Anthology, Inc. announced today that the 14th annual Mesa National Poetry Slamoff will take place on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at Queen's Pizzeria, 125 W Main St, in Downtown Mesa. As many as twelve of the valley's best performance poets will compete for a chance to represent Mesa Slam at the National Poetry Slam to be held this August in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Show starts at 8PM, the event is completely free to the public, and donations will be accepted to help fund the team's application fee and travel expenses to the event.

Since 1996, Mesa has sent poets to The National Poetry Slam, making the Mesa Slam one of the oldest poetry slams in the country. Mesa success includes semi-final finishes in the 1999, 2000 and 2005 events. Regularly attended by hundreds of people, the slamoff is a high energy, high stakes showdown for the coveted team positions.

The Mesa Slam Poetry community has long brought tremendous attention to the arts of Mesa, solidifying a reputation as being unique and entertaining. Says Bob Nelson, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Anthology, "I've seen a lot of poets and poetry slams in 15 years, and I still think this event is the single best way to show the community that there is a vibrant and exciting performance poetry community right here."

Queen's Pizzeria will host the event, and as a special offer will give a free drink w/order to anyone that wears an Anthology or Mesa Slam T-Shirt to the event.

Poetry Slam is a no-holds barred verbal competition that pits performance and writing skills of poets against each other at the mercy of the Audience. Devised in the 1980's by a Chicago construction worker named Marc Smith, the style has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, with a national Nonprofit, Poetry Slam, inc. guiding it's growth. More information about Poetry Slam can be found at http://www.poetryslam.com.

Anthology, Inc. is a Greater Phoenix based literary nonprofit, recognized both by the state of Arizona and is a 501c(3) organization with the Internal Revenue Service. Founded in 1994, Anthology’s mission is to promote performance poetry and associated literary arts in the greater Phoenix community by providing opportunities for artists to perform their work and by making spoken word arts accessible to a diverse audience. More information on Anthology  can become a member can be found at
http://www.anthology.org .

Queens Pizzeria is a family operated Pizza Parlor in the heart of Downtown Mesa. Open Since 2008, we pride ourselves in creating fresh, delicious, made-to-order pizza, sandwiches and salads. Whether you come into our restaurant or order for delivery, you will be impressed with our uncompromising quality, freshness, superior customer service, and above all, great food!! Check out our list of events for fun happenings at Queens and in downtown Mesa. More Information can be found at: http://www.queenspizzeria.com.