The Spoken Word Almanac Project conceived by Darian Dauchan('06 Nuyorican Slam Team Member, '07 Urbana Grand Slam Champion), co-produced by Malcolm Barrett('01 Nuyorican Slam Team Member, Better Off Ted), is a 3 night event/show/poetry and media extravaganza performed both mid-summer and in mid-December recapping and responding to the current news events of the year through an array of words and perspectives from a diverse group of some of New York's finest Performance Poets. A culmination of a year's worth of poems, developed from monthly meetings, beginning in January right up to the show itself in December. The marriage of multimedia documenting the nostalgic passing of seasons and the highlighting of newspaper and television reports used as inspiration for the poets work, will hopefully serve as a symbol to motivate poets, individuals, and citizens to critically speak out, about, for and against the present and pressing issues of our time before leaping into the beginning of a new year that awaits us.
The S.W.A.P. Crew's combined creds consist of HBO Def Poets, Slam Champions, Slam Mistresses, Urban Word Youth Poets, and Slam Team Members of all four major poetry venues in New York City that include the LouderARTS Project, the Urbana Slam Series at the Bowery Poetry Club, Intangible Slam, and the legendary Nuyorican Poets Cafe.
The Spoken Word Almanac Project was an annual event that ran from 2008-2012, and was presented at various venues that included the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, the Bowery Poetry Club, 78th Street Theater Lab, The Tank NYC, and 92Y Tribeca.
The S.W.A.P. 2012 crew hits the streets of New York to tackle the issue of gun violence in America. Featuring: Justin Woo, Joanna Hoffman, Scott Raven Tarazevitz, Ngoma Hill, Charan P. Morris, Mike Rosen, and Darian Dauchan. Shot and Edited by Sean Gallagher.
The S.W.A.P. 2011 Poets hit the streets of New York during the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. Featuring: Darian Dauchan, Justin Woo, Joanna Hoffman, Adam "ShadoKat" Bowser, Yarminiah Rosa, Caroline Rothstein, Charan P. Morris, and Scott Raven Tarazevits. Shot and Edited by Sean Gallagher. Script Editing by Malcolm Barrett and Leah Bonvissuto.
S.W.A.P. Poet Darian Dauchan performs his piece "She's Just Not That Into You", a heartfelt phone call from Obama to America, at the SWAP 2010 Sneak Peek Show at the Bowery Poetry Club. Directed by Margarett Perry. Produced by Malcolm Barrett and Darian Dauchan.
The S.W.A.P. '09 Poets hit the streets of New York during the Health Care Debate of 2009. Featuring: Darian Dauchan, Justin Woo, Joanna Hoffman, Akua Doku, Heather Aletha, and Erik "Advocate of Wordz" Maldonado. Original Edit: Frankie Sooknanan. Director of Photography: Brett Herman. Gaffer: Jaki Levy.
Trailer for the Spoken Word Almanac Project. A poetry/media extravaganza recapping current news events through a poets' perspective.