Poetry Slam Tonight at The Scoot Inn

poetry slam

n.

A spoken-word poetry competition.

If you have never been to one… you’re in luck. The Austin Poetry Slam gets down at The Scoot Inn right here in East Austin every Wednesday night. It starts at 8:00, but if you are feeling brave, get there at 7:30 to sign up and participate. Still not sure what a poetry slam is? Let the APS describe it to you below.

What is Poetry Slam? It’s a group of poets competing, usually for cash, with three-minute performances of their works. Judges score Olympic-style, with decimals, so a neo-Wasteland thrillingly intoned gets a 9.8, and the latest Hallmark drivel, muttered into the microphone, gets a 5 or a 6. In individual cities, from Tallahassee to Portland, there’s a slam season (roughly September to May) which culminates in a final showdown, which necessitates selection of a four-person slam team to represent the locals at a nationwide tournament.It is a competition that pits poem against poem, poet against poet. Poems are judged on a scale of one to ten, fractions encouraged, by a panel of judges picked from the audience. Equal parts poetry, performance, delivery and verve. And, occasionally, theater, stand-up comedy and strip tease.There is an excellent description of the slam and its origins in this article: To SLAM, to DUNK, Perchance to RHYME by Shilanda L. Woolridge of the Austin-American Statesman.