Regie Gibson, winner of the 1998 National Slam Competition

Poet, songwriter, author, workshop facilitator, and educator Regie Gibson has performed, taught, and lectured at schools, universities, theaters and various other venues on two continents and in seven countries. Most recently in Havana, Cuba. Regie and his work appear in the New Line Cinema film Love Jones, based largely on events in his life. The poem entitled "Brother to the Night (A Blues for Nina)" appears on the movie soundtrack and is performed by the film's star, Larenz Tate. Regie performed "Hey Nappyhead" in the film with world-renowned percussionist and composer Kahil El Zabar, composer of the score for the musical The Lion King.

Regie has performed at: The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago Cultural Center, Elgin Symphony Orchestra Hall with the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Hall with the members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Day of Art Festival, Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater's award-winning Traffic Series with David Amram (Composed music & collaborated with Jack Kerouac & Allen Ginsberg.), Harvard Universities Longfellow Hall for the Cambridge Poetry Festival, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH.

Regie has personally worked with: Gwendolyn Brooks, The Last Poets, Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Roy Ayers, Fareed Haque, Kurt Vonnegut, David Amram (Composed music & collaborated with Jack Kerouac & Allen Ginsberg.), Mos Def, David Murray (Saxophonist with Miles Davis.), Marc Smith (creator of the international Poetry Slam phenomenon), Patricia Smith (3 time individual National Poetry Slam champ, columnist & author.), Reg E. Gaines (Writer of Bring On The Noise, Bring On The Funk with Savion Glover.), and many other artist in musical genres including World, Celtic, Hip Hop, Jazz, Funk, Blues, Salsa, Andelusian, East Indian, House, and European Classical.

Regie has taught, lectured and facilitated workshops for: the Cambridge Poetry Festival at Harvard University, the Poetry Center of the Art Institute of Chicago, Detroit Black Writers Guild, Inside Out of Detroit, MI, University of Chicago Lab School, Northwestern University, Roosevelt University, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Eastern Michigan University, National Louis University, Washtenaw State College, Youth Speaks of San Francisco, CA, University Without Walls of San Antonio, TX, as a Chernin Center for the Arts Community Writers Fellow, a writer in residence at the Effi O. Ellis Center sponsored through National Louis University, and for public schools systems throughout the States of Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, California, Rhode Island, and Philadelphia. Regie is the 1998 National Poetry Slam Individual Champion, was selected one of Chicago Tribune's Artist of the Year for Excellence (1998) for his poetry, was a co-judge at the national Poetry Slam Competition with Marc Smith (Creator of the international Poetry Slam phenomenon) and Mark Strand (University of Chicago professor & 1999 Pulitzer Prize winner for poetry), and is regularly featured on National Public Radio.

In 1999 Regie performed for the award-winning Traffic Series at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater where Regie adapted the work of Kurt Vonnegut. Mr. Vonnegut was in attendance, and raved about the eloquence with which his work was rendered:

"When you perform, you are supersonic and in the stratosphere where you can see the Earth really as a ball, moist, blue-green. You sing and chant for all of us. Nobody gets left out."
—Kurt Vonnegut

Regie is widely published in anthologies, magazines and journals, such as Power Lines, An Anthology of Poetry along with three Pulitzer-Prize winning poets Gwendolyn Brooks, Yosef Komunyakaa, and Lisel Mueller, his first full-length book of poetry Storms Beneath The Skin (EM Press) was released in 2001.
 

Related Links

Article - The Challenge of Slam by Regie Gibson
http://reviews.aalbc.com/the_challenge_of_slam.htm

Regie Gibson Home Page
http://www.regiegibson.com

PoetryPoetry (excellent audio recordings of Gibson)
http://www.poetrypoetry.com/Features/RGibson/RegieGibson.html

 

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