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Alvin Lau
Indie

"Excuse me, it's pronounced Dou-CHEY Bag"

CHICAGO, Illinois
United States

Profile Views:  25172




Last Login:  7/5/2008
View My: Pics | Videos

   Contacting Alvin Lau

 MySpace URL: 
  http://www.myspace.com/alvinlau  

   Alvin Lau: General Info
Member Since3/23/2006
Type of LabelMajor




   Upcoming Shows ( view all )
Aug 1 2008 8:00P
Daniella and Tristan and Kanye Chicago, Illinois
Aug 2 2008 8:00P
Daniella and Tristan and Kanye Chicago, Illinois
Aug 3 2008 8:00P
Daniella and Tristan and Kanye Chicago, Illinois
Aug 4 2008 8:00P
National Poetry Slam Madison, Wisconsin
Aug 5 2008 8:00P
National Poetry Slam Madison, Wisconsin
Aug 6 2008 8:00P
National Poetry Slam Madison, Wisconsin
Sep 3 2008 8:00P
Western Carolina University Cullowhee, North Carolina

Alvin Lau's Latest Blog Entry  [Subscribe to this Blog]

On Slam and Happiness  (view more)

Regarding a slammaster’s racist reply to a feature solicitation.  (view more)

[View All Blog Entries]

   About Alvin Lau

Alvin Lau is a Chicago native and professional performance poet . A son of immigrant Chinese, he’s always wondered where Asia-America really is, though he often spends more time wondering why no one’s looking for it anymore. The product of a strict Catholic and a left-wing Buddhist, he believes poetry is about balance: you can entertain without pandering, be cultural without being ethnocentric, be lyrical without being esoteric, and be simultaneously political and deeply personal.

Extremely competitive thanks to an "Asian" upbringing, Alvin has had regional and national success playing chess, Magic: The Gathering, and Street Fighter, though he abandoned these interests when he discovered poetry slam. With some of his first poems, he captained a team from Young Chicago Authors to a championship at Louder Than A Bomb: The Chicago Teen Poetry Slam, and in his second year he helped the team capture the national title at Brave New Voices 2002. The following year, he captained a team from the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing to local and national championships, becoming the first back-to-back national youth champion.

At the age of twenty he burst on the adult scene, placing seventh at the Individual World Poetry Slam and sixth at the National Poetry Slam in the same year. Since then, he has ranked among the top seven poets in the country four times in four years -- placing as high as 2nd in 2006-- and won more high-stakes poetry slam invitationals and money slams than any other poet, including ANTHEM! at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, one of the most prestigious invitationals in the country. Alvin has also been the first grand slam champion of both the Mental Graffiti poetry slam and the historic Green Mill, a three-time Midwest Regional champion, and in 2007, he was named the official "Poet of Conscience" for Amnesty International.

His work has been featured on National Public Radio, the Poetry Foundation online, dozens of newspapers, anthologies, and literary journals, and he filmed for the fifth and sixth seasons of HBO's Def Poetry Jam. When not writing, he often performs, holds creative writing workshops, and speaks on social justice issues at high schools and universities across the country, including Sarah Lawrence College, the University of Chicago, Columbia University, and Yale. Alvin is also a member of the Bullhorn Collective, composed of the thirty highest ranking performance poets in the world.

Favorites include tequila, mangos, and Kanye West.



For booking information, e-mail: alvin.c.lau@gmail.com







"Alvin Lau carves blizzards out of granite, releasing flurries of words that make you step back, catch your breath, and marvel at the craft and concentration humming underneath."

-Jeremy Richards, co-editor of the 2005 National Poetry Slam Anthology


"Alvin Lau is young, sharp, and freakishly talented. A manic intellectual, Lau provides metaphorical bricks to his readers and listeners, asking them to launch them through the dirty window of apathy."

-Rachel McKibbens, SlamMaster for the louderARTS project


"Billy Collins meets Kanye West."

-The Chicago Tribune.


"A poetic prodigy."

-The Georgetown Voice


"Alvin Lau flips it. You won't get cliches and butter here. You'll get someone who is reaching for that shiny thing behind the ribcage."

-Buddy Wakefield, two-time Individual World Poetry Slam Champion

   Alvin Lau's Friend Space (Top 4)
Alvin Lau has 1167 friends.
 The Super-Jew 


 just billy 


 Kay Krown 


 Sully, Eleven-Dollianaire 





Alvin Lau's Friends Comments
Displaying 50 of 509 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
The Super-Jew





Jul 1 2008 2:00 PM

love.
mademoiselle rebecca





Jun 27 2008 9:44 AM

greetings! just wanted to say, i thoroughly enjoyed you @ the Campus Progress show in DC. hope you had happy travels home. peace!
Bud





Jun 21 2008 5:31 PM

Thanks for taking me in, boss. Your one of the best.
JD





Jun 19 2008 10:24 AM

Not a whole lot here. Well, my cousin and his lady are coming into town tonight, so this weekend will be busy with them. I don't have any homework to do next week, so I can Smash anytime then.
JD





Jun 19 2008 8:36 AM

Another new roommate? What the hell is going on over there?
nessa





Jun 7 2008 12:59 PM

the performance last night was amazing.
thank you
kellie with an -ie





Jun 5 2008 5:43 AM

*tonight*
*avenue m*695 n. milwaukee*
*5 dolla absolut anything*house music*
hope you show your face.
*k
Candyce





May 22 2008 8:18 PM

Message or text your e-mail addy, I have lots and lots of photos from Rustbelt!

=)
^Spike^





May 19 2008 6:29 PM

It was fun, thats for sure. I'm glad i could share a finals stage with you. Keep the DOPE ASS Chicago poets coming.
JoHee PoeTry - youtube.com/johee626





May 18 2008 8:31 PM

Hey just passin by to say hello :)

Much Love

JoHee
Meghann Plunkett





May 18 2008 9:41 AM

how are you? im back in the states on the 31st!
Hasan





Apr 29 2008 10:13 AM

We are big fans! Thanks for your post on deepslant.
Danceahh





Apr 25 2008 3:06 PM

You are one of the most inspiring poets ever to be heard by my ears. You make me want to pick up a pen and write until my thoughts are clear and well articulated. Thank you for being so wonderful!
The Super-Jew





Apr 22 2008 8:22 AM

amazing. you. thanks. *clap, clap*
Deadly Shanimal





Apr 7 2008 8:53 AM

what up! U wanna smash sometime this week?
LaRaie





Apr 4 2008 4:10 PM

Hello Alvin, I see you are keeping busy! I hope all is well with you!
A-Mach





Apr 2 2008 7:50 PM

The first time I read your comment, I thought it said you had "new york" you were debuting.... To which my response would've been "Well, at least we'll all know where Brooklyn at." Unfortunately it's now irrelevant. Will you be peddling any merch at IWU?
Ms. Ma'am





Apr 2 2008 4:00 PM

remember I told you that story about how my name sounds identical to a Ewe word that means "on the path"... as in doing what you're meant to do with your life... yeah, I got that!
Ms. Ma'am





Apr 2 2008 2:36 PM

I saw the place... and it was nice. I think 625 is too much. I want to travel some more this year, so I'm trying to be extra cheap. Like 400... 5 at most. Sorry! I got a tattoo today.
Ms. Ma'am





Apr 2 2008 2:29 PM

for how much and when..
A-Mach





Apr 2 2008 2:03 PM

can't wait to see you peform at IWU! That is to say, I CAN wait because I have to... You get the idea.
Ms. Ma'am





Apr 2 2008 1:58 PM

Are you better yet?
Autumn Blaze





Apr 2 2008 8:34 AM

Thank you SO much for the add request!

I would love to know where the best poetry sets are in your area if you know..

Please let me know if you can..

Peace
Meghann Plunkett





Apr 1 2008 8:35 AM

ha i didnt even notice that..ha...i guess ive become a schizophrenic. I do like it here a lot but i miss nyc and its poetry...
Meghann Plunkett





Apr 1 2008 7:33 AM

HEY! I am in Ireland! Ive been here since JAnuary...it is so nice. Brilliant, even. Whats up tell me of life! you doing readings in new york and what not? I'll be back in june or so... blah..it is never sunny here... I am so sick of rain...
<3We miss You Robert <3





Mar 30 2008 8:43 AM

thanx for the add fam keep spittin
Infamise Chri$





Mar 28 2008 10:13 PM

You are seriously amazing. You inspired me to continue to write poetry.
THEVOICE





Mar 27 2008 3:41 PM

Just stoppin through to show some love and thank you for the friendship.
Shalom
TheVoice
Ms. Ma'am





Mar 20 2008 12:36 PM

Call Kevin and come to my job tonight!
Kimmy





Mar 16 2008 11:26 AM

Just stopping by to say happy st Patrick's day!!
Suzie Q





Mar 4 2008 12:22 PM

How was the night, night rider?
Ms. Ma'am





Mar 2 2008 10:54 PM

My life will return to normal Monday night... what are your plans? I'll stop by.
She's a pretty Fly GUY





Mar 1 2008 4:02 PM

sweet sixteen LOL!!! loooovvee it
= D - mad props Mr. Lau
HonneyLove





Mar 1 2008 1:34 PM

Thanks for the add and for the opportunity to get to know a creative mind.

Be blessed

have a wonderful weekend

honneyLove
The Au-Bass-ity of Hope





Mar 1 2008 6:31 AM

I know! I missed everybody. I had to get back to Chicago.
how'd you do?
Suzie Q





Feb 29 2008 10:59 AM

...teehee.... I LOVE your friends... and not just cuz they asked about me... but b/c I really like them. I hope to see them again... and you...
Suzie Q





Feb 28 2008 10:13 PM

...hmmmm... a maneater, right?
Bonnie* [ 6*28*08 ] in tha Burg uurrea!





Feb 28 2008 8:01 PM

oh really? whaaa?! oh nah, i live almost 3 hours from st. louis. i live in the stix aka country side xD

oh nooo! =[ well i'll make sure to catch a show of yours down here or in mass!
Bonnie* [ 6*28*08 ] in tha Burg uurrea!





Feb 28 2008 7:43 PM

oh nah lol. i'm originally from massachusetts but i recently moved down to missouri back in september.

boo! just when sumthin great comes to missouri, i miss it! ARGH! >.<
Bonnie* [ 6*28*08 ] in tha Burg uurrea!





Feb 28 2008 6:22 PM

AHHHHHH! I'm soo mad! You down in Missouri doing your thing right now up at Jefferson City and I ain't there! ='[

Droppin' by to show you some love! =]
Suzie Q





Feb 28 2008 8:53 AM

...I know... its a lil scary...
kellie with an -ie





Feb 27 2008 11:36 AM

let's go get a drink tonight.
Deadly Shanimal





Feb 26 2008 6:44 PM

if your in town you should do this! me jeff and kevin wont be in town. Win it for us!

http://www.gamestop.com/gs/ssbb/tournament/default.asp
Dave Dastard





Feb 24 2008 9:29 AM

is new pussy gonna teach yo kids to read?

new pussy's illiterate!
leah





Feb 18 2008 9:31 PM

Omg you dont want to miss this free ringtones for a year.. they have everything!!

http://www.unreleasedtones.com
Kate.





Feb 14 2008 4:44 PM

Hey Alvin, I'm doing very well, far too busy. how are you man?
joshua ashton





Feb 14 2008 3:21 PM

my dog.
Lynx





Feb 9 2008 9:46 PM

I was at the Slam at North Harford High School, in Maryland a few months back.
I was the one with the safety-pinned glasses. (that's how most people remember me lol)
ayumi