Poetry Slam: You're Doing It Wrong

[scottwoods]

I recently composed a very long treatise on Slam and where I thought it should go. I posted it online for public consumption and comment in December of 2011 (“Poetry Slam: The Next Level”). The last part of that document contained a section entitled “Death by Slam: The Competition and how it will kill NPS & Slam”. As notorious as it sounds, this

Comments

[anonymous]

yes!!

[campana]

it this were facebook i would click "like".

[stefan11]

"But when they apply contest values and contest focus to the game, it’s not a game anymore…it’s a contest." -- in principle, it can be both; but I get your point. In competition the competitive (psychological/sociological) forces assert themselves stronger so we forget it's basically fun.

I like the suggested rules changes. However, dropping props and costumes requirements will make the even even more like a theatre (which may be good or bad). I would definitely start doing my haibuns-with-imbedded-haiga (a bit of poetic prose, some images/photos, and a closing haiku or a few). That would be so much fun.

Interestingly enough, when you mentioned poets you love, you also mentioned proven winners (at the nat and any other level). What does it say?

[sirenoftitan1]

I agree. I thought the prop/costume rules were not just to make things more "fair", but also to keep the emphasis on the poetry. Dropping them altogether could be a problem, but I think I recall a MPSL rule that was like "your team can use a prop exactly once in a bout, plan wisely".

I am all for the differently-timed rounds, and when I brought it up in the forums, one of the objections was that poets would get really angry if assigned to the 1-minute round. I think that is nonsense. Some of my best poems are short, and I'd rather present one of them than something I tried to stretch to 3 minutes.

Also, I'm surprised to see Scott laud mandatory group pieces, seeing that he generally coaches teams that bring zero group pieces.

[stefan11]

All the good points. And even if the poets protest short rounds, it still can turn into sth good. Maybe those protesters will decide that going to the Nats is not worth it for them -- sweet.

" I'm surprised to see Scott laud mandatory group pieces, seeing that he generally coaches teams that bring zero group pieces."

yes, that was funny and surprising to me, too. It looks like Scott is trying to mix things up as much as possible. Yey for this.

[radioactiveart]

I don't like group pieces either, but I'd NEVER want them removed from NPS. Others like them and I live in the hope of seeing one I might like. My personal bias isn't applicable to the competition overall.

[toangelblue]

Funny. I've recently come across a dvd I got from a couple from Budapest. They came to dinner in Chicago to meet Marc and do research on slam. They'd already been to NY and had been told what their slam was doing wrong. At the slams in their country, they have a DJ, a band, sometimes two dancers, and a pair of artists who create based on the poems. The other artists are taken into account in the show with the judging (and the judging almost takes a backseat to the festival).
I wish you could have heard and seen the video.
But they were CONVINCED they were doing it all wrong. Marc asked them if the audiences were entertained. Yes, yes, they were. Were there more and more people attending each slam? Yes. Was it challenging poets to write in different ways? Yes, it seemed to be working that way too.
He told them to not fix what ain't broken.

[scottwoods]

Hear freaking hear. NY got it wrong.

[radioactiveart]

In a word, yup. Pretty much captures everything I've been feeling for a long time. Although I tend to agree with Amy about how I've always seen the intent of the prop and costume rules, it's not a hill I'd be willing to die on.

[sirenoftitan1]

Yeah, I wouldn't be against trying a complete elimination of the rule, either...what's the worst that could happen?

In all seriousness, I would be kinda intrigued to see how people use props and costumes for non-humorous poems. It could be a brilliant trainwreck (shaken baby comes to mind).

[wonderdave]

I have a serious piece in which I talk about being a a children's entertainer. I think I'd juggle in the beginning if it were allowed.