Xero marks the spot – Baton Rouge poet wins World Poetry Slam Championship

Chancelier Skidmore is a champ.

Skidmore is a performance poet, educator and executive director of Forward Arts, Inc. Last Saturday, Skidmore, who performs as Xero, won the championship title at the 2013 Individual World Poetry Slam in Spokane, Wa. The win is Skidmore’s first title after 13 years of competing in slams on national level.

In the past, Skidmore was a three-time national poetry slam finalist in 2002, 2005 and 2010. To get to Spokane, he won the local qualifier at the Eclectic Truth Poetry Slam in Baton Rouge.

Skidmore performed his original work, “Blood Curdling.” You can see him perform the poem below at the 2012 Shoutwest Shootout in Tulsa, Okla.

Warning: the video contains some explicit language.