The Annual Halloween Conjuring of the Weird Sisters is coming up on Sunday October 28. If you're in Chicago on that weekend you won't want to miss it.



These aren't the WEIRD SISTERS; they're fans who enjoted the conjuring a few years back. Go to www.weirdsisters.net to learn how Zarek first conjured them at the Psychic Cafe almost a decade ago.  Zarek comes back every year at Halloween to conjured them again. Sometimes he sets fire to the place.

What does this have to do with poetry? It's all poetry, man!

slampapi says so.

Slam Chapters

Joe and I want to know which subjects in the Idiot book interest you most. Let us know and we'll post excerpts from them and maybe add a little updated information to boot.

Also, take a look at the CD selections. maybe we'll figure out how to stream them to you on the blog.

Track List

Keep on slammin'

Marc

Here's the glossary Joe and I included in the Idiot Book 5 years ago. No where near complete. I you have a slam term and definition of your own to add to it, please send it to us.

Glossary


And here's the introductory chapter to the book.


About the Book


Don't forget, send us your slam terms.


slampapi

Joe here. I co-authored The Complete Idiot's Guide to Slam Poetry with Marc. Prior to meeting Marc, I had never heard of "Slam Poetry." A friend and colleague of mine, Mikal Belicove, was working as acquisitions editor at Alpha Books, which is now owned by Penguin. He called me up one day and asked, "What do you know about Slam Poetry?"

I replied, "Never heard of it, why?"

And Mikal said, "How would you like to write a book about it?"

I told Mikal that as long as I could work alongside an expert on the topic, I would be willing to collaborate. After all, I had a degree in Creative Writing and a couple poetry courses under my belt... certainly that qualified me for something. Mikal introduced me to Marc by way of a phone call, and Marc and I arranged to meet up in Chicago, my home town. (At the time, I was living in Indianapolis.)

When people in the Slam community hear my name, instead of saying "So What?!" I expect they're saying, "Joe Who?!" I'm what the Slam community refers to as a "virgin virgin," and I have a chastity belt welded in place--I doubt I will ever write and perform one of my own poems in public. When I attend Slam events and am introduced as the co-author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Slam Poetry, I always feel like a poser, someone who's simply capitalizing on the movement. Nothing anyone says or does makes me feel that way. Everyone I've met in the slam community has been very hospitable. I just feel as though I haven't paid my dues. I am not slam worthy.

The reason I'm saying all this is not because I'm some recovering Catholic trying to purge his soul of guilt but because I believe that for anything to be any good, it has to be honest, and that's more true for poetry than for anything else, including politics. The value of my contribution to this blog and to the Slam community hinges on my ability to be honest. And, quite honestly, I'm no slam expert. I leave that part up to Marc. 

So what's this blog all about, and why has Marc decided to finally ramp up his Internet marketing efforts? Well, I posted a brief explanation on Amazon, if you care to read it. Go to the book's page at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592572464/ref=cm_arms_pdp_dp/103-9128124-9714244 and scroll down to the post called "Selling the Last 300 Copies."

 

Enjoy!

Maybe you've penned a little verse on your own. Or you read some poetry in high school or college and really didn't like it. Maybe you just hunger for some more enlightening nightlife options than head-banger bands, wet t-shirt contests, and big-screen sports.

Whatever the motivation, this book is devoted to welcoming you back to the world of poetry, proving that poetry can be fun and engaging, and showing you how to get involved in slam poetry by performing onstage, organizing slam shows, or even just becoming a more informed member of the audience. This book also provides plenty of sample poems, both in print and as audio recordings on the CDs, to show you some of the best of what slam has to offer.

What You Will Discover in This Book

This book includes information for all levels of poetry slam, from youngster to retiree, from novice to Pulitzer-Prize-winning poet. It presents a brief history of the slam poetry movement along with the vision that inspired its beginning and fuels its development. It shows you what you need to know to compose and perform effective poetry at everything from open-mike night at your local coffee shop to paid performances at professional theatres. And if you don't have a slam show in your area, this book shows you how to start your own show. As an added bonus, this book takes you beyond the city limits to the National Poetry Slam and introduces you to the national and international community.

To provide some structure for this hodgepodge of topics and techniques, this book divides the material into the following easily digestible parts:

• Part 1, "What Is the Poetry Slam?" provides a brief history of literature's oral tradition from the ancient Greeks to the present, reveals the vision that drives the slam poetry movement, and explains the rules and regulations that govern slam poetry competitions.
• Part 2, "Becoming a Performance Poet," shows you how to compose and perform your own original poems. In this part, you learn techniques for composing poetry that's conducive to a live performance, exercises for rehearsing your poem and honing your acting skills, and how to sniff out places where they'll let you onstage.
• Part 3, "Going Poet Professional," is for the more seasoned slam poet—when you feel confident enough in your craft to start making some money at it. This part starts by showing you how to market yourself and your performance, organize and manage a tour, and act like a professional, so people will take you seriously. It finishes by giving you some ideas for how to make money outside your performances.
• Part 4, "Setting the Stage for Yourself and Others," moves you backstage and center stage, making you the puppet master of your very own slam show. First you learn if you're cut out for the job and want the aggravation. The remaining chapters go on to show you how to locate and evaluate prospective venues, assemble a team of volunteers, take control of your show, and deal with critics.
• Part 5, "We Are Slamily: The Slam Family," takes you beyond your local slam to the national and international community. In this part, you learn how the organization operates and how you can get involved. You even learn how (and when) to fill out the essential paperwork for entering your team into the national competition. This part also helps you to understand more fully the competitive nature of slam and see it at work in the international scene.
• Appendixes. At no additional charge, we included three valuable appendixes. Appendix A provides a list of additional books and articles about slam. Appendix B presents addresses and brief reviews of various slam websites. And Appendix C defines the most common slam jargon and details about key slam rules and regulations.

Notes, Tips, Cautions, and Other Extras

As you read through this book, you'll begin to notice that the pages are sprinkled with little boxes of text. Think of these as jewelry boxes—they contain some gems that were just too important to blend in with the other text. Be sure to check them out.

Dig This!
As I was writing this book, ideas popped into my head that didn't quite fit into the standard text but were too important to leave out. I stuck them in these Dig This! boxes so you wouldn't feel cheated.

Backstage Skinny
When you've spent as many years as I have performing at and organizing poetry slams, you learn tricks and techniques from the best (and the worst) slam poets and organizers. These Backstage Skinny boxes take you behind the scenes to let you in on some of the secrets to success.

SlamSlang
Every discipline has its own shorthand and jargon, and slam poetry is no different. To keep you from feeling like an outsider, These SlamSlang boxes highlight and define any terms and phrases that you might find unfamiliar. Don't miss the glossary at the back of this book, either.

Whoa!
Take my advice and learn from my mistakes—I've made plenty. To avoid some of the bonehead blunders made by most beginning slammers and organizers, scan the book for these Whoa! boxes and glean some sage advice.

SlamSpeak
Poets have composed poetry to deal with every imaginable emotion, experience, and topic. When a poem is particularly pertinent to a topic or a seasoned slam poet was able to offer a unique insight, I dropped it in inside one of these little (and sometimes big) boxes.

CD Track
The CDs at the back of this book contain some magnificent poetry and commentary. If a track on a CD is relevant to the current discussion, this CD Track icon tells you which track to play.

Marc Smith is creator and founder of the Poetry Slam movement. As stated in the PBS television series, The United States of Poetry, a "strand of new poetry began at Chicago's Green Mill Tavern in 1987 when Marc Smith found a home for the Poetry Slam." Since then, performance poetry has spread throughout the world, exported to over 300 cities large and small.

Chalking up more than a 1000 performances in nightclubs, concert halls, libraries, universities, and on tops of hot dog stands, Smith continues to host and perform every Sunday night at the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge to standing-room-only houses. He has staged a multitude of special slam productions, including Slam Dunk Poetry Day at Chicago's Field Museum, The Summer Solstice Poetry Show at the Museum of Contemporary Art, and his touring troupe The Uptown Slam Experience. He has been featured on CNN, 60 Minutes, and WGN's Chicago Tonight. He performs regularly with the Pong Unit Band, an eclectic musical quartet that rocks out, bops out, and Bachs out accompaniment to his spoken verse. In March of 2003, Sourcebooks released Spoken Word Revolution, a book/CD anthology narrated by Marc and edited by his friend and protege, Mark Eleveld. Marc's book Crowdpleaser and his CD It's About Time are available through his website at www.slampapi.com.

Joe Kraynak is a professional writer who has authored and co-authored numerous books, including The Complete Idiot's Guide to Computer Basics, Flipping Houses For Dummies, Food Allergies For Dummies, and Bipolar Disorder For Dummies. Joe graduated from Purdue University in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and philosophy and again in 1984 with a master's degree in English literature. In the summer of 2003, Mikal Belicove, acquisitions editor for The Complete Idiot's Guide to Slam Poetry, introduced Marc and Joe, catalyzing the most entertaining creative duo since Laurel and Hardy. Joe attended his first slam at the 2003 nationals in Chicago, where he and his wife, Cecie, served as judges. According to Joe, working with Marc on this project was "more fun than any paying gig should be."

Part 1: What Is the Poetry Slam?

1 Digging the Roots of Spoken Word Poetry
Learn the history of spoken word poetry, starting with the Greek poets and dramatists.

2 Soaking in the Spirit of Slam
Take a peek at the community, the spirit of the slam movement, and the people who carry on its tradition.

3 Slam Competition—Rules, Regulations, and Other Formalities
Take a brief primer on the rules and regulations that govern most poetry slam competitions and the way those rules are bent and broken.

Part 2: Becoming a Performance Poet

4 Penning the Powerful Slam Poem
Pick up a truckload of tips and tricks for composing powerful performance poems.

5 From Page to Stage
Try out some professional techniques for overcoming stage fright, establishing an effective rehearsal regime, and delivering a powerful performance.

6 Honing Your Performance Technique
Graduate from absolute beginner to star-status thespian by practicing the techniques and exercises in this chapter.

7 Building a Performance and a Few More Skills
Structure a complete performance from opener to closer and pick up a few more skills along the way.

8 Where and How to Gig Around
From open-mike night at neighborhood venues to paid-professional gigs at the hottest nightclubs, this chapter shows you the where and how of slam poetry.

Part 3 Going Poet Professional

9 Packaging and Promoting Your Performance
Assemble a killer press pack complete with your resume[as], poetry action photos, audio recordings, video clips, and sample poems, and learn how to promote yourself.

10 Taking Your Show on the Road
Everything you need to know to plan a successful tour, schmooze club owners and slam organizers, and make sure you get paid.

11 Old-School Advice: Act Professional
Take your bohemian poet status seriously and learn how to follow proper etiquette at a slam poetry competition.

Part 4: Setting the Stage for Yourself and Others

12 Should I Become A Slammaster?
Ask the right soul-searching questions to find out if you have what it takes to become a slammaster. Do you really want to do it?

13 Scoping Out the Right Venue
Go bar hopping and find the right place to stage your poetry slam. Here you learn what to look for in the ideal venue.

14 All the Slam’s a Stage
Learn the conditions and platforms on which you will be performing and how they will affect your show.

15 Let's Get Technical
Lights, sound, camera, action! Making sure everything works the way it's supposed to before the curtain rises on that really big show.

16 Choosing Your Crew
Don't try this alone. Learn how to draft the right people and assemble an effective, efficient, and enjoyable volunteer staff.

17 Taking Ownership of Your Show
Infuse your show with your personality, and let your vision be the driving force. Here's how.

18 Get the Word Out: Publicizing Your Show
Grab your flyers, your megaphone, and half a dozen friends, and start spreading the word. If you promote it, they will come.

19 It's Showtime!
Opening night, a packed house, and sparks are flying [el] now what? Here you learn everything you need to know to put on a killer show.

20 Expanding Your Market: Special Shows
Broaden your slam vision with ideas for special shows, road trips, and other intriguing slam offerings.

Part 5: We Are Slamily: The Slam Family

21 Take It from the Top: PSI, the National Organization
Join the ever-expanding slam family by becoming a member, volunteering, and attending a few meetings.

22 NPS-IWPS: The National Competitions
Bone up on everything from the history of the nationals to the steps you must take to officially enter your team into the competition.

23 More Eventful Events
Learn about and take advantage of other important, official slam events around the country.

24 Slam the World Over: The Global Community
Take a world tour of slam from the United States to Canada, Germany, Switzerland, France, and even Singapore!

Appendixes:

A: Reference Material
Still hungry for slam? Then check out these additional books and articles.

B: Slammin' Websites
Many poetry slams and individual slam poets across the country and around the world have their own websites. Here are some of the best.

C: SlamSlang
When you encounter a cryptic term or phrase, turn to this SlamSlang glossary to learn what it means. It doesn't cover all the terms, but it comes pretty close.

accompaniment

Music or other media that's designed to add another facet to a poet's performance. The National Poetry Slam does not allow accompaniment.

accoutrement

Anything on or around the stage that's accessible to all performers and is not a prop. Accoutrements include the microphone, chairs, tables, and other furniture, and the aisles between the tables.

alternate

A replacement member of a slam team who can fill in for another team member only in the event of an emergency.

articulation

The time value a performer assigns to each syllable during the performance of a poem.

audience

One of the most essential components of a slam poetry event, the people who witness the event and provide feedback to the performance poets.

backbeat

Sounds produced by the human voice to provide a basic 4-beat rhythmic pattern behind verses laid down by rappers.

block

A theater term for the process of mapping out the various actors' positions and movements onstage during a scene.

blog

A publicly accessible personal journal on the web that enables an individual to voice his or her opinions and insights or keep an online record of experiences.

bout

A competition between two or more slam poets or between two or more slam teams. A bout consists of one or more rounds (see round). The winner of a bout typically advances to the next bout to compete with other teams.

calibration poet

The first slam poet of the event who is offered up to the audience and judges as a sacrificial lamb before the actual competition begins. Calibration poets help the judges warm up and give the slam poets some idea of what to expect from the judges. The calibration poet typically does not take part in the competition.

call and response

A theatrical device that encourages the audience to become part of the performance by saying a particular word or phrase on the performer's queue. For example, the performer might instruct the audience to holler "Top!" whenever she says "... up to the ...." When the poet says, "I'm goin' up to the ..." the audience yells "Top!"

call time

A theater term that designates the hour and minute when you're expected to arrive at the theater for the night's performance.

chapbook

A small, typically self-published book of poems, ballads, or stories.

competition

A theatrical device essential to slam poetry that's designed to rev up the audience and raise the level of the art—both the poetry and the performance.

concrete poem

Verse that's arranged on the page in a way that forms a visual image that supports or embellishes its message.

disclaimer

A statement, typically recited before a slam event, in which the emcee introduces the event, briefly describes the type of competition the audience is about to witness, explains some of the rules and regulations, and undercuts the seriousness of what's about to take place.

duo

Two poets performing a piece together as a team slam.

elders

Seasoned slammasters who often are called upon to settle disputes and provide guidance at slam family meetings.

emcee

The master of ceremonies at a slam show. The emcee is expected to be impartial (or at least act impartial), keep the show moving at a steady clip, make sure the judges behave themselves (hold up their scores at the same time), and keep the audience engaged between performances.

Executive Council

The steering committee of Poetry Slam, Inc. devoted to promoting slam, managing slam family business, and preserving the slam tradition. Members of the executive committee are elected by the SlamMasters Council of Poetry Slam, Inc.

exquisite corpse

A poem constructed by a number of poets (often everyone in the room) adding a line to a preceding line having seen only the preceding line.

feet

The basic units of measure in a line of poetry that are determined by different combinations of stressed and unstressed syllables.

format

The structure that directs the proceedings at a poetry slam. In most cases, poetry slams consist of several bouts in which individuals and/or teams compete for a chance to advance to the next round until one person or team ultimately beats out the others.

free-stylers

Improv rappers who duel poetically onstage or in circled groups on street corners over vocally or instrumentally produced rhythms called backbeats. Free-styling has extended into the slam world and even into more traditional poetry realms.

gag rule

Teammates of the individual performing poet must not coach the audience to respond in a particular way to the performance. In other words, if you're performing a particular piece, your teammates can't cheer or call out words or phrases in the hopes that the audience will follow their lead.

Grant Back

A PSI Program that allows a slam organization without nonprofit status to use the PSI nonprofit status to obtain funding and grants that would not otherwise be available to them.

group piece

See team piece.

host

(1) Another term for emcee (see emcee). (2) The person who meets, greets, and seats the patrons as they enter the venue.

host city

The city selected by the slammasters and contracted by PSI for the staging of the IWPS and/or the NPS.

Individual World Poetry Slam (IWPS)

The annual slam competition for individual competitors started in February 2004.

influence rule

Performers may not attempt, directly or indirectly, to win the audience's favor before the competition begins. The performers may strike up casual conversations with friends or audience members before the competition begins, but they may not hand out free t-shirts, do stand-up comedy outside the front door, or do anything else to give themselves an edge over their competition.

judge

An impartial (not necessarily well-qualified) member of the audience who is chosen by one of the slam organizers to score the poems and the performances of those poems (usually on a scale of 0 to 10).

judging

The process of watching, listening to, and rating the performances of the various poets and/or teams during a poetry slam.

liner notes

The printed texts inside a CD case. They list the track selections and running times, and give biographical information about the performers.

listserv

An automated mailing list on the Internet. Poetry listservs contain the names and e-mail addresses of people who want to receive up-to-date news, announcements, and information about poetry and poetry events. When you send an announcement to a listserv, the listserv automatically broadcasts it, via e-mail, to everyone on the list.

maximum time

See time limit.

mixing

The process of combining and layering audio clips to produce a final recording.

National Poetry Slam

The annual official slam event organized by Poetry Slam, Inc. The National Poetry Slam attracts more than 60 slam teams from all across North America.

no-repeat rule

A poem can only be performed once during the preliminary or semi-final rounds and once in the finals.

NPS

See National Poetry Slam.

NPS code of honor

A statement of proper behavior that slammers agree to adhere to during the National Poetry Slam. The code of honor basically states that you should respect others (and their rights), be a good sport, follow the rules, work for the greater glory of poetry, and not act like a jerk.

open mike

A portion of a typical slam event that provides an opportunity for anyone in the audience to perform a poem.

pantoum

A Malayan form of accentual-syllabic verse that consists of an indefinite number of quatrain stanzas with the specific restriction that lines two and four of each stanza be repeated in lines one and three of the following stanza.

performance

The dramatic recitation and acting out of a poem. Slam poets use voice, gesture, eye contact, and other dramatic tools to engage the audience and communicate their poems as effectively as possible.

Poetry Alive

An educational organization founded in Asheville, North Carolina, by Bob Falls. It sends troupes of performance poets to high schools across the country to expose students to the passion of performed poetry.

poetry slam

The actual performance poetry event that usually culminates in figurative battle between slam poets.

Poetry Slam Rule Book

The stone tablet that contains the laws and bylaws that poets and teams must follow when competing in the National Poetry Slam.

Poetry Slam, Inc.

The official organization that tries to provide some semblance of order to the general chaos that slam embraces.

points

A number, typically between 0 and 10 applied by judges to a particular poetry performance in an attempt to assign some objective value to the poem and the performance of it.

Pong Jam

A musical/poetic jam session in which poets read or recite their poems to musical improvisation.

praise poets

South African poets, also known as Imbongi, who have influenced their local politics for time immemorial by creating and maintaining the reputation of tribal chiefs. To this day praise poets, through oral poetry, declaim the political climate and social injustices around them.

press pack

A collection of documents, photos, audio clips, video clips, and anything else that represents your work designed to be sent to club owners, organizers, slammasters, and others to convince them to book you for a performance. Press packs are commonly sent to newspaper reporters or magazine writers to provide them with the information they need to compose an article.

primary author

A poet who contributed significantly enough to the composition of a group piece to be considered an equal owner of that piece.

prop

Any object (other than an accoutrement) that a performer uses during a performance for dramatic effect. This includes necklaces, earrings, pocket change, walking sticks, beer bottles, you name it.

proscenium

The area of a modern stage between the curtain and the orchestra pit—the main area where the actors act, the dancers dance, and the slammers slam.

protest

A formal complaint filed by one team against another team pointing out a suspected rule infraction during a bout at the National Poetry Slam. Protests are submitted to the protest committee, which reviews the complaint and issues its verdict.

quartet

Four poets (the maximum number allowed at a National Poetry Slam) performing a team slam.

rhymation

The tedious and sometimes nonsensical practice of rhyming a long, long series of -tion and -sion words. It also applies to common word endings of -ize, -ism, -ary, -etic, -ation, and a dozen others.

rotation

The order in which poets on a particular team perform—who goes first, second, third, and fourth. The team captain, with input from the team members, usually decides on the rotation. There are many "rotation" strategies for maximizing a team's points.

round

A set of performances in which one or more members of each competing team gets a chance to perform. The standard time limit for each team in a round is three minutes, but some competitions include one-minute rounds, four-minute rounds, and even fifteen-minute rounds.

round robin

A term we started using in Chicago to describe a series of very short poems performed one right after another by several poets planted at different locations in the audience.

sampling

The incorporation of another poet's words into a poem. Slam poets commonly play off another poet's words, and this is acceptable. However, stealing the words outright is disdainful, not to mention criminal.

scan

To determine the kind and number of feet in each poetic line. See also feet.

score card

The device held up by the judges to display their scores to the audience, poets, and emcee. Score cards at a slam range from reusable wooden paddles that have numbered cards on rings that judges flip over to form a score to cocktail napkins marked up with ink pens.

score creep

The tendency of scores to rise as a competition progresses.

score tracking

The process by which judges record the scores of the various performances. In most cases, the judges write the scores on a paper form given to them before the competition starts. The tracking sheet is used to verify the official scores.

scoring

The ridiculous practice of assigning a numerical value to a poetry performance. Traditional slams call for scores between 0 and 10 or down to negative infinity.

scout

To scan the audience for impartial, not necessarily well-qualified, judges. Organizers and emcees scout for judges who are not affiliated with any of the performers in the competition.

show

All the components and events that comprise a particular poetry slam. The organizer of a slam is its visionary.

slam

(n) (1) A term that describes a type of performance poetry show that usually culminates in a poetic competition. (2) A performance poetry competition.

slam

(v) To perform a poem in front of a live audience and quite often in a competitive arena.

slam family

The entire membership of Poetry Slam, Inc. (PSI) and anyone else who wants to hang around slams and slammers.

slammaster

A person who organizes a local slam community and tries to keep the slam going. On the national level, the slammaster contacts Poetry Slam, Inc. to enter the slam's team in the National Poetry Slam.

SlamMasters Council

This strongest and most important body in the PSI structure is comprised of slammasters who run the various certified slams around the country. The SlamMasters Council meets twice a year to set rules, resolve conflicts, and define the future course of slam.

SlamMasters Council meetings

Biannual gatherings of slammasters from around the country to discuss issues relating to the rules of slam, its current condition, and its future evolution.

slam poetry

A term that describes any spoken word poetry composed and rehearsed for presentation in front of a live audience and quite often in a competitive arena.

So What!

Marc Smith's handle, which reminds all involved, including Marc Smith himself, that slam is a level playing field on which everyone is equally important.

Spirit of Slam Award

An honor bestowed upon a performer or slammaster at the nationals who has done something exceptional to promote the spirit of slam poetry.

spoken word poetry

Verse that's composed primarily to be recited or performed rather than read in silence, even though it might be excellent in print, as well.

Storm Poet

A performance poet not affiliated with any team who competes individually at a National Poetry Slam. Storm poets are named after well-known Asheville slammer, Pat Storm, who has passed on from the material world.

team

A group of slam poets who compete at a slam event against other teams. At the National Poetry Slam, each team has four members plus an alternate. See also alternate.

team piece

A poem performed by two, three, or all four members of a slam team.

three-minute rule

A limitation at the National Poetry Slam and most local slams that prevents a performance from running past the amount of time that most of the audience can tolerate. Poets are allowed to run over by 10 seconds, but beyond that, a half point is deducted for every 10 seconds the performance runs over.

time limit

A restriction on the amount of time a poet's performance can last. See also three-minute rule.

venue

A place where a performance takes place; for example, a specific tavern, club, or concerthall.

virgin virgin

A person who has never performed his or her poetry onstage in front of a live audience.

youth slam

A performance poetry competition for young performance poets, typically between the ages of 13 and 19 years old.