First off, this is not the kind of poetry you studied in high school. Slam poetry tends to be raw, powerful, and it's written to be heard, not to be read.
Eugene slams once a month, on a Saturday night. It's usually in the middle of the month. Be sure to check the Eugene Poetry Slam website for information about upcoming slams.
The slam starts with an open mic session featuring five local poets. Next up is the Feature Poet for the month. Many of the feature poets have won national competitions and their poetry is often stunning.
Then it's time for the smokers to troop outside and for the drinkers to head into the bar and for everyone else to wait in line for the bathroom. After that, we get down to serious slamming.
Up to fifteen poets compete in the first round. Five judges (volunteer audience members) rate each performance on a scale from 0.0 to 10. The highest and lowest scores are thrown out and the remaining three scores are added for the poet's final score in that round. The top five poets continue to the second round.
The second round is the same as the first, only with fewer poets. The top three poets automatically qualify for the Play Offs in the spring and they win money.
Eugene follows national slam rules: original work only, no props, no costumes, all poems must be under three minutes in length, no repeating work during the season.
2005-2006 Season
The winery is about three blocks east and one block north of Sam Bond's Garage. Adams intersects with Blair at 6th, right by the Red Apple Market. I think it's easiest to turn on Blair off of either 6th or 7th (depending which way you're heading), go up to 5th, turn right, go one block and turn left on Adams. When you come to the railroad tracks, you're there.
This would my poetry that I've performed at the slam, not everyone's poetry.
Bend Poetry Slam
The Bend Poetry Slam started really rocking in January '06. Looks like they're building some nice momentum.
Corvallis Poetry Slam
The Corvallis Slam started in September 2005 and appears to be going strong. They have slams scheduled through the summer.
Eugene Poetry Slam
Information and details about upcoming slam competitions in Eugene.
Poetry Slam, Inc.
"The mission of Poetry Slam, Inc. (PSI) is to promote the performance and creation of poetry while cultivating literary activities and spoken word events in order to build audience participation, stimulate creativity, awaken minds, foster education, inspire mentoring, encourage artistic statement and engage communities worldwide in the revelry of language."
©2005-2010 Barbara L.M. Handley
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