#jameschurch

[maorispud-blog]

Wow James I'm impressed with your print. Drums Vocals and Artist too? What next? #jameschurch #print #12yearsold #wairauintermediate #dailyreveal #maorispud (at Forrest Hill, New Zealand)

[texasgrandslam2014]

Competitor Profile: James Church

"What I've noticed within the past 4 years of TGS, with regard to competing, is this, if you show love, you'll receive love in return. Winning and losing is a byproduct, but the one aspect every competitor will walk away with is growth and knowledge, and because of that I continue to compete in TGS." 

__________________________________________________________

Unloading Moonlight

We are a balled fist with the sun dripping from its knuckles,

We swing at strangers and call them the sky,

Their faces are a bundle of clouds every morning, 

Maybe this is why my mother never took comfort in daylight,

I've seen hearts run away,

Leaving us notes saying,

Don't give things away so easily,

But we're stuck between holy water and a switchblade,

God is a rock and a hard place,

Love is where God can be found in a woodshed,

Sacrifice is a box a nails,

Pastors hammer Christ in our temples and call it communication,

When he died do you think it was only for the privileged,

Because they never pay attention unless the camera is aimed in the white direction,

Derrick Gaines was a 15 year old balled fist,

He spoke with clip loaded in his throat,

And shot his mouth off more often than his teachers would like,

Derrick found comfort in question marks,

He'd collect them and hand them out to police officers,

One night an officer shot moonlight through Derrick's chest for loading his phone too quickly,

He woke up in a woodshed with a mouth full of nails,

Derrick swallowed them whole and called it communion, 

At his eulogy the priest said that God also knows great sacrifice,

But God never sacrificed His son,

He just brought him home

__________________________________________________________

Name: James Church

Stage Name: Heart (unless Tova is around)

Age: 29

Years Active in Slam: 4

Teams You’ve Been a Member of: I've been a member of every Mic Check slam team, minus the youth team we had years ago.

Place from which you are traveling to get to TGS: I'll be traveling from my bed in College Station.

Top 5 influential poets: Saul Williams, Charles Bukowski, Sandra Cisneros, Rumi, & Audre Lorde

Have you been to TGS before, & if so, what are you hoping is the same/different from your previous experience?

This will be my 4th year competing in TGS. I hope the family environment says the same and I don't have to worry about something being different. Amir Safi always has something up his sleeve.

How would you describe your writing style?

Imagery imagery imagery...and imagery

Do you consider yourself more of a writer or a performer?

This one is tough. I really don't know. I'd like to think writer, but then again slam is a performance competition as well. I just like to read on stage and then get a taco afterwards.

Who are you looking forward to/nervous as hell to compete against?

Outspoken Bean is one I always love sharing the stage with. Freequency, this amazing artist is beyond captivating and I'm very excite to compete against her. Bill Moran, teacher vs. student dynamic and I love it every time. Desiree Dallagiacomo, well just because it's Desiree. Nic Lupfer because he is the poet no will see coming.

What is your goal for this competition?

To win a free year of pizza and marinara sauce...I may be in the wrong competition.

What is going through your head before you get on stage?

The only thing that goes through my mind before stepping on stage is I hope I'm able to represent myself and my message in the best way possible.

How has your approach to TGS evolved over the four years you've been competing?

 I've realized the game of slam. I take notice of the judges, the audience, and the host. An outline of a game plan is prepared with audibles waiting in the wings just in case. Honestly, I still have no clue what I'm doing though. A part of me realizes that it's a competition, but the rest of me solely wants to share the stage with my friends and family. How does one compete against their brothers and sisters? What I've noticed within the past 4 years of TGS, with regard to competing, is this, if you show love, you'll receive love in return. Winning and losing is a byproduct, but the one aspect every competitor will walk away with is growth and knowledge, and because of that I continue to compete in TGS. 

  How has writing changed you as a person?

 Writing has most definitely changed me as a person. It's shown me that I'm able to accomplish a task well, not always in a timely manner, but well none the less. Writing has given me something to dream towards. When I was 6 there was a short story contest at the school I was attending and I entered it. I wrote everything in pencil on large lined paper. Upon completion I was walking to the administration office to submit it when a 5th grader beat me up, erased my name, put his in its place, and turned it in. I didn't say anything because getting beat up was not my favorite pass-time. The 5th grader eventually won the competition using my work and at that moment I knew I wanted to write for the rest of my life. I'd dream about it as a child and still do as an adult. Then I veered more toward poetry in teenage years and then began to compete within slam. What changed me the most is poetry. I realized when I construct poetry, it is my own language and when the audience snaps, hoots, hollers, and approaches me after a show, it means they are fluent in James and that someone can actually understand me.

  What is your priority when writing?

  My main priority when writing is to get everything out and then pull the bits from the wreckage. We can't be picky as writers, all we have is what we allow ourselves write, so why not write everything and miss nothing. 

  Where do you see yourself and poetry in five years?

 Myself and poetry will be roommates for the rest of my life. I want to teach. I'm a firm believer that we as writers cannot teach someone how to write, yes there is grammer, punctuation, sentence structure, and slew of other concepts and rules within the English language, but I'm not talking about that. I want to teach the youth there are no corners within ones imagination. I believe once you've completed that task as an educator, the student then can begin to develop their own creative process for writing. I want to pass on what I've learned to a future writer and hope to little baby Jesus it's beneficial towards another person's writing process.

  What is your all-time favorite line of poetry?

"We are determining the future at this very moment. We know the heart is the philosopher's stone. Our music is our alchemy. We stand as the manifested equivalent of three buckets of water and a handful of minerals, thus, realizing that those very buckets turned upside down supply the percussive factor of forever."

- Saul Williams

[berkeleypoetryslam]

Get to know our spotlight feature JAMES CHURCH

San Francisco native and current Texas A&M Aggie, James Church, has been making a lot of noise in the land of agricultural education and Johnny Football. We look forward to seeing what he brings to the stage Wednesday night.

Last year he filmed this…

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[texasgrandslam2014]

Competitor Profile: James Church

Age/ place of residence and/or birth

Age: 28

Place of Birth: San Francisco, CA

Place of Residence: College Station, TX.

Day job?

I have the most rewarding job of my life right now; I'm a live in caretaker for a  quadriplegic. The man I work for is one of the biggest inspirations because despite being paralyzed from the neck down he achieved receiving a masters degree in computer science, designed his own mobile chair, played a mean harmonica in a band, and composes code for a living. Having this job has shown me that there is no excuse to achieve what I want in life.

Years of poetry slam experience?

I've been competing in slam for 3 years.

How has your poetry changed since you started slamming?

When I first began writing I was more verbose and had no idea how to describe what I felt onto page so others would understand.

What do you tell yourself before you get on stage?

I tell myself that I'm hear to put on one hell of a show for the audience.

What they are most excited about for Texas Grand Slam?

I'm most excited for the family reunion because that's what TGS has been from the beginning. It's the most inviting competition I've ever been apart of.

How many hours or miles are you travelling to get to TGS this year?

I'm traveling 10 minutes...yay for living in the area!!!

Who do you hope to compete with?

I really hope to share the stage with Sam Sax. The man is beyond a wordsmith and also a friend whom until recently I only see once a year when I visit home.

Most embarrassing slam story?

The first time I ever stepped on stage to recite poetry was the most embarrassing. I was beyond hyped up to share my work, I walked 6 miles just to have a chance to read, but damn I was so nervous. To calm the butterflies I proceeded to drink 8 sangrias and literally yell my poem in a drunken stupor when I finally touched the stage. When I was finish a women stood up and gave me a hug because she thought I was so angry.

All-time favorite line or stanza of poetry?

Hmmm...this is a tricky one but it would have to be from Charles Bukowski's "Poem for Personnel Managers".

"We smoke and the clouds do not notice us.

A cat walks by and shakes Shakespeare

off of his back.

Tallow, tallow, candle like wax: our spines

are limp and our consciousness burns

guilelessly away

the remaining wick life has

doled out to us."

What did you learn in order to communicate effectively in poetry?

The most important learning experience was when Good Ghost Bill taught me how to ground my imagery.

How does your daily life, specifically your current job & your studies, effect your poetry?

My job effects my poetry a lot. It has taught me never to give up on what I love doing the most.

What has the best moment of your slam career been so far?

The best moment in my slam career what during last years TGS when I made final stage. The competition was absolutely insane but I fought harder than I ever had and accomplished my goal of being in the 10 ten.