Wit’s End Poetry

Poetry Slams

Get all your Slam information here

Please see our blog for the latest slam information. Click here for the blog.

• Fresh Out the Oven Slam: August
  Poems performed must never have been performed in a slam (open mic okay).
• Carolina Regional Poetry Slam: September
• Say What Poetry Slam Open Slam: October, November, March
• Not Quite the New Year Slam: December
  
• Martin Luther King Celebration, January
  
• Black History Month Slam, February
  
• Queen of the South Slam, April
• King of the South Slam, May
• Carolina Slam Tour, April
• Annual Haiku Slam, July
• Annual Nerd Slam, TBD
  

SLAM RULES

1. Bout draw is at 7:15pm by Slammaster.
2. This is a three-round poetry slam. 12 cut to 6 poets cut to 3 poets for second round. Clean Slate. First two round-cumulative. Final round is clean slate.
3. No Waiting List. No refunds.
4. No Tie for First. In the event that there is a tie for first, then each poet tied for first place will perform one additional poem. A coin flip will determine order. Judges will vote for the winner by writing down the name of the poet who they believe should win.
5. The Time Limit. 3:00 minute time limit. At 3:10:01 a time penalty will be assessed. A poet is certainly allowed several full seconds to adjust the microphone and get settled, but as soon as s/he makes a connection with the audience (“Hey look, she’s been standing there for 10 seconds and hasn’t even moved”), the timekeeper can start the clock. After 3:00 minutes, there is a 10-second grace period (for example: (in the 3 minute rotation up to and including 3:10:00).Starting at one hundredth of a second over the grace period, a penalty is automatically deducted of .10 from the poet’s overall score. THE MC/BM MAY STOP THE POET AT 4:00 MINUTES.
6. Influencing the Crowd Before the Bout Begins. Poets are allowed to talk casually with anyone in the crowd before the bout begins (except the judges, if they have already been chosen). They are not, however, allowed to give anything to the audience or have anyone do this for them. See full PSI tournament rules for more information.
7. Black Phoenix is the slammaster. Please see our blog for most current information or for full tournament rules below. Kimberly Simms oversees any protests.

Slam Rules

1) Poems can be on any subject and in any style.
2) Each poet must perform an original work that they have created.
3) No props. Generally, poets are allowed to use their given
environment and the accouterments it offers microphones, mic stands, the stage itself, chairs on stage, a table or bar top, the aisle as long as these accouterments are available to other competitors as well. The rule concerning props is not intended to squelch the spontaneity, unpredictability, or on-the-fly choreography that people love about the slam; its intent is to keep the focus on the words rather than objects. Refer to Section V (Definitions) for further clarification on what is and is not a prop. Poets who inadvertently use a prop (for example, a timely yet unwitting grab at a necklace) can be immediately penalized two points if the MC of the bout deems the effect of the violation to have been appreciable, but sufficiently lacking in specific intent. A formal protest need not be lodged before the MC can penalize a poet in this way, however, the decision of the MC can be appealed after the bout. Individuals whose use of props in a poem appears to be more calculated and the result of a specific intent to enhance, illustrate, underscore, or otherwise augment the words of the poem will be given a retroactive score for the poem equal to two points less than the lowest scoring poem in that bout. This deduction, which can only be applied after a formal protest has been lodged against the offending poet, will not be made by the MC, but by the Protest Committee.
4) No musical instruments or pre-recorded music, a poem which violates this rule will be assessed a score of zero.
5) No costumes. (Do not put on or take off clothing during bout)The Protest Committee may apply a two-point deduction for violation of the costume rule.