If you were asked to identify the person in town who’s been the most passionate promoter of spoken word artists, you’d be right on the mark if you were to point out Gabrielle Bouliane. She’s an immensely gifted writer and slammer herself, having spent several years in Seattle as it was becoming an early hotbed of the genre.

Since returning to Buffalo, she’s also been committed to bringing us some of the biggest names on the national and international scene through her work with the Nickel City Poetry Slam. Bouliane continues this tradition on Thursday, October 10 when Solomon Sparrow’s Electric Whale Revival rolls into town for a 7:30 stop at La Luna.

So what is Solomon Sparrow’s Electric Whale Revival? It’s a traveling roadshow that combines five of the most respected performance poets working anywhere today. Buddy Wakefield, who was the Individual World Poetry Slam Champion in 2004 and again in 2005, has been featured on NPR, the BBC and CBC as well as HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. Recently, he brought down the house several nights running as the opener for righteous tunesmith Ani DiFranco.

Anis Mojgani’s creds include titles as the 2005 and 2006 Individual National Poetry Slam Champion and an appearance on the Def Poetry Jam in the fall of last year. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, he’s authored four books of poetry and released a spoken word album called aeroplane.

Also returning after a well-received appearance in town earlier this year is Mike McGee. Last year he was the Individual World Poetry Slam Champion, and in 2003 he took the same title at the national level. He too has appeared on the Def Poetry Jam, and has covered a quarter of a million miles hitting thousands of US and Canadian venues over the last four years. He’s also co-founder of the talk-rock trio Tons of Fun University (T.O.F.U.).

With three books of poetry and iloveyouisback, a spoken word CD, Dan Leaman was a member of Team Omaha in the 2005 National Poetry Slam Finals held in that year in Albuquerque. He’s also a two-time Grand Slam Champion of his home base in Omaha. This year he finished fifth in the Individual World Poetry Slam, and has performed extensively at venues including slam-mecca the Green Mill in Chicago.

Rounding out the bill is Derrick Brown, whose resume includes a stint as an 82nd Airborne paratrooper, gondolier, magician, and fired weatherman. Since taking second place at the 1998 US National Poetry Slam, he’s performed at over a thousand venues and completed fourteen book tours: Ten in the US and four in Europe. He’s also taken six first-place finishes in slam competitions from Venice Beach to England to Germany. Brown also fronts the indie rock act All Black Cinema.

It’s a major snag, snapping up this kind of lineup for an intimate venue like La Luna, 52 West Chippewa Street. The show, sponsored by Nickel City Poetry Slam and Mark Goldman, starts at 7:30 and tickets are $10, or $7 for students.