"Family First" (Glori B)

Glori B is the stage name of Austin poet Gloria C. Adams. Adams moved frequently as a child, living in Louisiana, Colorado, Texas, and Florida, but for more than half of her life she has lived in or near Austin, TX. She considers Austin her home town. Currently, Adams lives in Leander and works as a 7th grade English and ESL teacher at a middle school in Austin. She graduated with a degree in English Language Arts Education from St. Edward’s University. She has a 6 year old daughter named Sylvia. With her business partner, Skylar Landsee, Adams has been writer, producer, or director on three short films: Hard Bargain, With Child, and Ghost Pants. With Child took third place at the 2011 Sorin Reel Film Festival, and Ghost Pants took second place at the same festival in 2012. Adams has had poetry published in Sorin Oak Review, Open Ear of the Universe, and J-SOURCE. She has presented collections of original poetry at the Symposium for Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression, as well as the Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society Annual Convention, at which she was awarded “Best Poetry Collection on Convention Theme.” In 2012, Adams discovered Austin Poetry Slam and began to compete. She quickly became a part of the Austin slam community as a poet and host, and in the fall of 2012 was elected Austin Poetry Slam secretary. She was the year-end points total system for the APS 2012-2013 slam year. She competed in the finals for both Austin Poetry Slam and Neo Soul Poetry Lounge, making the Neo Soul team which defended its title as Group Piece Champions at the National Poetry Slam. Gloria won the personal honor of Haiku Champion both at the 2013 National Poetry Slam and at the 2013 Individual World Poetry Slam. She also competed in the 2012 and 2013 Individual World Poetry Slams, and in 2013 ranked 26th.