Buddy Wakefield

Buddy Wakefield (born June 4, 1974 ) is an American spoken word artist, a three-time poetry slam world champion[1] [2], and the most toured performance poet in history.[9] His works have been released by Strange Famous Records (CD), Righteous Babe Records (CD), and Write Bloody Publishing (books). He has lived in Sanborn, New York; Baytown, Texas; Seattle, Washington; and Los Angeles, California.

2009 Elephant Engine High Dive Revival Tour
Buddy Wakefield
BornKenneth Zane Beasley III
(1974-06-04) June 4, 1974
Shreveport, Louisiana
OccupationSpoken Word Performer, Poet, Actor, Screenwriter, Recording Artist
GenrePoetry
Literary movementPoetry Slam
Notable worksA Choir of Honest Killers, Gentleman Practice, Stunt Water, Run on Anything, Live at the Typer Cannon Grand
Years active1998-present
Website
buddywakefield.com

Biography

Buddy Wakefield (born Kenneth Zane Beasley III) was born in Shreveport, Louisiana[3], then raised in Sanborn, New York and Baytown, Texas. He was adopted by a stepfather in 1980 and became Buddy Marshall Stevens. After eighteen years of no contact with the person who adopted him, Buddy chose his own last name, Wakefield, now his legal last name, which was pulled in an instance from the Weezer song, My Name is Jonas. Buddy thought the second half of the song began "My name is Wakefield. I've got a box full of your toys." It turns out that Weezer's guitarist, who wrote the song, was not saying Wakefield. He was saying Wepeel, the name of the guitarist's sled from childhood.  

In 2001, Buddy left his position as the executive assistant at a biomedical firm[4] in Gig Harbor, Washington, sold or gave away everything he owned, and moved into a Honda Civic to tour North American poetry venues.[5]

In 2004, and again in 2005, he won the Individual World Poetry Slam Championship title[6], and was a member of several slam teams, including Team Long Beach in 2002, and Team Seattle in 2006 and 2007. Having not competed in poetry slam (what Wakefield has called "the most make-funable art form alive") since 2008, he has built a significant following, and still considers performance poetry to be his day job while living in Los Angeles, pursuing acting and screenwriting for both television and film.

In addition to touring the world solo for two decades, Wakefield has also toured, performed with, headlined and opened for hiphop, folk, and rock acts worldwide. As well, he was a core member of 2007's Solomon Sparrow's Electric Whale Revival, 2008's Junkyard Ghost Revival, 2009's Elephant Engine High Dive Revival, and 2010's Night Kite Revival, where he shared the stage with notable poets such as Derrick Brown, Anis Mojgani, Andrea Gibson and Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, among others. These events were performed to large, enthusiastic audiences throughout North America.[7] As of 2019, Wakefield has performed in every state in the U.S. except North Dakota. On purpose.

Poetry, Performance, Books and Records

Wakefield was the inaugural author released on Write Bloody Publishing founded by Derrick C. Brown. He has published five subsequent books with Write Bloody Publishing:[8] Some They Can't Contain (2004, originally The Wordsmith Press; reissued by Write Bloody Publishing), Live for a Living (2007, Write Bloody Publishing)[9], Gentleman Practice (2011, Write Bloody Publishing), Stunt Water: The Buddy Wakefield Reader 1991-2011 (2015, Write Bloody Publishing), and A Choir of Honest Killers (October 15, 2019, Write Bloody Publishing).

Wakefield also wrote and published a comical reference book, with his now ex-boyfriend, Stephen Snook, on backyard chicken keeping in urban and suburban environments: HENHOUSE: The International Book for Chickens and Their Lovers (2012, Write Bloody Publishing) ISBN 978-1-938912-05-4

Wakefield has released three full-length spoken word albums with best friend and producer Jon Berardi: A Stretch of Presence (1999) (co-produced with Levi Lyman), Run On Anything (2006) which was released by Strange Famous Records,[10] and Live at the Typer Cannon Grand (2009) which was released by Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records.[11] DiFranco first became aware of Wakefield when her mother saw him perform at an art gallery in Buffalo, New York, and gave DiFranco a print out of Wakefield's website, saying, "You have to do something with this guy."[4] The album contains recordings of live performances, including several from Wakefield's numerous tours opening for DiFranco, as well as one studio-produced track.

Influence

Though he has not competed in Poetry Slam, a competition he refers to as a gimmick, since 2008, Wakefield has had a profound impact on the contemporary Poetry Slam movement, both in his performance and writing style, as well as how he has conducted his career. In her book, Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam, New York Times bestselling author Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz named Wakefield as "the modern poetry slam role model." She wrote,

...[Wakefield] sold everything he owned and toured the country, living out of his car when he wasn't crashing on couches. He was not the first slam poet to do this and certainly not the last, but he was definitely the most high-profile, and he really set the stage for what I like to call the "Troubadour Movement" in slam, the whole desire simply to tour, to reach out and be with your community.[12]

Discography

Bibliography

Anthologies
  • Elephant Engine High Dive Revival, Write Bloody Publishing, 2008 ISBN 978-0982148891
  • Junkyard Ghost Revival, Write Bloody Publishing, 2008 ISBN 978-0981521367
  • The Last American Valentine: Illustrated poems to seduce and destroy, Write Bloody Publishing, 2008 ISBN 978-0978998974
  • Spoken Word Revolution Redux, Sourcebook, Inc, 2008 ISBN 978-1402208690
  • Solomon Sparrow's Electric Whale Revival, Write Bloody Publishing, 2007 ISBN 978-0978998998
  • Freedom to Speak: The Best of the 2002 National Poetry Slam, The Wordsmith Press, 2003 ISBN 978-1893972070

References
  1. Poetry Slam Inc. Website Announce of Wakefield's Repeat iWPS Championship Archived April 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. "2nd Poetry World Slampionship". www.rinibiemans.nl. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  3. Artist Interview with Buddy Wakefield: Fine Line Magazine
  4. admin. "The Energy Engine of Buddy Wakefield: Arguably the Most Successful Spoken Word Poet on the Road – Splinter Generation". Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  5. Official Buddy Wakefield Biography
  6. Individual World Poetry Slam
  7. Poetry Revival Tour Website
  8. Publishing, Write Bloody. "Write Bloody Publishing". Write Bloody Publishing. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  9. Write Bloody Publishing website
  10. Three tracks from Run on Anything published in The Pedestal Magazine Archived April 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  11. Page on Righteous Babe Records website Archived November 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  12. Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe. (2008). Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam. Soft Skull Press. Page 354. ISBN 1-933368-82-9.
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