IWPS Prelim - 1st round: 4 min time limit, 2nd round: 2 min time limit, 3rd round: 1 min time limit. Top 2 poets advance to the finals in September

Myrlin James Gonzales Hepworth is a poet, pre-school teacher, student, and workshop facilitator, born in Idaho. Myrlin spent most of his childhood summers in New Mexico with family. In 2005, he came to Phoenix and found work, college, and the Mill’s End poetry scene. He soon became a crowd favorite and gained recognition through his socially conscious poetic substance and his passionate style of delivery.

He has performed in a variety of places, including: coffee shops, college campuses, bars, museums, Junior High’s and High School’s. Myrlin was the only “Spoken Word” poet to be invited to the Northern Arizona Youth Poetry Festival, in Flagstaff this March; where he conducted workshops along side recognized authors, and literary poets including: Mary Sojourner, Sherwin Bitsui, and Stella Pope Duarte. Currently, he is attending school, conducting workshops in High Schools, working, and preparing for the release of his first chapbook and Spoken Word album entitled The Fire Outside The Playground.

This summer he is scheduled to tour with poets Aaron Johnson, Famecast.com top 5 finalist, and 2007 National Poetry Slam Champion Danny Sherrard.