poet:

AVAILABLE NOW:
Four full length books of poetry
by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz!
Including her latest, Oh, Terrible Youth!

Cristin is now booking her Fall 2007 / Winter 2008!
If you are interested in bringing Cristin to your college or festival,
please inquire about her availability at bookings@aptowicz.com!

For the latest in Cristin news and gigs, click here.


LISTEN to Cristin performing some of her best known poems by clicking on the title of the poem:
"Lit" from Dear Future Boyfriend
"Mother" from Dear Future Boyfriend
"Things I'd Leave Behind" from Working Class Represent
"Estephania" from Oh, Terrible Youth
Or WATCH the almost finished short by Aaron Myers
about Cristin's 2004 performance at Dartmouth College.
Cristin performs her poem "To Whom It May Concern"
(from her book Hot Teen Slut)
Please click here.
You'll need Real Player to watch!


Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz is the author of four books of poetry, most recently, Oh, Terrible Youth. She is the founder of the three-time National Poetry Slam Championship venue, NYC-Urbana, and recently authored Words In Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry slam, which will be published by Soft Skull Press in Winter 2007. Cristin was introduced to the realm of spoken word back in 1998, when her NYU classmate Beau Sia invited writers from their class to participate in his 1998 "Chelsea Feast" slam.

Since then, poetry has been a constant in Cristin's life, helping her chronicle of her life as she lives it, from working class upbring to her experiences writing for porn to awful relationships gone wrong. Described by the New York Times as "hilariously spunky," Cristin is never afraid to mix humor in with her politics, and speaks from a strong feminist, working class perspective.

When Cristin was just 19, she founded the NYC Urbana Reading Series and Poetry -- which is still going strong in its 9th year -- making her the youngest Slammaster in the nation. The series ran at CBGBs for several year before finding its permanent home at the Bowery Poetry Club.

Cristin is also an experienced touring poet and has been widely anthologized. Her poetry has also been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has won the Haney Prize for poetry. She was also the first person ever to hold a slam in Melbourne, Australia, where she was brought down for two weeks of lecturing and performing.

Fall 2003 saw Cristin back in Australia, when she worked with the Sydney Opera House on a scripted poetry show that will premiered in association with the noise Festival, a biannual festival dedicated to showcasing work from Australian artists under the age of 25. The show, "Mouth Off!!" was created by Cristin and directed by Australian hip hop guru, Morganics, in the span of 3 weeks using the work of 6 Australian poet between the ages of 20 - 25: Steven Smart, Eytan Messiah, Brad Armstrong, Evelyn Tandros, Amy Rhoades and Jesta Sec. The show had a weeklong run at the Sydney Opera House's Studio Theatre. In addition to her time in Sydney, Cristin performed at the National Young Writers Festival in Newcastle, Australia as well as spent a week in Melbourne, Australia at one of her favorite international houses o' art, the Gasworks Art Complex.

For more information on Melbourne poetry, please click here. For more information on the lively Australian Poetry Slam Scene, please click here.

For more information on the gigs and her schedule of performances, please see here.

Cristin also has a very open policy about other people performing her work. Used in high school and college-age forensics competitions, Cristin's poetry has also won many state-wide and national forensics titles.

All of Cristin's book are available for purchase at via the Wordsmith Press Website, found here.