Mike Swinkey

Described by others as "a nerd poet" Mike Swinkey was born in Monroe MI where he still resides. He is active throughout the Midwest, often traveling two hours or more to attend slams and open-mics. He was on the Dayton National Slam Team in 2002. He was a member of the 2002 and 2003 Ann Arbor Midwest Slam League Team, and was elected the team's captain in 2004. Also in 2004, Mike qualified to compete for slots on slam teams in Dayton, Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor. On April 27th he won the title of Kalamazoo's Slam Champion 2004 and will compete at the National Poetry Slam in St. Louis for team Kalamazoo. He also plans to finish college in the next six months and finally grow up. Actually, the second half is a lie. Mike never intends on growing up.

Mike Swinkey was born to a group of walrus hunters in Western Siberia in 1982. While a "puck boy" for the Russian National Hockey team, he defected to the United States in 1989, exclaiming "is not like Russia!". He discovered slam in 2000 when Saul Williams bought a pack of gum at the 7-11 Mike was working at. He describes it as "a very spiritual moment". Mike has since been a member of the Dayton NPS team in 2003 and after the Rust Belt regionals in Columbus OH which included much drinking and debauchery, declared that he would be on the Kalamazoo slam team one day. That day happened in April of 2004 when Mike became the Kalamazoo Grand Slam champion and achieved his dream of being on the team. The last half of that sentence rhymed. Don't try that at home kids, Mike's a professional and serious verbal injury could result; also, don't ask Mike to say anything in Russian because he "forgot" all of it in his years "away from Russia".