CHARLES EKABHUMI ELLIK embodies a rare combination of successful published poet, award-winning performer, respected organizer, and popular emcee. He hosts the Berkeley Poetry Slam, which has earned "Best of The East Bay" and many critics' choice awards since its inception in 1999. In addition to The Berkeley Slam, he has hosted myriad other slams and open mics throughout California, attesting to his formidable emcee skills.
After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in '97, he took over the SF slam and touched off an explosion in the Northern California performance poetry scene, resulting in a First Place tie at the National Slam in '99 between SF and San Jose, with Oakland in third. There are now more than a dozen regular slams in Northern CA.
He has featured across N. America and Britain and has been featured in many interviews, anthologies and journals including
High Desert Voices (2005 National Slam Anthology),
Berkeley Fiction Review,
Pearl,
Poetry Super Highway, and
Clean Sheets. His greatest sense of accomplishment comes from coaching poets and slam teams to their numerous regional and national titles. His most profound sense of peace comes from studying, teaching, and regular practice of Classical Hatha Yoga.
Honors & Awards:
- 2007 NPS “Head-To-Head Haiku” National Champion
- Winner, West Coast Regional Slam/Big Sur: 99, 00, 02, 03, 07 (as Team Coach).
- Winner, Salmon Slam/Pacific NW Regionals: 98, 99, 00, 07 (as Team Coach).
- Winner, Battle Of The Bay: 00, 03, 07 (as Team Coach).
- Winner, NorCal “Win & In” Regionals: 06, 07 (as Team Coach).
- Winner, “Best Of The East Bay” (Best Open Mic) 2007 --Diablo Magazine
- "Tribe 25": one of the 25 most interesting people on Tribe.net 2005
- Winner, "Best of the East Bay" (Best Place To Hear Erotic Haiku) 2003- East Bay Express
- Winner, National Collegiate Poetry Slam 2001 (as Team Coach).
- Winner, National Poetry Slam 99 (as Team Coach).
- Winner, "Best Open Mic" 1996- LA Weekly
Radio Appearances on KALX, KPFA (Pacifica), KUCI, BBC, Cool As Hell Theater (podcast). TV Appearances on several Public Access channels in CA.
Charles has shared the stage with numerous renowned “page” poets, including: Maya Angelou, Quincy Troupe, Gerald Locklin, Charles Webb, and Brendan Constantine. He has shared the stage with nearly every notable Slam champion and quite a few underground legends, including: Patricia Smith, Mike McGee, Buddy Wakefield, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Sonya Renee, Anis Mojgani, Staceyann Chin, Beth Lisick, Michelle Tea, Daphne Gottleib, Bucky Sinister, The Suicide Kings, and Marc Smith, to name only a few.
