***FEBRUARY 26TH 2006***
IYEOKA will be the featured poet at the Lizard lounge

Come Celebrate with Iyeoka on her 9th consecutive year performing with Boston's favorite poetry jazz band the Jeff Robinson Trio!

Get there early in case of a sold out show.
There is a slam that starts at 8pm
Feature at 9pm

Lizard Lounge Poetry Jam Every Sunday 7:30pm - 1:00am 1667 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge http://PoetryJam.com (617) 547-0759 21 plus and $5 --- --------------------------
Friday, March 17th 7:30pm
Join us at the Zeitgeist for a Benefit Concert to support the Zeitgeist

This event will be a live audience recording of Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo The Jeff Robinson Trio and the Black and Blues Tribe. The performance will be new material recorded for Iyeoka's up and coming Fall Cd release.

Zeitgeist Gallery is located at 1353 Cambridge Street in Inman Square, Cambridge. The phone number is 617-876-6060.

IWPS Day TWO (Click for scores)

RESULT SUMMARY of Thursday's IWPS National COMPETITION

Iyeoka is ranked #1 after last nights competition out of 72 poets.

A part of me is speechless about how things sorted out...

But in a nutshell... I was so fortunate to be among an amazing line up of poets empowered to perform their hearts out.
It was an incredible evening for me to experience.

Google these names, and you will know exactly what I'm talking about...
Christa Bell, Buddy Wakefield, Da Minista, Rives, Q, Versiz, Rachel Finley, Ali Langston, Darling Nikki, Evelyn GV, Mat Rucker.

Thanks to the power line up, many poets that I respect came out for the bout and the crowd was hyped, I couldn't resist the urge to share the main poem I came out here to share, In the Blink of an Eye.

I figured, when would I be presented with another guaranteed opportunity to share this poem with this particular group of people again...
And since now, I live daily with the overwhelming reality that tomorrow is not promised,
I pulled it out and told my story about survival in the 4 min. round as the first poet up.

That poem took me to the top of the ranking of poets in this competition.

Not sure if I can top that moment tonight...
But part of what all of this is about for me, is recognizing the opportunity to create new ones.

And again, as last night, I am in a round with another group of outstanding poets.

We all know that there are NO GUARANTEES IN SLAM.

So my primary objective will be to once more enjoy the gifts and the moments and the art and the passion and the bonding and the winning and the loosing...

I can go on forever.
But won't.
Will update you later.

Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo
Charlotte NC

IWPS Day one

Alright!
So, I safely made it to Charlotte, NC. I guess you can say I'm kind of in "wired mode". I had a wonderful show last night at Wheaton College along with Mal and Corrina. Loved it, had a fabulous time. I absolutely LOVE gigs like that, especially when I don't have my band or my brother with me...

there's just something comforting about performing a show with other poets.

The audience was wonderful and grateful, and enthused and sooo willing to participate in group songs initiated which of course qualifies the Lyon's Den @ Wheaton as one of my favorite spots to jam. I was having such a great time hanging out with the stragglers...so between that and getting lost on the way home (somehow got kicked 40 miles off course!)
I didn't get home until close to midnight. Unpacked and mentally disorganized.

But it's all good...

3 hrs of sleep later, made it to the airport on time linked up with my traveling buddy Eric "soon to be rock star" Darby. Come to find after a chaotic phone call from my friend and Seattle poetess diva darling Christa, that the IWPS were close to checking me off as a no show. Thought that was strange until i showed up to registrations...Apparently in addition to the poets representing Slam Venues, there were a ton of poets trying to be selected on site as individuals.

Again it was all good, I made it on time, I've chosen my bid slot for competitions tonite. Turns out that I picked a number that set me on the same bill in arguably one of the toughest and possibly most attended bouts of the night.

Now yes, there are a hella of a large number of great poets out of the 72 poets here representing...but when I discovered who I was up against my first response was "AWWWWW MAAAAN"...

BUT 3 hrs later, I'm in Zen mode.
Again, really just happy to be here...HERE HERE. As in alive and breathing and loved and loving, grateful for the unorthodox send off by default at Wheaton.
Thankful for the conversation I had last night with Jen about life and how easily we forget to KEEP feeling grateful once we find a reason to. Words stick with me. Always have. I'm ready for more of that tonight. I have already transferred any anxiety I might have had into a little pocket of energy filled with FEELINGS OF GRATEFULNESS.

I decided a few months ago what this competition was going to be about for me.
Telling my story.
And hearing some of yours.
Somewhere along the way I forgot that. Reality has set in now. I'm here. And I know it sounds corny, but "winning" is buried deep down inside me as secondary...
a bonus...but certainly NOT a necessity.

I'll keep you posted.

Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo
Charlotte, NC