Wits End Poetry

Haiku Death Match Slam 2025

Sunday, July 27, 2025

Poets bring your haikus to compete in our annual Haiku Death Match (National Style).

Host will be Black Phoenix. Poets should have at least 15-26 haikus to compete.

Winner will receive $200.

Coffee Underground. 1 East Coffee Street Greenville, SC. 7:30pm. $10.

Produced by Wits End Poetry, these poetry events are made possible in part by the generous support of the South Carolina Arts Commission and the Metropolitan Arts Council with funds received from the City of Greenville, BMW Manufacturing Company, Michelin North America, Inc., SEW Eurodrive More information at www.witsendpoetry.com.
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Haiku Slam Rules
REGISTERED POETS: Order will be randomly drawn on the night of slam.

Prize Money: $200

You'll need to have at least 15-30 Haikus. "The more the better." In cause you to go all the way

-There will be a “Red” poet and “Not Red” poet
-There will be a bout draw to see who goes first, second, etc.
- Each poet name will be placed in a section of a bracket, the lower number in each section will be red
-“Red” Poet will read first in every bout. “Not Red” reads first in that round if they win.
-Poets will come to the stage in pairs, bow to each other to show respect to the poet and honor the competition, and face off one haiku at a time
-First round, each Haikuster will read the best of 3 Haiku, 2^nd round- best of five, 3^rd round- best of seven, and 4^th round-best of eleven. This number can be adjusted based on the number of participants
-For example, if there are not enough haiku warriors signed up to make a full show it may go to double-elimination (you need to lose two rounds to be eliminated).
-We encourage pre-sign ups for slams. If not a sold out show, you may sign up at the venue
-Last haiku warrior standing wins the trophy and cash prize
$10 General Admission. Buying an audience ticket does not register you for the slam.
REGISTRATION IS OPEN. 8 slots for sign up
REGISTERED POETS:
1. ShAy Black
2. Azar King
3. Davelyn Athena
4. Daryl Funn
5. Ashlee GoForth
6.
7.
8.

Poet registration via PayPal $10 below or via Cashapp $witsendpoetry

Poet Name

King of the South Poetry Slam 2025

Men's Poetry Slam !!!

August 24th King of the South Slam. $500 in prize money! This is an Invitational Poetry Slam only featuring the top 10 male poets in the South East. You don't want to miss this exciting high-energy poetry slam that will spotlight emerging and veteran poetic artists who identify as a male from across four states. This historical, original all-male poetry slam is held in Greenville South Carolina!

$500 in Prizes

1 E. Coffee St., Greenville, SC 29601. 7:30pm. $15.

Poets register below using PayPal or Cash app $15 to $witsendpoetry.

Audience tickets are available via Eventbrite.

Contact Kimberly Simms or ShAy Black to sign up

Registered Poets List:

1. Azar King

10.

Volunteers will Receive a Free Audience Ticket

Sign-up to be a volunteer at the poetry slam!

http://witsendpoetry.blogspot.com/p/volunteer.html

Queen of the South Poetry Slam 2025

Women's Poetry Slam !!!

SEPTEMBER 21ST! Queen of the South Slam. $500 in prize money! This is an Invitational Poetry Slam only featuring the top 10 female poets in the South East. You don't want to miss this exciting high-energy poetry slam that will spotlight emerging and veteran poetic artists from across the southeast. This event, founded in Greenville by Kimberly Simms, inspired the creation of the national WOWps. First prize $350. Cashapp $15 to $witsendpoetry

$500 in Prizes

1 E. Coffee St., Greenville, SC 29601. 7:30pm.

Poets register below using PayPal or Cash app $15 to $witsendpoetry.

Audience tickets are available via Eventbrite.

Contact Kimberly Simms or ShAy Black to sign up

Registered Poets List:

1. Shay Black

2. Cassandra is Free

3. Asma

4. Olivia

10.

Volunteers will 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. Prize Money: First Prize $350
Second Prize $100
Third Prize $50
2. Bout draw is at 7:15pm 10 Poets. No Waiting List. No refunds.
3. This is a three-round poetry slam. 10-6-4 Cut.

The first two rounds of the competition are cumulative with the first round featuring 10 poets then cutting down to 6. The final round will feature only the top 4 poets and will be a clean slate. Standard tournament slam rules apply. Prop, plagiarism or costume violations will result in [-2 ] points from the score for that round. There will not be a tiebreaker round, rather prize money will be split in the event of a tie for first. If there is a tie during preliminary rounds, up to one additional poet may advance in some cases. Poets should bring at least 3 poems. Poems do not need to be memorized but memorization will help your score. Learn more about slam at http://www.witsendpoetry.com/whatisslam.html.

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 .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. 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.

INVITATIONAL NOTES:

The Queen of the South Slam is a showcase of the top emerging and veteran female voices in the Southeast. Poets may be nominated by a slammaster, Kimberly Simms or have participated in a previous Wits End Event to qualify if they are over 21 and in good standing with WEP.

The historical annual all-women poetry slam held in Greenville South Carolina celebrates 10 years of providing a platform where the women in the southeastern region showcase their power and spoken word skills! This event was conceived in 2005 and led to the formation of the Women of the World Slam.

Questions email witsendpoetrysc@gmail.com.

First Prize $350
Second Prize $100
Third Prize $50

In the event of a tie, the two champions will each receive $175.
And the 2nd place will receive $50. (With no 3rd place).

Workshop with Nathan Wallace

Workshop 6/22/25

5:30 at Coffee Underground

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1yxrRfoVxBL0zGbO1J78r6_4gXYypV3Q_vONFWph7oTc/edit?usp=drivesdk