Poetry Slam is the sport of poets. Take the mic and play.

Welcome to Houston Poetry Slam!

You were looking for poetry slam in Houston and you found us! Houston Poetry Slam is the original Poetry Slam Incorporated certified poetry slam in the city. There are other poetry slams in the area, but Houston Poetry Slam is a true citywide slam, committed to developing a poetry slam community with all poets in Houston beyond the poetry cliques in our local poetry scene. We won't just take your entry fee and watch you lose slams again and again.

We can teach you all about poetry slam: what poetry slam is, how to slam, and how to win and get cash prizes when you do. If you don't think poetry should be competitive, try poetry slam anyway - like so many of us who hated slamming at first - you'll grow to love it. And as your new friend, Houston Poetry Slam wants to be the kind of friend that doesn't just talk about helping you, but really does help you take your powerful words and share them with the world. We can even help you start your poetry career.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learn About Slam !

What is poetry slam? Slam is the competitive art of performance poetry. Established in the mid-80s as a means to heighten public interest in poetry readings, slam has evolved into an international art form emphasizing audience involvement and poetic excellence. The majority of slams are staged weekly or monthly by local organizers in bars or cafes. Poets sign up with a host to compete, and the host finds five audience members to serve as judges. Poets must follow a series of rules: the poems must be of each poet's own construction, the poet may not use props, costumes, or musical instruments, and if the poet goes over the time limit (three minutes plus a 10-second grace period), points are deducted from his or her score. Judges are encouraged to factor both content and performance into their evaluations as they judge each poet on a 0.0 to 10.0 scale. The high score and low score are dropped, and the middle three scores become the score for that particular poet. To insure that the entire audience is involved, some host encourage audiences to cheer or boo the poet - but most local slams encourage the audience to cheer or boo the judges. The judges, in turn, are encouraged to remain consistent with themselves and not let the audience influence them.

In a typical competition, all poets read one poem in the first round. Based on the scores they receive, the top-scoring poets go on to the second round, and from that pool, a smaller number of the highest-scoring poets in the second round go on to the third and final round. While the specifics vary from slam to slam, certified slams adhere to this basic structure, insuring that poets must seek to make immediate connections with the audience in order to continue on. Cash prizes or other prizes are offered to the winner as further impetus for performing well. In most cities, the slam series culminates with a final slam at the end of the season to determine which poets will represent the city at the National Poetry Slam.

Poetry slams have emerged as the most vital and best-attended of many cities' regular poetry events. Whereas many open mike events tend to serve either the poets who participate or a particular target community, slam's emphasis on involving the audience has garnered slam a more inclusive, more diverse audience than the typical poetry reading. By marrying poetry with competition, slam has allowed non-traditional audiences an exciting way to experience poetry. (back to the top)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Local Poetry Slam

Houston Poetry Slam started an annual slam festival for the first time this year. In the past we tried biweekly slams, monthly slams, and weekly slams - but those schedules never worked out. Most of the time our hosting venues would kick us out or go out of business. Our slam festival is called Super Slam Week, and it's how we qualify a team of poets to send to the National Poetry Slam. Check out our Super Slam Week page for more info.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are You a Touring Poet?

Fellow poet, our local policy on features is as follows:

1. Individuals are welcome to make unsolicited requests for features provided we have feature spots available on our schedule. We offer no compensation, honorariums, or percentages of the door. Poets may sell merchandise and can keep all the proceeds from the sales of their merchandise.

2. Unsolicited requests for features from poets with whose work we are not familiar must send an audition tape to: Writer's Ink c/o Cedric Ary 3800 Sherwood Lane #162 Houston, Texas 77092. We can't afford to send the tape back to you.

3. If we solicit a poet to feature here in Houston it will be at a minimum rate of $75.00 per half hour set. Travel arrangements are negotiable. Room accomodations are at our discretion (if we can't afford a hotel room for you, we may have to make other arrangements)

Thank you for your interest in performing here in Houston, and may the verse be with you.

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