The Poetry Society

RISE SLAM: guide

What is Slam?

Slam! is the competitive art of performance poetry, where participants present their original poems over three rounds in front of a live audience and a group of judges chosen from that audience. The first recorded Slams were held in the late 1970's and early 1980's in the USA, and were sometimes staged as verbal boxing matches - complete with a boxing ring and bell to mark the end of time. Slams are now one of the most popular forms of spoken word event, and regularly attract large and lively audiences. The audience is as much an integral part of the slam experience as the poets are, and are responsible for keeping the mood supportive, energetic and encouraging toward all participants.

The Rules of the Rise Slam!

• All poems must be the original work of the performer.
• Participants must be between the ages 12 - 18 on registration. (If you have a student who is keen to become involved but who is slightly outside the age range, then special circumstances may apply. Please call 020 7420 9893 to discuss.)
• Each poem must address the theme of 'respect' (see Theme Notes).
• Each poem should be no longer than 3 minutes in length, although a 10 second grace period can be given.
• A poet may perform alone, or in a group, dividing the piece poly-vocally. In this case, each of the team must contribute to the writing of the final poem.
• Only the human voice and body may be used in performance. It is important to emphasise that this is a spoken word event, and that no music, costume, prop, staging or specific lighting that is unavailable to other performers may be used.
• Any participant found sabotaging any other participant's performance - visually or vocally - will be immediately disqualified.

Slam Support

Hints on creating a performance poem on Respect can be found on this link.

There will be a FREE Slam Intensive Workshop, and Q&A session to be held at the Poetry Society in 2007 for teachers/group leaders who would like to co-ordinate their own slam. More details to follow.

The Rules of Judging

The judges must be selected randomly from the audience. The best method is to use a lottery system once the audience is in place, pulling names or numbers from a hat. This can also be worked into the Slam! vibe, and can get audiences involved and excited from the outset. Judges are generally peers of the poets and are selected from the same age group.

Choose between 4 and 6 people to judge. Each is given a number of large cards with scores from 1-10 on them. After each performance they hold their chosen scores up so that everyone can see them. The marks are added together and then divided by the number of judges to give an average score for each poet. Remember to pack a calculator!

A judge must award marks for the whole package, both the poem and the performance of it. Try to get them to focus equally on each, although it is worth noting at this point that performances can be developed with professional help before the finals.

Impress upon the judges the need for fairness and fun. They must not give their friends higher scores and those they do not know lower scores, but try to be even and fair throughout. Whilst a judge needs to be fair, s/he is also the spokesperson of the entire audience, the spirit of the general response. A judge is partly responsible for keeping the mood exciting, fun and enjoyable.

Holding the Slam!

Slams are usually organised over three rounds. A poet may enter the same piece in all three rounds, but the best results are often gained by writing and performing three pieces - one for each round. It is not essential that your school, youth centre or organisation hold the slam over three rounds. It may be that only one is needed to elect your overall winner if there are only a few poets taking part.

• Round One:
  Each participant/ team goes on stage for about 3 minutes and performs their poem/ rap/ freestyle piece. After each performance the judges hold up cards awarding the poet marks ranging from 1-10. The marks are added together and divided by the number of judges. The resulting score is the points awarded to that poet. The highest scoring third go through to round two.
• Round Two:
  This process is repeated in Round Two, with the highest scoring third qualifying for the final round.
• Round Three:
  In the final round, there can be only one winner, although we would like you to keep a careful note of all those who get through into the final round as there may be a chance for them to get involved at a later date.
• Everyone who takes place in this Slam has won. It is vital that this message is communicated as clearly as possible to the students. To this end we recommend that the school, youth centre or other organisation produce certificates for all entrants, celebrating their involvement. A downloadable template certificate is available from our website.

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