Site for the 2009 Las Vegas Slam Team

About Me

2007 PSI NATIONAL COMPETITION in AUSTIN, TEXAS, August 5 - 11, 2007
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There are differing views on exactly when and where slam poetry began, however most credit the birth of slam to have happened on July 25, 1986. That's the night Marc Smith decided to add a wrinkle to the weekly Chicago Poetry Ensemble show at the city's legendary Green Mill Tavern with something called the poetry slam. Originally a king-of-the-hill-style competition, with two poets going mano a mano over multiple rounds, the competition morphed over those next few months into the format we know today: poets sign up on a list, perform one original poem in three minutes, and get numerical scores from audience members serving as judges.
When organizers from slams around the country came together to create the coalition that is now Poetry Slam, Inc. (PSI), Smith emphasized the importance of local slams maintaining their autonomy and serving its local audiences, while coming together as organizers with a common mission of making poetry matter to an ever-widening circle of people.
In a nutshell, poetry slam is part verbal wrestling match, part theatrical performance, part beat poet sound off. The essence of slam can be traced back to the oral traditions of cultures around the globe. Poetry Slam is a modern-day extension of the storytelling tradition that has been a part of human culture since man could form words. It is trhis mix of theatrics that makes slam truly a poet vs. poet, in your face, verb-slinging, brawl. At the core of modern day slamming is an invitation for the audience to actively participate in poetry and share in the tradition of oral storytelling.
How It Works: Each poet receives three minutes to perform a poem of their own creation in a style all their own. Five judges, chosen from the audience at random, score the poems from 0 to 10 based on their own reaction to the content of the poem and the performance of the poet. The low and high scores are dropped and the remaining three are added to give the poet a score. A series of semi-final bouts are held and at the final bout a team of 3 with 2 additional alternates is selected based on the highest scores. They will then go to Madison, WI to compete against over 100 teams from North American and Europe in August of 2008.

The official fundraising chapbook for the 2007 Las Vegas Slam Poetry Team. Click on the book cover to preview some of our poetry.

My Interests

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?" - - Marianne Williamson

I'd like to meet:

Las Vegas businesses who are interested in sponsoring the 2008 LAS VEGAS SLAM team to make the trip to Madison, WI in August of 2008 to compete in the Poetry Slam National Competition.

Music:

POETRY/SPOKEN WORD RECORDED by LOCAL POETS ~ ~ LABLAQUE MC: Terminal Rillness ~ ~ Knowledge The Wordsmith: England..s First ~ ~ SHOSHANA SMITH: Sassy Lady ~ ~ TianaMarie: TODAY I Have Words

Books:

POETRY PUBLISHED by LOCAL POETS ~ ~ Speak On It by Knowledge ~ ~ TODAY I Have Words by TianaMarie ~ ~ Open Wounds, Tattooed Scars by Daniel Arsyn Skougard ~ ~ Fourteen Poems About Fucking by Marvin Scott Marvin ~ ~ On The Wing by Knowledge ~ ~ Swarming Buzzwords for the Honeyblood by Marvin Scott Marvin

Heroes:

If you are a Las Vegas Poet/Spoken Word Artist who has published a book of poetry or dropped a cd and would like to have it listed here, please message us.

Click here to check out
The Las Vegas Poets .org Meetup Group!

IF YOU ARE A LAS VEGAS BUSINESS INTERESTED IN SPONSORING THE 2009 LAS VEGAS SLAM TEAM, PLEASE EMAIL US AT THIS WEB SITE OR AT [email protected]

My Blog

~ ~ QUARTER FINAL SLAM COMPETITION ~ ~

The Quarter Final 2008 Slam Team competition will be held on Tuesday, December 18th. The following individuals have made it through the preliminary qualifiers and will compete for the 10 slots availab...
Posted by Site for the 2009 Las Vegas Slam Team on Fri, 23 Nov 2007 01:25:00 PST

~ ~ ~ FINANCIAL SUPPORTERS ~ ~ ~

Sending a Slam team to Regional & National competitions to represent Las Vegas costs more than a few pennies. Thank You To EveryOne Who Has Been Attending The Slam Bouts and Supporting the 20...
Posted by Site for the 2009 Las Vegas Slam Team on Sun, 30 Sep 2007 09:20:00 PST

Final Prelim Bout & Rules

Final Preliminary Bout & Rules Next Preliminary Bout: Tuesday, November 20th PLACE: reJAVAnate Coffee Lounge / 3300 East Flamingo Doors Open @ 6:30pm &nbs...
Posted by Site for the 2009 Las Vegas Slam Team on Sat, 10 Nov 2007 12:33:00 PST

October PRELIMINARY BOUT & RULES !!!

Next Preliminary Bout: Tuesday, October 23rd PLACE: reJAVAnate Coffee Lounge / 3300 East Flamingo Doors Open @ 6pm Open Mic @7pm Slam Starts @ 7:45pm - - Come early to si...
Posted by Site for the 2009 Las Vegas Slam Team on Sun, 30 Sep 2007 08:50:00 PST

E-mail auction:)

Now that we've registered M&M Poetry with Poetry Slam Int'l (PSI) as the new sponsoring venue for the Las Vegas Slam Team, our next goal is to raise the $400 to certify the team to compete at...
Posted by Site for the 2009 Las Vegas Slam Team on Thu, 27 Sep 2007 03:47:00 PST

Sound bites from the September 25th slam at ReJAVAnate

'Hip hop used to be a friend of mine' ...
Posted by Site for the 2009 Las Vegas Slam Team on Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:58:00 PST

September 25th slam at ReJAVAnate

..>..>..> ..> ~ ~ ~ Thanks to everybody who came and supported :) ~ ~ ~ The first of our many goals was to raise $125 to regist...
Posted by Site for the 2009 Las Vegas Slam Team on Wed, 26 Sep 2007 03:27:00 PST

September 25th open mic before the Slam

Here are the categories we will be having for the open mic before the slam on Sep. 25th. HAIKU FACE OFF Ok.Do you know what a haiku is?It's three lines and the first line has to be five syllabl...
Posted by Site for the 2009 Las Vegas Slam Team on Mon, 03 Sep 2007 08:31:00 PST

Calling All Slam Poets & Poetry Lovers

Calling All Slam Poets & Poetry Lovers The 2008 slam poetry season is about to begin! The first night of team tryouts (preliminary bouts) will be held: Tuesday, Sept 25th &...
Posted by Site for the 2009 Las Vegas Slam Team on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:18:00 PST

Why Slam & What Does It Take To Be A Winner?

This is taken from an article in the Austin, TX Chronicle. I think these folks say it better than I can: BOOKS Featured Buy/Sell Services Motor Music Adult PersonalsPost an Ad &nbs...
Posted by Site for the 2009 Las Vegas Slam Team on Thu, 23 Aug 2007 03:39:00 PST