Robbie Q. Telfer
Encyclopedia
Robbie Q. Telfer is an American
poet
and poetry slam performer.
He has been a featured performer in dozens of poetry shows throughout North America, including Toronto, Detroit, Oakland, Austin, St. Louis, Honolulu, Boston, and Providence, as well as the Bowery Poetry Club
in New York City
and the Green Mill
in Chicago
. While his work can be found in several slam poetry anthologies and DVDs through the Wordsmith Press and elsewhere, he also helps to bridge the divide between stage and page poetry by publishing poetry and criticism in places like the cream city review, Octopus Magazine #10, and the March/April 2006 American Book Review. Unrelated to poetry, he also wrote dialog for the video game Ninjatown
released for the Nintendo DS in October 2008.
In 2005, he and five other Chicago performance poets (Joel Chmara, Tim Stafford, Molly Meacham, Dan Sullivan, and Tennessee Mary Fons) founded the Speak'Easy Poetry Ensemble under the direction of slam poetry founder Marc Smith. He and the Speak'Easy Ensemble performed at the annual Bertolt Brecht
Festival in Augsburg, Germany the summer of 2008. In 2007, he placed 8th overall at the National Poetry Slam
in Austin, TX. He frequently tours with Mighty Mike McGee
, and was part of the Junkyard Ghost Revival tour with famous performance poets Anis Mojgani
, Buddy Wakefield
, and Derrick C. Brown.
He is currently the Director of Performances for Young Chicago Authors, a nonprofit that gives creative writing, performance, and mentorship opportunities to Chicago teens. Through Young Chicago Authors, he is the head organizer of Louder Than A Bomb, the Chicago city-wide youth slam and the largest team-based youth poetry slam in the world. He's an active teaching artist and lecturer in the Chicago community.
In 2008, along with Shanny Jean Maney, he co-founded The Encyclopedia Show
, a live literary variety show that presents different topics at each show. Since its founding, the show has spread to over a dozen cities in four different countries around the world.
His first full-length collection of poetry, My Huge Heart Still Has No Room for You, was self-published in 2006 through lulu.com
. His first published collection, Spiking the Sucker Punch, is out from Write Bloody Publishing. In 2011, he was named Best Local Poet by the Chicago Reader.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and poetry slam performer.
He has been a featured performer in dozens of poetry shows throughout North America, including Toronto, Detroit, Oakland, Austin, St. Louis, Honolulu, Boston, and Providence, as well as the Bowery Poetry Club
Bowery Poetry Club
The Bowery Poetry Club is a New York City poetry performance space founded by Bob Holman in 2002. Located at 308 Bowery, between Bleecker and Houston Streets in Manhattan's East Village, the BPC provides a home base for established and upcoming artists...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and the Green Mill
Green Mill
Green Mill may refer to:-*The Green Mill Jazz Club, Uptown, Chicago*Green's Mill, Sneinton, a windmill in Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom*De Groene Molen, Joure, a windmill in Friesland, the Netherlands...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. While his work can be found in several slam poetry anthologies and DVDs through the Wordsmith Press and elsewhere, he also helps to bridge the divide between stage and page poetry by publishing poetry and criticism in places like the cream city review, Octopus Magazine #10, and the March/April 2006 American Book Review. Unrelated to poetry, he also wrote dialog for the video game Ninjatown
Ninjatown
Ninjatown is a tower defense strategy video game on the Nintendo DS that was released on October 28, 2008.-Plot:Ninjatown is a peaceful place populated by ninjas. But after a volcanic eruption, Ninjatown gets invaded by enemies and their leader, Mr...
released for the Nintendo DS in October 2008.
In 2005, he and five other Chicago performance poets (Joel Chmara, Tim Stafford, Molly Meacham, Dan Sullivan, and Tennessee Mary Fons) founded the Speak'Easy Poetry Ensemble under the direction of slam poetry founder Marc Smith. He and the Speak'Easy Ensemble performed at the annual Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
Festival in Augsburg, Germany the summer of 2008. In 2007, he placed 8th overall at the National Poetry Slam
National Poetry Slam
The National Poetry Slam is a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and France participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurs in early August every year and takes place in a different US city....
in Austin, TX. He frequently tours with Mighty Mike McGee
Mighty Mike McGee
Michael Matthew McGee, more commonly known as Mighty Mike McGee , is an American slam poet.Born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, McGee is the oldest of eight children from several marriages. He has spent most of his life in and around San Jose, California, where he started his career in spoken word,...
, and was part of the Junkyard Ghost Revival tour with famous performance poets Anis Mojgani
Anis Mojgani
Anis Mojgani is a spoken word poet, visual artist and musician based in Portland, Oregon.Mojgani has been characterized as a "geek genius" with "fiercely hopeful word arias"...
, Buddy Wakefield
Buddy Wakefield
Buddy Wakefield is an American performance poet/slam poet, whose latest works have been released by Righteous Babe Records and Write Bloody Publishing .- Biography :...
, and Derrick C. Brown.
He is currently the Director of Performances for Young Chicago Authors, a nonprofit that gives creative writing, performance, and mentorship opportunities to Chicago teens. Through Young Chicago Authors, he is the head organizer of Louder Than A Bomb, the Chicago city-wide youth slam and the largest team-based youth poetry slam in the world. He's an active teaching artist and lecturer in the Chicago community.
In 2008, along with Shanny Jean Maney, he co-founded The Encyclopedia Show
The Encyclopedia Show
The Encyclopedia Show is a live variety show and reading series format founded in Chicago by Robbie Q. Telfer and Shanny Jean Maney in December 2008 at the Chopin Theatre...
, a live literary variety show that presents different topics at each show. Since its founding, the show has spread to over a dozen cities in four different countries around the world.
His first full-length collection of poetry, My Huge Heart Still Has No Room for You, was self-published in 2006 through lulu.com
Lulu.com
Lulu is a company offering publishing, printing, and distribution services with headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. Since their founding in 2002, Lulu has published over 1.1 million titles by creators in over 200 countries and territories and adds 20,000 new titles to their catalogue a month...
. His first published collection, Spiking the Sucker Punch, is out from Write Bloody Publishing. In 2011, he was named Best Local Poet by the Chicago Reader.