The
Rules for Judges and Judging
Subject Guide: Poetry Slam
|
The
Rules for Judges and Judging |
Compiled
by:
Professor Miriam Laskin
“Simply
put, poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry. It puts a dual
emphasis on writing and performance, encouraging poets to focus on what
they're saying and how they're saying it.” (http://www.poetryslam.com/faq.htm)
“A poetry slam is like a lyrical
boxing match that pits poets against other poets in a bout.”
Austin National Slams coordinator Mike
Henry says, "What poetry is about is people,'' he says. ``The slams have
put the voice back into the audience and in the hands of the people. You don't
need a Ph.D to know if a poem is good to you, or if it works for you, or if it
makes you cry, laugh or think. It doesn't take anything, just being there.''
[Shilanda L. Woolridge, “To SLAM to DUNK perchance to RHYME,” at http://www.austinslam.com/art1.htm]
ü Each poet must perform work that he or she has created.
ü
What
kind of poetry is read at slams? One slammer’s answer: “Heartfelt love
poetry, searing social
commentary, uproarious comic routines, and bittersweet personal
confessional pieces. Poets are free to do work in any style on any subject.”
ü
A poem must be 3
minutes or less. (A timekeeper will time each poem as it is read or
performed.)
ü No props or costumes (that is, things you hold, wear, or use to dramatize the poem).
ü
Sampling: It is acceptable for a poet to
incorporate, imitate, or otherwise "signify on" the words, lyrics,
or tune of someone else (commonly called "sampling") in his own
work. If he is only riffing off another's words, he should expect only healthy
controversy; if on the other hand, he is ripping off their words, he should
expect scornful dissing.
The
Rules for Judges and Judging
A total of 5 Judges are chosen
from the audience.
Once chosen, the judges will: 1) be
given a set of printed instructions on how to judge a poetry slam
2) have a private, verbal crash course by the emcee or house manager on
the do's and don'ts of poetry slam judging (where they can ask questions), and
3) hear the standardized Official Emcee Spiel, which, among other things, will
apprise the audience of their own responsibilities as well as remind the
judges of theirs. Having heard, read, or otherwise experienced these three
sets of instructions; a judge cannot be challenged over a score.
ü
The judges will
give each poem a score from 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest or
"perfect" score. They
will be encouraged to use one decimal place in order to preclude
the likelihood of a tie. (ex: a score of 8.7 or 9.2)
ü
Each poem will
get five scores. The high and the low scores are dropped and the remaining
three scores will be added
together.
ü
Scores will be
displayed or otherwise publicly available during the bout.
ü
High
scores advance to 2nd and 3rd round, everybody has a lot of fun, and at the
end three poets win cash prizes. The Points are NOT the Point, the Point is Poetry!
(These
rules are adapted from the Austin, Texas Slam site, http://www.austinslam.com)
Poetry Slam And Spoken Word Resources
Did
you know that the Ancient Greeks had poetry slams?!?
(They
weren’t called “slams” but they were poetry contests and they were
wildly popular!)
Read
about the history of poetry slams, guidelines and traditions:
Ø
e-poets: An
Incomplete History of Slam
Ø PSI - Poetry Slam Incorporated
Find
a club or café in New York City or around the country that hosts Spoken Word
and Poetry Slam events.
Ø Urbana
Meet
some of the poets, join discussion forums with other poets, check out poetry
reviews, videos & CDs, etc.
Ø
Beau
Sia: Asian American Spoken Word Artist
These are some books written or edited by Spoken Word/Poetry Slam authors
(The
titles and reviews are reproduced here from the Fresh Poetry Web site: http://www.freshpoetry.com/)
Algarin,
Miguel, Ed., et. al. Aloud:
Voices from the Nuyorican Poets' Café.
New
York: Henry Holt, 1994. (Hostos
Library owns this book)
Compiled
by poets who have been at the heart of this vibrant and original movement
since its earliest days, Aloud! is an inclusive cross section of the most
innovative and accomplished word artists from all parts of America. (review
from www.Amazon.com)
Cabico,
Regie, Ed. , et. al. Poetry Nation: The North American Anthology of Fusion
Poetry. Montreal: Vehicule
Press, 1998
This
is sort of like my music collection: a little bit hip-hop, a little bit folk,
a little bit punk, and a whole lot of rock and roll. Its fresh. It's eclectic.
It's contemporary with an occasional nostalgic twist. Let your eyes wander
over the pages of this book and you'll find yourself singing the words,
putting a little beat-box in there with the ryhmes, or screaming at intervals
ala P.J. Harvey. Maybe you'll just immerse yourself silently in the
words--after all, some of the poems in this book stand alone on the delicate
placement of words and tight form.... The book begins with Allen Ginsberg's
last poem, and explodes into a medly of contemporary narrative and lyric
poetry under the loose genre of Fusion--the curious blend of oral and written
poetry.... The poets in Poetry Nation have found more creative ways of saying,
"I love you! I miss you! Please come back!" See: Noel Franklin's
"Long Distance Ex"--"If you were a local call/I'd be making you
all day". Basically, this collection has something good for all tastes
(good tastes, that is). And like the friends who borrow my favorite CDs
without giving them back, I am sick of people at poetry readings taking Poetry
Nation from my hands while I am reading it! Everyone needs a personal
copy--it's sure to go down as a classic--a top 40 hit, or something like that.
And with my promo, maybe it'll go triple platinum. -Stephanie
Costello
Anglesey,
Zoe, Ed. Listen Up!: Spoken Word Poetry.
New York: One World, 1999
This poetic reader features 9 of NYC's hottest spoken word performers: Tish Benson, Jessica Care Moore, Mariahadessa EkereTallie, Suheir Hammad, Saul Williams, Ava Chin, Willie Perdomo, Carl Hancock Rux, and Tracie Morris. Yes! The women outnumber the men in this compilation, 6 to 3! Since Listen Up! only focuses on nine writers, we get to read at least 4 pieces by each author, giving us a chance to glimpse deeper into their styles of writing. The author's biographies that accompany the poems are longer than most anthologies allow, and include quotes and comments by the authors. Most reveal what inspires them to writ. Being a writer myself, I love to hear what drives others to put pen to page. The influence of Rap and Hip Hop is aplenty in these pages, as well as Jazz and the Blues. Pick this book up! You will be inspired by the honesty in these words!! -Kry
Kaufman,
Alan, Ed. The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry.
New
York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 1999
This
is the poetry volume you need. This is what other anthologies like Aloud
and Poetry Nation
wish they were. While the above two represent a fair amount of the Slam
community, The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry lives up to its name- it
features poems from just about every literary "outlaw" in the
twentieth century. The impetus behind the idea- to publish and highlight
poetry that has been overlooked (either purposely or otherwise) by the academy
- is the same idea that spawned such organizations as the Slam, but while Slam
has actually managed to grab media attention (deservedly so), not all
"outlaw" poets are necessarily performers.
This volume is a whopping 650 pages long, which gives editor Alan Kaufman
plenty of room to include a diverse and fascinating pantheon of outlaw poets.
One could almost make the case that the volume traces the rise and growth of
what historian Howard Zinn (A People's History of the U.S)
called "a permanent adversarial culture." The obligatory Beats and
Slammers are here, but its the other inclusions, like the sections on New
York's Unbearables, and selections by unlikely poets like James Dean and Mumia
Abu-Jamal. There are nice surprises: a spooky self-elegy penned by Tupac
Shakur, a beautiful piece by Che Guevera, and strong offering from Father
Daniel Berrigan. Musicians like Tom Waits, Woody Guthrie, Dylan and Cohen are
represented, as are "performers" like Abbie Hoffman and Lenny Bruce.
....The title is all the more
fitting then; it's as if we have been handed the scripture of resistance. It's
the Bible Walt Whitman (featured in the anthology of course) would have wanted
to tote around with him on Civil War battlefields; it's the evidence that 20th
century America might actually have something valuable to leave behind. Amen. John
Paul Davis
Warr, Michael, Ed., et. al. Powerlines: A Decade of Poetry from Chicago's Guild Complex. Chicago: Tia Chucha Press, 1999
If
poetry Slam is Chicago's export to the world at large, then the Guild Complex
is perhaps Chicago's best-kept poetry secret. While the past ten years have
seen the Slam explode to an international scene, that same decade has seen the
steady growth of the Guild Complex's influence in the city as a meeting place
and haven for both performance and page poets. Holding open mics, bringing in
visiting writers, hosting the Gwendolyn Brooks poetry award, and running Tia
Chucha Press are actually only a few of the many community-minded activities
of the Complex. So it no surprise that the Complex's first anthology, Power
Lines, includes most of Chicago's best and brightest poets, from Gwendolyn
Brooks and Li-Young Lee to Marc Smith and Reggie Gibson. It also includes many
of the city's younger, even unpublished poets, making the anthology
refreshingly cross-generational.... I find it delightful that one can read,
for example, work by Tyehimba Jess, a past member of the MadBar slam team and
turn the page to read work by Richard Jones, DePaul University's poet in
residence. That both are exceptional poems is a pleasure that is made more
full by being able to read them as next-door neighbors.... Power Lines is a
solid representation of the depth and breadth of what's going on in Chicago
poetry these days. Locals will be delighted to see the work of friends and
familiar poets; for readers outside Chicago, Power Lines is an excellent
primer of Chicago's finest poets. John Paul Davis
Bonair-Agard,
Roger, et. al. Burning Down the House : Selected Poems from the Nuyorican
Poets Cafe's National Poetry Slam Champions
New
York: Soft Skull Press (98 Suffolk St., #3A, NY 10002), 2000
I
suppose there are two ways to think about performance poems when it comes mass
production: either they ought to work well on the page, or they oughtn't. If
you're in the latter camp, then there is little purpose in presenting
performance poems as texts; they exist to be heard. If you're in the former,
then arguably, the goal of producing a performance poem as a text is that it
functions as powerfully in that format as it does on stage.
With
Burning Down the House, a sort of mini-anthology of New York poets
who've made big splashes at Slam Nationals, one gets a little bit of both, I
think. Each poet has work represented that functions well on the page, and
that stands up to multiple readings, and each has work in this collection
that, minus the performance, and under the scrutiny of several readings,
begins to seem too simplistic a treatment. The poets, Roger Bonair-Agard,
Stephen Coleman, Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, Alix Olson and Lynne Procope, are all
consummate performers and writers. Anyone who has seen them perform at
Nationals would no doubt agree, and agree that each, in his/her own way, makes
good use of slam "style" (if one can claim there is such a thing.)
Of them, though, only Bonair-Agard's pieces in this collection are consistent;
with the other four, I find that poems were included which either seem to have
lost something in the transfer from stage to page or are not fully
developed.... Overall, the collection is tight, with moments here and there
that are more suited to performance. The pop culture references, excessive
repetition and overemphasis on sonics, to the point of sacrificing meaning,
that work so well in the situated environs of a slam can be a detriment on
page, and will, I fear, render some of the works in this volume either
silly-sounding or incomprehensible to readers not versed in our
turn-of-the-century culture. But this is, in my mind, a minor complaint
against an otherwise solid collection from five fine writers. John
Paul Davis
Glazner,
Gary. Poetry Slam: The Competitive Art of Performance Poetry.
San Francisco: Manic D Press, 2001
Last
summer marked the ten-year anniversary of the Poetry Slam Nationals, so it ís
more than fitting that Gary Glazner, the man who got the first four slam teams
together in San Francisco for the first-ever Nationals, has edited an
anthology of not only slam poetry, but also short essays on various aspects of
slam competitions. And actually, in this reviewer’s humble opinion, it’s
about damn time somebody without more partisan aims edited one of these
things. .... The anthology is organized topically , which allows Glazner to
set the poems in conversation with each other, much in the same way one might
hear them at a slam, and it allows readers to see the range of means by which
a slam poet can address a given topic. Tyehimba Jess's spit-and-sire serious
poem “Teacher,” about the relations between a teacher and one of his
marginalized students, sits next to Dan Ferri’s comedic send-up of
educational "tracking" systems,"Backwards Day" which does
the same thing with laughter that Jess's piece does using charged emotion.
Justin Chin's acidly hilarious "Chinese Restaurant" addresses racism
directed towards Asian Americans and is set between Cin Salach's playful
"French Kissing Martha Stewart" and Wendi Loomis's
heartstring-pulling "Artichoke."
The essays about slam are peppered throughout the book, and are penned by
veteran slammers. Some, like Jeff McDanielís essay on "Slam and the
Academy" is a brilliant, insightful piece, and McDaniel, whose verse has
been featured the very academic "The Best American Poetry of 1996"
as well as being an acclaimed slammer, is the perfect person to discuss the
issue. And, the essay follows the section of "school" poems.
Likewise, Glazner selected Taylor Mali, known (often infamously) for his
cutthroat competitive nature, to write a piece on Slam strategy, making one
wonder if perhaps Glazner doesn't have a bit of a sense of humor about the
whole thing, which I find refreshing, given how deadly serious too many
writers take the slam in the first place.... Glazner has pulled together the
best in slam writing, culture and history in this exceptional collection, and
ha s succeeded in creating what will likely become the definitive collection
of slam poetry in the future. John Paul Davis
Von
Ziegesar, Cecily, Ed. Slam.
Alloy
Books, available at http://www.alloy.com
Let
me start off by saying that this book is SO worth its $6 price! Slam,
is the best poetry submitted to Alloy.com, a site geared towards teens. Alloy
also has an online slam where people can vote on poems submitted, maybe these
are the same poems that made the book. The only downfall with this anthology,
is that one can discriminate the teen writers from the adult slam artists in
the book, without even looking at the names, and pretty much by reading just
the first 2 to 3 lines. The teen writing in Alloy.com's Slam, does not seem to
follow any of the slam formulas at all, which may not be a bad thing, but many
pieces are short, and seem rushed, and fall into that "been there done
that" catagory even if you are a teen. Standouts with individual voices
are "Mexican Restaurant" by Desiree Scott, and "Pull Over at
the 7-11" by Kelly Alesso. I do wonder why teenagers who have competed at
the national slam level against adults, like 14 yr old Dan Houston from
Connecticut-- whom was the youngest slammer to compete at the Nationals in
1999 when he was just 13-- were not included in this book? Me thinks that
perhaps this book was published to sell mostly to Alloy's large online teenage
community, and to induce other teenagers to join it, thus the cheap price and
the explanation of a foreword by Tori Amos and not Diane DiPrima, Maggie
Estep, Emily xyz, or even Henry Rollins. Also, interesting to note, is that as
far as I can tell, there is not one teenaged male in this book. . .Hmm. . .
So here are the awesome things about this book: Worth the $6 alone are the
writings and insights by Jerry Quickly, Regie Cabico, Douglas Martin, from LA,
Jeffrey McDaniel, Beth Liseck, Saul Williams, Cheryl B, Felice Belle, Dana
Bryant, and a rather serious piece from Beau Sia about Allen Ginsberg. But
Wait, that's not all! Included in this little gem are great little one line
writing exercises, and a quote on every page, these quotes mostly seem to
voice the same opine as the poem they are printed next to, but a few of them
left me saying, "Huh?" Obviously chosen because of the popularity of
the pop star, much like the book's intro by Tori Amos. But wait! Theres more!
For $6 you also get advice about writing and starting your own slam! But my
favorite thing about this book is all the old classic poems juxtaposed with
the new stuff. Frank OHara, Emily Dickenson, Pablo Neruda, William Carlos
Williams, Gwendoyln Brooks,Allen Ginsberg, Lucile Clifton, John Keats, Maya
Angelou, William Blake, e. e. cumings. . . . .Is there a poem in this book by
Jewel? I'm not telling . . . .kry
Axel,
Brett, Ed. Will Work For Peace: New Political Poets.
Trenton,
N.J.: Zeropanik Press, 1999
Slam
poetry is separated from more academic poetry by the fact that while much of
the poetry being produced in academic circles still strives for the
Enlightenment ideal of producing something transcendent, slam poems are often
more pragmatic. Slam poems are more often than not directed at the audience
(when theyíre not directed at the judges, that is), and this means that slam
poets are less afraid to use slam poems as vehicles for communicating politics
and of-the-moment social issues. This is not to say that there aren’t
academic poets who address political or time-bound issues, but rather to point
out that the differing traditions of the two genres makes for generally
different attitudes in the writers. Accordingly, Will Work for Peace is
a rare collection of both slam and academic poetry (mostly slam) that will
likely be of little interest to teachers of literature 200 years from now, but
the whole point of slam is to write from the perspective that addressing the
living breathing people in front of me is always better than writing for the
folks who aren’t born yet, then that’s okay.... Axel has assembled a
diverse array of voices, ranging from the deadly serious to the comedic, and
its clear that he chose the poems on merit as opposed to “star power,”
since about 80% of the writers collected here are not “famous,” in either
slam or academic circles. There are some big names, a few Slam Nationals
winners, a few Pulitzer winners, but one of the things that makes this
collection so worthwhile is the new voices, those many poets whose outstanding
work is often overshadowed by the big names. A flawless anthology, Will
Work for Peace has expertly captured the spirit of contemporary political
poetry and is a gem of a collection, a must-have . ( John Paul Davis )
Chin,
Justin. Bite Hard.
San
Francisco: Manic D Press, 1997.
After
reading Justin Chin's BITE HARD, I decided Manic D Press was named in his
honor, and I mean this in the best possible way. The collection of work in
this book is an unrestrained burst of everything from wicked humor to intense
grief, from lucid dreaming to the raw, uncensored, facts of life. While
reading this collection, I got the feeling he was spitting out the details of
his life onto the pages as he was experiencing them--never stopping to edit
his desires and demands, (See: “These Nervous Days”). Of course, he also
provides the reader with many useful tidbits, like in "Phone Sex,":
"Fucking in cyberspace everyone stands a chance, depending on your
vocabulary. (Once, some guy used the word 'discombobulate' and 'phallic
signifier' in our smut talk. I came almost instantly)."
In contrast to his highly caffeinated rants are pieces like,
"Bergamot," which turns heart-wrenching losses into the sweet
language of remembrance, and "Refuging," which takes the delicate
issue of grief and breaks it: "Some days, just go.// Leave it all
behind.// Death is the only way out,//now that alcohol has failed//and AA
meetings are
meaningless//as coffee and doughnuts." In this eight part poem that
closes the book, he illustrates the pain of a detached cultural identity,
losing lovers, and losing parts of himself in the process--wrestling all his
manic thoughts into a poem I can only sum-up as beautifully depressing.
BITE HARD was published in 1997, and unlike other small-press releases that
came out with a bang and are quickly forgotten, Chin's book continues to be a
popular read. He has achieved a wide audience because he manages to do what
writers often struggle with--he both maintains his identity and transcends it.
In other words, Chin gives the blood and guts details on being Asian and being
Gay, while addressing the universal issue
of being human.-Stephanie Costello
Lisick,
Beth. Monkey Girl: Swingin' Tales.
San
Francisco: Manic D Press, 1997
I first heard Beth Lisick at an open mic in Chicago last August. She was on tour with the riotous San Francisco group, Sister Spit. Like her boisterous sisters, Lisick pulled a hilarious, power-packed performance out of her bag of tricks that kicked up the energy level in the room about ten notches. So a couple months later when I was browsing the shelves at a Wicker Park bookstore, I came across Monkey Girl, and knew I had to own it. Well, what can I say? I'm a smart shopper.
This book pulsates with the outrageous talent I witnessed back in '99. Beth Lisick's tales of a swingin' life as a California girl are fun, punchy, and spiked with her comical outlook on life. Her performance style is evident in pieces like, "Skinny": "Come, here, Skinny. Come here little skinny, skinny, skinny. Come on over now skinny, its suppertime! Its time to eat now, skinny." Or "Crappy Brown Carpeting": "Crappy Brown carpeting never felt so good//S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night//and I'm laying on it//smoking cigarettes and doing push-ups on it//cracking my back, talking really loud to myself//checking out my new bruises and burns on it//Saturday night."
Lisick
is a masterful storyteller, and her work does as well on the page as it does
on the stage. Her subject matter varies with each piece, but her tone stays
true to her humorous style. Even in "Fix," when she speaks of the
somber subject of loneliness, she twists the gloom into a laughable story
about inter-personal bonding via a multitude of twelve-step recovery
programs.... Her keen observations on life in the single girl's fast lane are
bright, original, and entertaining. It is my humble opinion that a writer
capable of illuminating life's simple truths without being so goddamned
serious is truly gifted. Hats off to Ms. Lisick--Monkey Girl is the perfect
dose of smart, comical, enlightenment.-Stephanie Costello
Videos in the Hostos Collection
Check
the Library Web Page for upcoming Slam dates! To request these videos for
class viewing or for any additional information about participating in the
Poetry Slam, contact Prof. Miriam Laskin in the Library, room A-213H, at
518-4207 or mlaskin@hostos.cuny.edu