On February 21st at 7:30, Wits End Poetry will host its annual Say What Black History Month Slam at the Radio Room in Greenville, SC at 110 Poinsett Hwy! With Host Moody Black! The first prize is $200! We are excited to welcome veteran and emerging poets. Wits End Poetry's mission is to mentor and grow Carolina poetry talent in order to help poets make a living as poets. The poetry slam events do have a short open mic available for those with "audience tickets."
We will be at the Radio Room the third Sunday of the month through May. Limited to 12 poets. No waitlist. Preference goes to those who live in the Carolinas and Georgia. Poets scroll to the bottom of this page to see all the rules.
Cashapp $12 to $witsendpoetry with the words POET: "poet name." Only register if you have slammed at a Wits End slam during 2019/2020 or have been approved by messaging Moody Black, or Kimberly Simms on FB messenger or emailing witsendpoetrysc@gmail.com. Open Mic is also available.
Competing Poets (Order will be drawn at Bout Draw)
1. Jenice Pleasant
2. Shay Black
3. Black Phoenix
4. Azar King
5. Sassy the Poet
Pending
6. Kendra Yates
7. Jahbu of Charlotte
8. Selah of Greenwood
9. Johnny C Weaver of Spartanburg
10. Mythman Mosley
11.
12.
Volunteer and Receive a Free Audience Ticket
Sign-up to be a volunteer at the poetry slam! .
http://witsendpoetry.blogspot.com/p/volunteer.html
SLAM RULES
1. Bout draw is at 7:15pm by Slammaster.
2. 12 Poets. No Waiting List. No refunds.
3. This is a three-round poetry slam. 12-6-3 Cut.
4. Cumulative first two rounds. Clean Slate for final-round. To move to final round, we will take top three poets based on their cumulative score for first and second round. If there is a tie for second, we will just take those top three poets (1st place, two poets tied for second = three poets going to final round). (1st place, 2nd place, two poets tied for third = four poets going to final round etc)
5. 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.
6. 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 .5 from the poet’s overall score, and an additional .5 is deducted for each additional 10 seconds. 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 page What is Slam for full rules as well as below. Kimberly Simms will adjudicate 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.
