10

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE August 2, 2002

Bob Smith and Dolphin Promotions, Inc. proudly presents the

CLEVELAND SUMMER evening'sout

ANTIQUES

SALE & SHOW

Featuring 150 select dealers from across the US and Canada offering quality antique furniture, jewelry, crystal, porcelain, bronzes, textiles, paintings, Americana, books and much more! "It's the return of the great Coliseum Show from years past!” AUGUST 2-4, 2002

Friday, Noon to 7pm Saturday, Noon to 7pm Sunday, Noon to 6pm For Information During the Show 216/622-0670

The Convocation Center

at Cleveland State University, 2000 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio

Weekend admission $8 SAVE $2 WITH THIS AD!

For Information Call 954/563-6747 or Fax 954/566-1982 or visit: www.dolphinfairs.com

THE

Please

FOUNDATION

Serously.

ANTHONY GLASSMAN

wwwwwww...............

STAINED GLASS

CUSTOM

DESIGNED

AND BUILT

GLASS FACTOR

JOHN SHEFFER

DESIGNER

AND

CRAFTSMAN

SINCE

1991

216-651-6859

CONTEMPORARY

TRADITIONAL

RESTORATION

NICE BIKE

Auto Life

Health

Home

FINALLY. A GOOD PICK-UP LINE.

Century Cycles

Voted one of America's Best Bike Shops with a huge selection of bicycles and accessories, expert staff, and personal caring service. And we know how you feel about your equipment.

Medina 1079 N. Court 330-722-7119 Peninsula 1621 Main St. 800-201-7433 Rocky River 19955 Detroit 440-356-5705 Solon 33351 Aurora Rd. 440-519-0013

www.centurycycles.com

Business

CUSTOM

For all your insurance needs!

Betsy Warner Agent

2479 Lee Boulevard Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118 Office (216) 932-6900

Historic Elegance Meets Modern Comfort Stone Gables

Bed and Breakfast

Richard Tumbull

James Hauer

3806 Franklin Blvd. Cleveland, Ohio 44113

(216) 961-4654

1-877-215-4326

stonegables.net

Kaoz theory

Inside the mind of a slam poet

by Anthony Glassman

In the land of 10,000 lakes, a storm is gathering. The collective voices of thousands of poets will converge on Minneapolis, Minnesota from August 12 to 17 for the National Slam Poetry Championships.

Among the masses assembled will be Kevin L. Moore, actor, rapper, AIDS educator, slam poet and free man from Cleveland.

"Free meaning that I'm clear on the fact that I'm human and I have a heart and a mind which both are constantly changing," Moore explains. "I refuse to be labeled by societal terms, terms society has produced to describe a community."

He continues, "I'm an individual, not a community. There's no other person exactly like me. I'm free in mind, body and spirit. I won't be conditioned to do the 'gay' thing."

Also known by his nom de guerre Kaoz, Moore recently won the Classic Cleveland Poetry Slam, organized by Michael Salinger, securing his place on Cleveland's team in the national competition. He has also appeared in Umoja Arts' recent production of Underground Griots at Cleveland Public Theatre, been in two independent films, and released a small collection of poetry.

Moore was born Sept. 11, 1977. He grew up in and around Cleveland, changing schools and friends often.

"It definitely affected my trust in people,” he said of his vagabond youth. “Living in different neighborhoods, meeting different friends, it was kind of like I grew out of them."

"I was kind of like a girl; they say girls mature faster," he noted, "It wasn't until I met my best friend in seventh grade that I was totally cool with someone."

Although best known for his poetry, having performed on the main stage at this year's Cleveland Pride, Kaoz started out as an aspiring rapper. Among his biggest influences was the Notorious B.I.G., slain shortly after the murder of another hip-hop star, Tupac Shakur.

Kevin Moore

"A lot of people talk about how good Tupac was, but B.I.G. wrote better lyrics," Kaoz opines. "Tupac had a more 'marketable' look. He could have been in porn."

Going out for an open mike night at the now-defunct club Humidor, he was noticed by the Black Poetic Society and invited to audition for membership in their ranks. Thus was born a poet.

'There's an energy that comes from the spoken word art form, a profound energy.'

Kaoz joined an ever-growing number of out slam poets like Justin Chin and Alix Olson.

"It's because we dare to say what everyone else is afraid to say," explains Moore of the appeal of the slam world to LGBT people. "There's an energy that comes from the spoken word art form, a profound energy."

The medium also allows Moore to speak directly to audiences without relying on someone else's script, as he must when he is in plays, and without the distraction of music, as is the case with hip hop.

"I just tell everyone to wake up," he notes. “We're all human. If your name isn't God, then you're not perfect, but you can strive for perfection. No one's perfect, no matter how you choose to classify yourself. Life is an ongoing lesson."

Part of that lesson is honing one's skills, rehearsing and performing. Kaoz will be doing that at a series of performances with the Cleveland slam team between now and the competition, as well as at BlackOut Unlimited's Evening of the Arts at the Cleveland Center for Contemporary Art on August 2, at which Moore has performed for the last two years.

LOOK!! Northeast Ohio Naturist

NEON is a social nudist

group for guys.

N.E.O.N. PO Box 770911

Lakewood, Ohio 44107

NEON

www.neonnaturists.com

neonline@hotmail.com