Grand slam: Poet comes to CVCC
By Susan Pugh on Apr. 10, 2008
Taylor Mali doesn’t just write poetry, he performs it.
On April 17, the New York City native will bring his work to Lynchburg, with two performances at Central Virginia Community College’s Merritt Hall, at 1 and 7:30 p.m.
Mali is a master of the poetry slam, a competition where poets perform their work and are judged on content and performance. In fact, he is a four-time National Poetry Slam champion.
Ken Meyers, coordinator of public relations and marketing at CVCC, said part of Mali’s appeal is his passion for teaching. Before making his name is slam poetry, Mali was a classroom teacher for nine years.
“His shtick is to unite teachers and students in understanding one another though the use of poetry,” Meyers said.
The silver-tongued poet has been featured on the HBO original series “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry” and in Paul Devlin’s 1997 documentary film, “SlamNation.” Mali has also narrated several books on tape and was the official voice of Burger King for 10 months.
Admission is $10 for the general public or $7.50 with a CVCC student ID. Tickets are available through the CVCC Barnes & Noble Bookstore
For more information, call (434) 237-0794. Visit http://www.taylormali.com for more on the poet.
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