photo credit: Musico Roots
Founder of The Poet Rising Project and Rhythmic Cypher,
T Love Smith
Currently, Tina Smith (TLOVE) co-hosts the three-year running, weekly poetry open mic with musical accompaniment, Rhythmic Cypher (HOME OF THE 207 3-2-1- SLAM) in Portland, Maine which features local, regional and national performance poets, musicians and the occasional travelling circus.
In 2009, TLOVE competed at the National Poetry Slam and was the Individual Slam Champion for Portland. The same year, she co-produced her first chapbook, Butch Poets: A Redefining of Masculinity and a Reclamation of Butch with local jazz poet, Lady Zen.
TLOVE was published by Moon Pie Press in 2011 in an anthology, Passion and Pride: Poets supporting Equality with New England Poet Laureates, Betsy Sholl, Bruce Spang, John-Michael Albert, Martin Steingesser and Annie Finch, Pat Smith Ranzoni, and many other great local poets.
In 2012, TLove collaborated on a multi-media poetry and visual art collaboration with The Poet Rising Project for the 8th Annual Belfast Poetry Festival. This project gave Poet Rising the opportunity to introduce the work of Kristina Buckley’s visual art into a performance peice.
In 2913, TLove became slammaster, coach and member of the first-ever Rhythmic Cypher Slam Team who took first-place, twice at the NorthBeast Regional Slams in Manchester and Boston and took third-place in each of their National Poetry Slam bouts.
TLove self-published her second chapbook, Why Do My Guts Hum? in 2013 along with two cds: Forgiveness & Lost Love Daughter which can be found at tlove.bandcamp.com .
TLove is also a teaching poet who offers performance poetry at local schools and community spaces.
Contact:
Tina Smith
poet.rising 
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