Kimberly Simms at Southern Fried Poetry Slam

This week I am travelling to Greensboro, NC for the South East Regional Southern Fried Poetry Slam from June 8th - 12th 2016. I will be hosting/emceeing four-team competitive bouts as part of the 32 city regional tournament.  



The entire festival will take place in the Downtown Greensboro Arts district from June 8-12, 2016 and will include, in addition to the central competition, daily themed open mics, a poetry picnic, community service, youth poetry slam and more. The Southern Fried Poetry Slam is the largest regional poetry slam in the country.

This will be my tenth year participating in Southern Fried! I first participated in the Southern Fried Poetry Slam in 1997 as part of The Greenville Slam Team at the Downhome in Johnsonville, TN as part of the 5th Annual South Easter Regional Slam first started by Allan Wolfe. 

What was the Downhome like? Check out this video live from the stage in 1998. 



In 1998, I was a member of the championship slam team that won the 1998 Southern Fried South East Regional Poetry Slam held in Greenville, SC. 

Before retiring from active competition, I was a member of the first all-women slam team in the nation, The Greenville Slam Team 1997-1998. In 2002, I resurrected the slam as the Upstate Slam Team, and I was the slammaster from 2003 to 2008. I was a competing member of the Upstate Slam Teams 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2008 (six National Poetry Slam Teams).

In 2014, myself, Moody Black, and Kimbi the Goddess plus a whole heap of amazing folks - organized the Southern Fried Poetry Slam in Greenville, SC: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20140601/ent/406011013

This year South Carolina will send slam teams from the following cities to Southern Fried: Upstate, Spartanburg, Columbia, and Charleston.

More information about our local slam can be found at www.witsendpoetry.com

Note: Kimberly attended the following Southern Fried Poetry Slam's: 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 20014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022

Kimberly was on the organizing committee for the Southern Fried Poetry Slam in 1998, 2005, and 2014.
Kimberly was the acting tournament director for the Southern Fried Poetry Slam in 2004 (Miami), 2005 (Charlotte), 2006 (Birmingham). She was the finals co-host in Birmingham, Alabama. She was the back stage manager in 2004, 2005, and 2014 Southern Fried Finals.