Recent Reviews of Hot Damn It’s A Queer Slam

​Raymond Heliko – My Gay Toronto http://www.mygaytoronto.com/helkio/20180215.php

“Charlie Petch has been a fixture of the scene for years and perhaps best known for his touring show Hot Damn It's A Queer Slam, an open mic contest which continues to attract an eclectic assortment of artists that blur the boundaries between poetry, performance and sexual politics. I've been to one of Charlie's slams in New York and the room was as alive as it was packed. A few years ago Charlie brought me in to be one of the judges during a show at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre and I was blown away by the often deeply moving works that people performed. One minute I was clapping my hands out of sheer joy and the next I was choked up from being enveloped in someone else's life journey.”

From Topoet.ca’s nationally read blog https://topoet.ca/2017/04/16/i-am-not-universal/ ‘I Am Not Universal’ Posted on April 16, 2017 by topoet The third season finale for the unstoppable Hot Damn! It’s a Queer Slam filled Buddies to the rafters. That this queer slam circuit would become so quickly establish & vital clearly reflects the power of poetry and the hunger there is for queer performers to have a safe, inviting, encouraging space to share their work. If you think, what the fuck is he going on about – trust me covert & not so convert homophobia is always present – in the local poetry scene. As always Charlie Petch opened the show with an homage to the people whose stolen land we live on & then with the queer national anthem. No time was wasted before the
open stagers (not in performance order) Fira Astrali, Niambi Leigh, D’Scribe, Ossian Maceachern, Shawna Dimitry, & Darcy Alemany (title of this blog post is from one of his pieces) tore up the mic with the first round of pieces:

black girls never win the Bachelor – Trump didn’t invent racism – I want to say best & breast comes out – saying I’m sorry more often than I say I love you – how much am I allowed to love you – I don’t speak the language of my ancestors – the nail is not a fashion statement – Justin: just in time for Time magazine – what right angle explains attraction – straight because I never had to prove I was straight – a love that doesn’t need to be gendered – you can be attracted to people of who are more than a single gender – sudden onset of requests for threesomes – this mouth keeps you warm at night -nthis mouth starts forest fires on Saturdays – this mouth tries not to remember – Dear Love, don’t find this creepy, but I like to watch you – are you the devil, is that why I worship you – I’m am not universal I am just here.

Next up was Queen Sheba. Can I mention the feature’s fashion sense without coming off as a typical shallow gay man? Whatever, as if I have a reputation to lose, right? She was fly in smart hat, tight red skirt & heels for days. Her pieces were powerful, funny, emotional & directly from the heart. – riding the rainbow – bruises as medals of honour – only as strong as out last execution – no place in a woman’s house is a hiding place, God will give you the gift but you’ll never know what it is until you open it – dive too young to know what a diva is – directly from lips to your curiosity – I cool-side-of-the- pillow love you. She finished with truncated version of her Period piece that was hilarious, explicit & made me grateful I’m male. After a brief break Charlie launched the second round – her scrubs are dancing too – maybe that’s just my IV lines – I smell like a Wes Craven movie – he has lost most of who he is – our pain is not illegitimate – compassion was a childhood myth – still leaving myself in dreams – this is what a leaving hurricane looks like – lets talk the theology of the margins – better to shut up & pay the bills – one day you’ll be okay – edges of edges you wish you didn’t know – pray your medication protects you from evil – my God is made of the arms of my friends – no one deserves to pray alone – I look forward to seeing winner D’Scribe wow them at Capturing Fire in Washington DC this June. Stay tuned for season four of Hot Damn! 
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