances, but also performances by the teams.
"I like the energy of this competition, and also the opportunity to see some great poets do their thing live," Sharese said.
Heights resident looks to get his 'slam' on
To his fans and past observers of his performances, he is "Broken English." His actual name is Benedicto Figueroa, and he
lives in Jersey City Heights.
Sharese described him as "charismatic" and said his strength as a poet is "his imagery."
Figueroa, 27, has done various poetry performances in New Jersey and New York for the past eight years. He also ran open mic
nights at Havana Bay Coffee in North Bergen and the performance space called the Waterbug Hotel in Jersey City.
Born in Hoboken and educated at Emerson High School in Union City, Figueroa said he was a performer in high school in an
R&B band, and he always wrote poetry.
But it wasn't until he joined a theatre company after high school and learned about acting theory that he started doing slams.
"When you are up there onstage and you can take something of your experience and make it relatable, it's thrilling," Figueroa
said.
Figueroa said he looking forward to the city-to-city slam, as he and his fellow poets Scripted (Mark Schrvypczak) and St. Patrick
(Tom Van Cott), a former classmate at Emerson, have been honing their performances.
He said the three got together early this summer and immediately put out a challenge to other New Jersey
based poetry slam teams.
"[There's] a lot of rehearsal, and we perform to small audiences seeing how they react," Figueroa said. "It becomes second
nature, so we are not nervous as much as excited."
He also says he looks forward to meeting the New Brunswick poets - ION, Successor, and Poetic Assassin.
"It's always good to know the competition," Figueroa said. "This will be a friendly event, but we'll still be competitive."
The City to City Slam I will carry a $7 charge. The winner of the slam will receive $100.
The event will be judged by out-of-town judges, with each poet rated on a scale of 1 to 10. Visual artist Tina from Wearable Art
will create art during the show. For more information, call (201) 344-6102 or visit: www.cyphermovement.com.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com
