Poetry Slams

When I first heard this term, I didn't know what to make of it. It seemed like such an oxymoron. As I came to learn they were just the next generation of Homer; Irish storytellers who used the Harp; Shakespeare's sonnets; the Romantic Poets of Keats, Byron, and Shelley; and the Beat poets of the 50's. Poetry slams were all of these and more. There is a great deal of controversy about the origins of the poetry slam. Let it suffice, it exists and is a product of the past, revitalized by a new generation, Poetry, new and improved. World Poetry Slams are growing to the point there exists a World Individual Poetry Slam competition.


My early encounter with the Slam was from Tim Mooney, an English teacher in Chicago. He has been involved with them for many years and keeps getting groups to contests. This is what he says about Poetry Slams:

The poetry slam format varies from place to place. The common features are:
1) A good number of student poets- some suggest 10 or more, but less will do.
2) 5 judges to rate the poets on a scale from 1 to 10. The judges should be instructed to use tenths of points, so it is easier to break ties. Poets are judged for performance and poetry, usually half and half. The judges need
not be experienced readers of poetry.
3) The judges need cards to write scores on, or pieces of paper and markers to write with.
4) The order of who performs should be determined by random picks. You can do this by putting all the names into a hat, or other recepticle & picking them out.
5) There needs to be an MC to announce the poets.
6) The poets perform their poems - 3 minute time limit w/penalties for going over-1/2 a point for every ten seconds over 3 minutes. 10 second grace period after 3 minutes. Penalties kick in at 3:10.
7) Audience cheers after poet finishes and judges are scoring.
8) Judges scores are held up. If the audience does not agree with the scores, they should be encouraged to react. At the Nationals, they were encouraged to boo, but here in Chicago, we shout, "Listen to the poem," or,
"Listen to the poet." I like this method better as it shows the poets that we (the audience) are listening.
9) Low and high scores are dropped and the middle three are tallied.
10) The poet with the most points at the end wins!

All through this, especially at the beginning, the poets and the audience
need to be reminded that it's not about the points, it's about the poetry.

We did a Poetry Slam, last year in our Family group. We plan doing another one this year. There is an annual Poetry Slam at Madison Square Garden, attended by many of our students. The resemblance of HipHop to Shakespeare's sonnets has always intrigued me. Today's Slams are a reminder of the past and our oral tradition. Once again I am reminded of how life is a spiral, what was becomes again.