Poetry Slams
"If you call a poetry reading a 'reading' you
never know how many will show. If you call a poetry gathering a 'competition,'
they will come." Terry Jacobus - Poetic Pugilisim
What you need:
- Slam venue - a friendly and relaxed space where
a potentially raucous audience won't be a problem. Audience needs to be able
to see and hear performers without major obstructions or distractions. Rest
rooms are a necessity. Snacks and beverages are a nice touch.
- Poets/performers - at least 3 and up to 15
poets for slam competition. Can also compete in teams. You might also want
to include open mic poets, musicians, jugglers, etc. to round out the show.
- Judges - 3-5 selected from audience.
- Timekeeper - slammers generally limited to 3
minutes per poem.
- Scorekeeper - adds up the scores from the
judges.
- Emcee (Master of Ceremonies) - gets the show
started and keeps it moving.
- Audience - participation is encouraged.
- Prizes - some slams have awarded twinkies to
the winner. "The points are not the point, the point is poetry." -
Allan Wolf. ALA graphics sells poet buttons and magnetic poetry kits. The
buttons would make good gifts for participants and the kits prizes for
winners.
Rules from Poetry Slam International*:
- Poems can be on any subject and in any style
but must be original. Only one poem can be performed per turn.
- No props allowed.
- No repeats - a poem can only be used once
during a competition
- Three minute rule - after three minutes and ten
seconds, the poet begins to lose half points for each additional ten seconds
the performance continues.
- Performers may interact verbally and physically
with the audience.
- Sampling - a poet can "riff off"
another person's work, but may not "rip off" that work.
- Judges score each poem from 0.0 to 10 - part on
poem and part on performance. With 5 judges, you usually drop the highest
and lowest scores, like in the Olympics, and total up the 3 remaining
scores. Scores can be tallied on a flipchart/blackboard for the audience to
see. There are multiple rounds leading up to a final.
*How you run your slam is really up to you. The
three minute rule exists because three minutes is about the length of the
average pop song, and you want to make sure the event ends on time. But you'll
have to decide for yourself just how important rules are. Just try to be fair
while remembering that slams are inherently unfair.
Special Slams
- Dead Poet Slams - Walt Whitman v Beaudelaire,
for example
- Cover Slams - read other poets' work
- Bad Poem Slams - worst score wins
- Head-to-Head Haiku
- Hip Hop Slams
- Music Slams
- Prop Slams
- Improv Slams
- Group Poem Slams