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----Berkeley Poetry Slam is a weekly spoken word showcase built around an audience-judged competition. Established in 1998, we meet every Wednesday, give away $150 in prizes, feature top poets, live jazz, and incredible poetry! Most weeks, it's $8 to get in. Check the calendar for special events. Our home is the Starry Plough pub, 3101 Shattuck Ave, near Ashby BART.

----Here's what you can expect: When you arrive, you'll find a large room full of diverse and friendly people, colorful characters, a few crusty locals, and the hum of conversation. It'll probably smell like pizza cooking, and sound like funky live music. The Starry Plough is a venerable local Irish Bar and feels like family.

----If you arrived early, you may find a table or a seat (lucky!). Sign up to slam, if you wish. Sign-ups start at 7:30. Be aware that we have up to 30 people sign up each week, so we do a lottery to choose the 12 poets who will slam.

----Berkeley Slam starts at 8:30 with the first round of the competition. It may be loud, thoughtful, funny, painful, inspiring, intimate or rawcus. Probably all of the above. Poets are competing for $150 in prizes and a spot on our Nationally-acclaimed team, so expect the competition to be FIERCE, though our audience is very forgiving of newcomers. We have a live jazz band or DJ perform between the poets, and we usually have a couple tricks up our sleeves to keep folks awake.

----After the break, we return with our feature(s). We have featured virtually every notable slam champion, local legend, and touring poet from across the English speaking world. Immediately after our feature, the top five poets bring their best in the second half of the slam. Prizes are awarded, Words Of Wisdom are shared, and we end the show by inviting you to stay for a couple beers and some conversation!

----Our first slam at the Starry Plough was held in 1998 as a fund-raiser for KALX. It was such a hit, we were invited back to start a regular show, which began in March of 99. We went weekly in 2001. Our slam team regularly finishes in the top 10 nationally, including a 3rd place finish in 1999 (as half of 'Team Oakland' and a 4th place finish in 2004. Our team is currently the National Team Piece champions. We are the longest-running slam in NorCal, with a solid audience of 130 and our talent pool runs deep.

----To join the NorCal Slam UPDATE weekly mailing list, which lists ALL the poetry slams in NorCal, write to [email protected].

----See Ya At Tha Slam!

My Blog

NorCal Poetry Slam UPDATE  POETS GIVE BACK!

UPDATE  POETS GIVE BACK! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (1)Tidbits. (2)Golden State OAK. TUES.(3)Santa Cruz TUES. (4)Berkeley WED.(5)Kinetic Poetics SANTA CRUZ THURS. (6)The Blackout SAC FRI...
Posted by on Thu, 20 May 2010 19:07:00 GMT

Berkeley Poetry Slam begins a new season!

BERZERKELEY POETRY SLAM Every WEDS.Ekabhumi checks in:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~--- THIS WEEK: A New Season Begins! Sign up forthe Open Slam to qualify as Berkeleys Indirepresentative at the Individual World P...
Posted by on Tue, 11 May 2010 01:46:00 GMT

NorCal Poetry Slam UPDATE  A New Era!

UPDATE  A New Era!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(1)Tidbits. (2)Santa Cruz FINALS TUES.(3)OAK/Golden State TUES. (4)Berk FINALS WEDS.(5)Tourettes/OAK THURS. (6)S.F. FINALS SUN. (7)San Jose MON. (8-17)UPCOM...
Posted by on Wed, 05 May 2010 09:57:00 GMT

Berkeley Poetry Slam FINALS!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BERZERKELEY POETRY SLAM --Every Wednesday.Ekabhumi checks in:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~--- THIS WEEK: its F*I*N*A*L*S!!  Hosts: Ekabhumi& Betsy. Live Jazz by Three Blind Mice. Plu...
Posted by on Wed, 05 May 2010 09:55:00 GMT

NorCal Poetry Slam UPDATE  Oakland FINALS THURSDAY!

UPDATE  Oakland FINALS THURSDAY!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(1)Tidbits. (2)Fairfield TUES (3)Berkeley SEMIS WEDS. (4)Sacto WEDS. (5)Chico THURS.(6)Oakland FINALS THURS. (7)OAK/The Standard SUN. (8)OAK/...
Posted by on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 12:03:00 GMT

Upcoming Events @ Berkeley Poetry Slam

.................... ---- April 21:  SEMI-FINALS #1.  Hosts: Jamie De Wolf & Betsy Gomez, with Live Beatbox by: Syzygy.  $12 Door. ---- April 28:  SEMI-FINALS #2.  Hosts: Dre & ...
Posted by on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:31:00 GMT

Who's In Berkeley Semifinals 2010?

Berkeley Semifinals 2010 Big news! We know which poets are advancing to Semifinals. Due to some exciting last minute wins, this list is quite different from what it would have looked like last we...
Posted by on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:24:00 GMT

NorCal Poetry Slam UPDATE  Bay Area Slam Renaissance?

UPDATE  Bay Area Slam Renaissance?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(1)Tidbits. (2)Berkeley SEMIS WEDS.  (3)Sacto/Clean Mouth SAT. (4)Fairfield TUES. (5-18)UPCOMING EVENTS. (19)ALSO RECOMMENDED: Best Of The ...
Posted by on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:22:00 GMT

NorCal Poetry Slam UPDATE-- Oakland Semifinals THURSDAY!

UPDATE  Oakland Semifinals THURSDAY!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(1)Tidbits. (2) Berkeley WEDS.  (3)Modesto WEDS. (4)Chico WEDS. (5)OAK Semis THURS!(6)Sonoma FRI. (7)Golden State Slam TUES.(8)Santa Cruz ...
Posted by on Tue, 13 Apr 2010 23:21:00 GMT

NorCal Poetry Slam UPDATE  Xero Skidmore & C.R. Avery!

UPDATE  Xero Skidmore & C.R. Avery!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(1)Tidbits. (2) Berkeley WEDS.  (3)Oakland THURS. (4)S.F. SUN. (5)San Jose MON. (6-16)UPCOMING EVENTS. (17)ALSO: Sky Is Falling Festival.~~...
Posted by on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:15:00 GMT