What Slam Is:
Slam is a competitive event where each poet has three minutes to perform a poem of their own creation; no props, no musical accompaniment, only the sound one can make with their own body. Points are deducted if the poet goes over three minutes. So you freestylers, ranters, and ravers need to pay attention to the time (there’s no signal at the 3 mark). Each poem is scored Olympic Style 0.0 to 10.0 by five judges chosen randomly from the audience. These judges may have never heard a poem read aloud before, or they may have been writing poetry for years. However, Slam is about the idea that everyone’s opinion about a poem is valid. The Slam is held in three rounds and the person with the highest score at the end is the winner.
The audience is encouraged to participate by their response after the poets perform and the judges’ score the poems. The audience may cheer, boo, or laugh. But, it is all in the spirit of fun and not to be taken personally.
- If you have things to say
Skills to display
Words to spit
And ready to play,
Then get in The Game
The Under 21 Poetry Slam is about puttin’ up your spirit and emotion against those of others in a competitive but friendly, battle of ideas and oratory
- Naw, dawg, this ain’t yo mama’s poetry
Baby, this is SLAM!
Four kings or queens
Will rule the scene
Fly out to New York
And find out what it means
To walk
Amongst a Nation
Of Minds
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