It's been building up to this all year, and finally this week, poetry denizens of the Beachland Ballroom maxed out the place to witness the 2003 Cleveland Slam Finals; winners Kelly Harris, Vince Robinson, Kevin Moore and Joseph Primes seized the title(s), throwing down epithets, wild invectives and lingual strategies that left audience's heads ringing. Kelly Harris was clearly operating on a higher frequency, achieving the elusive "vulcan mind meld" by scoring perfect 10's from each of the judges during round three. Unquestionably, this year's winning group will destroy the reticence of Chicago when they take on nationals in August. If you haven't yet had a listen of Cleveland's notable poets, pick up the CD Live From The Beachland Ballroom at Collinwood Media?.org to hear the full range of literary styles and substance, and go to Cleveland Poetry Slam?.com to get involved with poetry: it's one of the best damn things going on in Cleveland right now. From Cool Cleveland contributer Tisha Nemeth

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