The Poets' Asylum elected not to send a team to the National Poetry Slam in 2010. The decision was made based on a number of factors including declining interest in the slam and fundraising difficulties.

Congratulations to Brandi MacDonald on winning the Poets' Asylum 2010 iWPS Rep Selection Slam! Brandi will represent Worcester at the Individual World Poetry Slam Championships in Charlotte, NC this December. Scores from the iWPS rep Selection Slam can be found below.

So what's this Slam thing anyway?

We're glad you asked that... Slam poetry can be moving, funny and deadly serious, sometimes all in the same poem. 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. A poetry slam is a competitive event in which poets perform their work and are judged by members of the audience.

One of the best things about poetry slam is the range of poets it attracts. You'll find a diverse range of work within slam, including 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.

Most slams consist of two rounds, though team semi-final and final consist of more rounds. The winner is the poet with the highest combined score at the end of the slam.

Sound like fun? The Poets' Asylum holds both just-for-fun themed slams and open slams. Check out the Sunday schedule for the dates of upcoming slams.

Looking for more info? Head on over to the PSi FAQ page for all the info you need.

The MC Spiel

As with all competitions there are rules to follow. For most slams Worcester follows the rules as laid out by PSi with respect to time penalties, etc. The basics are covered in the MC spiel, a variation of which follows.

What you are about to witness is a poetry slam. The competitors, of whom there are 8, will perform their own original work, 3 minutes in time length or less. They will use no props, no animal acts and no musical accompaniment.

The judges, of whom there are 5, will take those hard wrought words and score them, Olympic style, zero to ten. Zero... the worst poem ever written. So bad that the poet should be forced to play in traffic so we never have to hear it again. Ten... the perfect poem. World peace and spontaneous orgasms throughout the room. We'll drop the high, we'll drop the low, add them together and poof, we have a score. The poet with the highest combined score after two rounds is declared the winner. Judges, please use one decimal point as it helps avoid ties.

Poets who go over 3 minutes are taken out back and shot. Either that or we give them a ten second grace period and then start deducting half a point for every 10 seconds they go over after that. Judges, don't worry about the time, we'll take care of it after you give your scores.

That just about covers the structure and rules. One last thought... Worcester has always tried to stay true to the spirit of Slam. We look at Slam as a friendly competition that is meant to be fun. We try not to take ourselves, or the competition, too seriously. You'll find great poets and poetry at the Slams run by the Asylum. We hope you enjoy the show.

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2009/2010 Slam Scores

While the Poets' Asylum held many just-for-fun slams during the last slam season the first (of two) iWPS Qualifying slam in August 2010 was the slam where the scores mattered.

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2010 Women of the World PoetrySlam

The 2010 edition of Women of the World Poetry Slam (WOWps) will be held March 10-13, 2010 in Columbus, OH. WOWps is an all-woman PSi event create by women for women poetry slam competitors. Poets who live their lives as women were eligible to participate in WOWps. 18 poets will be invited as legacy poets who have been a part of the National Poetry Slam in the past (before 2000 NPS) to bring those voices back to the audiences.

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2010 National Poetry Slam

The 2010 National Poetry Slam was held August 3-7, 2010 in St. Paul, MN. 76 teams from the US and Canada took part in the five day spoken word performance poetry festival.

Congratulations to team Soapboxing from St. Paul, MN on winning NPS '10. This is their second consecutive win as they won NPS '09 as well.

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2010 Individual World Poetry Slam

The 2010 Individual World Poetry Slam (iWPS) will be held December 2010. Word is it will be held in Charlottle, NC. During the month of August the Poets' Asylum will pick a representative to send to the iWPS Championships. We will hold two (2) open qualifying slams on August 8th and 15th. The top three finishers in each qualifier will participate in the iWPS rep Selection Final on August 29th.

Qualifiers will consist of two (2) three-minute rounds with the usual rules. Finals will consist of four (4) rounds, each with a different time limit. There will be a 1-minute round, 2-minute round, 3-minute round and a 4 minute round. This mimics the format at the championships. There is a no repeat rule in effect between the qualifiers and finals. Poems performed in the qualifier where the slammer advanced to finals can not be used during finals. In the event of a tie for first place we'll hold a haiku death match to determine the winner.

The winner of the slam on August 29th will represent the Poets' Asylum at the iWPS Championship. The Poets' Asylum is commited to covering the registration and hotel costs for our rep. Travel costs to/from Charlotte will be the responsibility of the winner.

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Archived Info

Information on the past nine years in Worcester Slam can be found in the links below.

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