To represent Seattle on the National Slam Scene there will be three opportunities:

The National Poetry Slam: this is a team competition taking place in Aug ‘08 in Madison, Wi. Seattle’s team will be decided at our Grand Slam.
To qualify for the Grand Slam, poets earn points by winning 1 of the top 3 place in an OPEN SLAM.
Open Slams are “open” to anyone who wants to sign up. They have three elimination style rounds:
8 poets in the 1st, top 5 scorers moving on to the 2nd and the top 3 moving to the 3rd.

The top 8 point earners from the open slams will compete in a Semi-Final Slam - the top 2 will advance to the Grand Slam. There will be 3 Semis thru the season and a WILDCARD SLAM: 16 poets are taken into this slam by signup. The top 2 competitors go directly to the Grand Slam.

Women of the World Poetry Slam (WOWPS): this is an individual competition of the best female poets in the country. Seattle’s rep will be decided by 2 preliminary (Nov 14 & Dec 5) women-only slams, and a finals this fall. WOWPS Championships will take place in Chicago in March ‘08.

Individual World Poetry Slam (IWPS): Also an individual competition but open to anyone - Seattle’s rep will be decided thru a series of open slams and a finals during the ‘08 summer season. IWPS will be held in October ‘08 in Columbus, Ohio.

Competition Schedule:
Sep 5: Open Slam // Sep 12: Open Slam // Sep 19: Open Slam // Sep 26: Open Slam

Oct 3: Open Slam // Oct 10: Open Slam // Oct 17: Open Slam // Oct 24: SEMIFINAL #1
Oct 31: DEAD POETS SLAM - Specialty Slam -
ALL SLAMMERS MUST READ THE WORK OF A DECEASED POET - COSTUMES ENCOURAGED

Nov 7: Open Slam// Nov 14: WOWPS Prelim// Nov21: Open Slam //
Nov 28: HAIKU D’ETAT - Specialty Slam -
ALL SLAMMERS WILL COMPETE HEAD to HEAD - HAIKUs ONLY

Dec 5: WOWPS Prelim // Dec 12: Open Slam // Dec 19: WOWPS FINALS // Dec 26: NO SLAM

Jan 2: NO SLAM // Jan 9: Open Slam // Jan 16: Open Slam // Jan 23: Open Slam // Jan 30: Open Slam

Feb 6: SEMIFINAL #2 // Feb 13: DUET SLAM - Specialty Slam -
ALL SLAMMERS MUST COMPETE AS PART OF A DUET //
Feb 20: Open Slam // Feb 27: Open Slam

Mar 5: Open Slam // Mar 12: Open Slam // Mar 19: ROSIE THE RIVETER SLAM - Specialty Slam - WOMEN ONLY SLAM // Mar 26: Open Slam

Apr 2: Open Slam // Apr 9: Open Slam // Apr 16 : SEMIFINAL #3 // Apr 23: WILDCARD SLAM
GRAND SLAM - date and location TBA

Upcoming Shows

Seattle Slam Team brings home trophy from National competition!!

Seattle Poetry Slam is home to 2007 Individual National Poetry Slam Champion: Danny Sherrard!
Catch video of him earning his title HERE.

Danny is one of the two youngest poets to ever hold the title (believe it or not he’s only 21 and this is his first year of slamming on the adult scene). His triumph also marks the second time that the national title has been brought back to Seattle - in 2006 by Anis Mojgani, and now again by Danny.

Every WEDNESDAY night at ToST, Seattle Poetry Slam (Seattle’s longest running weekly show) hosts a spoken word blow-out: an extravaganza of words, performance and passion compiled into an event unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.

Come to be entertained, come to be educated, come to hear the truth, come to hear a story…
Come to Be MOVED.

“The point is not the points, the point is the poetry.” - Allan Wolf

Come early: DJ Whatever spins madness and drinks are cheap.
To get on the mic you’ll need to sign-up between 8 & 8:30pm.
First comes the OPEN MIC - an open stage for anyone to share their words with the audience.
At 9pm, a Featured Poet take center stage with an extended set.
Then, finally - The SLAM. A Slam is a competitive poetry reading in which the focus is placed on the content AS WELL AS the performance.

The rules of a Poetry Slam are simple:
- Poets must perform their own original work
-Poets have a 3 minutes time limit to perform their work
- No props, costumes or muscial accompaniment are allowed.

Judges picked randomly from the audience will award a score between 0 and 10 based on content, performance and originality. The winning poet gets a cash prize and advances towards a place on the Seattle team that will challenge the other teams from across the U.S. and Canada at the National Poetry Slam. Seattle is regularly a national contender and thus the competition for a place on the team is fierce.

To get a taste of the Tuesday night performances and other Slam highlights go to www.myspace.com/seattlepoetryslam to listen to some of the audio tracks recorded live at the show.
For recent press coverage of Seattle Poetry Slam, please visit The Seattle Times.

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Now Available on Amazon.com

“Down to the Bone: Seattle Poetry Slam’s Grand Slam” DVD

- The concert film of the 2006 Grand Slam Show. Featuring Buddy Wakefield, Anis Mojgani, and C.R. Avery to name just a few. Makes a great stocking stuffer! Click here to get yours.

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