Lawrence Garcia tops spoken word contest

Lawrence Garcia tops spoken word contest

Lawrence Garcia, aka Idriis, Philippine Reporter graphic artist, topped a field of 12 in the spoken word competition held on stormy Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007 in a Toronto downtown hotel.

For readers to relish the excitement of the night’s competition, following is an excerpt of the review posted by a certain Dave on the website of Toronto Poetry Slam:

“Sunday night’s slam was a testament to the strength of the spoken word scene in Toronto. On one of the snowiest nights in Toronto’s history (so the media tell me), the Drake Hotel Underground was packed tight with poetry die-hards…meaning, both the slam poets who were hungry to compete and the audience aching for a good show to keep them distracted from the shoveling they’d be doing in 10 hours.

“It was another busy night, which meant another sign-up lottery draw, and the open mic was tight with 6 poets. First round showed off some veteran poise sprinkled with newbie energy, and the crowd was lapping it up. They especially liked Sean Cullen’s 3.0 score to That Brown Bastard. Being a celebrity judge, Cullen wanted to play up TBB’s assholey vibe, and for once in a long time the banter between judge and poet was enjoyably fiery. Doesn’t happen often.

“The audience was treated to classic gems like Gypsy Eyes’ who-am-I piece and Kate’s I Have a Camera and then veered to the left with new-to-the-ear poems from Ziy and Ariel. Props to Truth to making the room completely silent, all ears trained to her voice. Nestled comfortably at second last, Idriis took the stage with hip-hop-flavoured gusto, and wowed the judges by scoring the highest in the first round.

“And it was Idriis who powered his way to the third and then landed a choice draw at last, so he could blast our soundholes with narrative rhymes about Spider Man and Star Wars. All in one poem, way under 3 minutes. Idriis took home top spot, $75, and a bye to the semi’s. It’s always great to see fresh blood winning love in their first slam in ages…Noticed it’s been happening a lot at TPS.”