Latino Youth Slam 2.0
Two poetry pieces are needed to participate!
Poetry Slams are a different than regular recitals. It is more than a competition, it’s a performance/recital, and your job is to get the audiences/judge’s attention to vote higher for you than the other participants. Through this performance you will find your own voice and learn to articulate it/communicate openly. SLAM has a close connection to hip hop in this aspect. To do this, you may use any means necessary, NO PROPS THOUGH! The basic breakdown goes like this…
Rule 1- Poems may be no longer than 3 minutes. The time starts as soon as the first word out of your mouth is said.
Rule 2- You must have 2 pieces ready, this is because there are two rounds, the best 3 pieces from the first round move on to the 2nd round.
Rule 3- In case of a tie in the 2nd round, poets have 3 minutes to prepare a Haiku. A Haiku is a poem that contains 3 lines, and breaks down like this:
Line 1- 5 syllables
Line 2- 7 syllables
Line 3- 5 syllables
Rule 4- Judges are selected at random. And like in the Olympics, the highest and lowest scores are dropped from the total score. This is to stop your homeboys and homegirls from hating on you and to stop your lover from giving you a good score just because they love you. The top 3 poets from the first round move on to the second round.
Rule 5- Audience, influence the judges. Judges don’t get influenced by the audience.
What to do, What not to do
What is expected- A story, performance piece, showing of feelings, cadence, rhythm, timing, perform; don’t just stand there.
What is not expected- Reading straight out of the paper, recital style poetry that usually says the feeling and does not show it.
Example: Def Poetry, Brave New Voices, Youth Speaks
REMEMBER NO PROPS! Just you, your voice and your words.
Winner gets $100 and bragging rights!
Our theme for this slam is love! But not just relationship love, any kind of love! If you have a poem about your loe for rice milk, we want to hear it! Love to talk? We want to listen! As long as there is love in the air, it doesn’t matter!
Remember, our words are powerful!
