WC Newsletter #128* SLAMMIN'!

Writers' Circle Newsletter

Issue #128: May 26th, 2004

This issue is brought to you by: Red Writing Hood <3 , Dale Arthur , Nikola~Asked Santa for a Pony! , and Starr* Rathburn

(To read back issues of the Writers’ Circle Newsletter, see "WC Newsletter Back Issues" .)

SLAMMIN'!

What I’ve learned from slamming

First of all let me explain what I mean by the term ‘slamming’. Generally, a slam is a poetry contest, a live performance of the poet’s work in a competitive framework. On this website we have a different form of slam which has evolved over time into something less immediate than ‘live’ slams, but it still is in a competitive framework.

In a live slam contest, like ones that take place all over the country and probably the world as well, the emphasis is on two things, the work and the performance of that work. Sometimes the poet can read work that has already been created and sometimes the work must be created during a set period of time by all the participants and then performed. In many ways the proliferation of slam contests has created a new sub-genre of poetry, where the traditional poetic qualities take a backseat to dramatic flow and intensity. A poet may be able to write excellent work, but if that poet can’t read it aloud and relate its excellence to the audience then that poet will probably lose in favor of a poet that can do that.

On this website, the original slams that I took part in tried to blend a performance quality and immediacy to this electronic medium. The results were exhausting, mainly because the competitors came from widely divergent time-zones. We had competitors from all over the world and when the finals came along, with topics being introduced in hour increments, then half-hour increments and finally ten-minute increments, believe me it became less fun and more like torture. Poets in Australia or Europe found themselves staying up all night, that some of those poets won the contest was a testament to their devotion to the point of masochism.

As I said earlier, the slam contest that now appears on the site has evolved from that original concept. Now time is given for people to present their best original work. Poets can’t use work that has already been posted on the site, which used to be allowed if it fit the topic as a way of beating the time constraints. Because more time is allowed (although we do still have time limits and deadlines) the contest is less immediate than it used to be, and perhaps some of the slam flavor of the contest has been lost because of that. Perhaps because of that loss of immediacy and the lack of live performance necessitated by a virtual ‘stage’ means that we shouldn’t call our contest a slam. That we continue to call it that is due to the fact that the contest has become a tradition on the website.

The slam on this website is not a regularly scheduled event. It is a huge undertaking requiring weeks of preparation by the hosts, the slam itself usually takes the better part of a month to complete and the poets that compete can find themselves writing up to 15 new poems during that month. In many ways it is like a workshop and a lot of those who regularly take part in it do so because of the improvement that they see in their poetry as a result of that forced discipline that requires them to consistently write and present quality pieces. In the last slam, the co-hosts judged and reviewed nearly 400 poems, not to mention writing at least as many poems as each competitor. That kind of effort requires some time off for the recharging of poetic batteries.

The standards of the slam contest on the site are very high. One of the major requirements of each competitor is to present work that they would show to an editor, as if they were submitting their work for publication. That means that editing is very important. Bad punctuation or misspellings in submitted work go directly into that editor’s round file, never to be seen again. We allow the poets competing in the slam to edit their work right up to the deadline of the next round and more than once excellent work that is tainted by poor editing has kept poets from becoming finalists. This may seem to some to be unfair, but the truth is that keeping the standards high like that requires the competitors to become careful readers which is another step toward improving their overall work.

If the slam contest sounds like something that could benefit you, I encourage you to take part in the next one, tentatively scheduled for June, 2004. There are no requirements for the competitors to take part in every round, you can participate as much as you want. But I will go out on a limb and say that if you are serious about improving your poetry you will see improvement in your work by taking part.


Dale Arthur

Next week’s newsletter will be brought to you by some flag twirlers and the wonderfully witty newmeadowuno.

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Links gathered by our newsest member: Nikola~Asked Santa for a Pony!

Featured SLAM stuff From Members:

A place for just about everything  [E] #824731 Written for Final Round 1 of Feb. 2004 SLAM. Twisted proverbs. (prose poem) by ElaineElaine

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SLAM!  [18+] #554585 Spring 2006 SLAM! - Congrats to the winners - see you all next time! by Cappucine

The SLAM! Green Room  [18+] #554890 Chat about SLAM by Cappucine

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Featured SLAM stuff From Non-Members:

We couldn't find a link to the antiSLAM but this issue would not be complete without something from Pita who hosts it.

Intentionally Bad Poetry  [18+] #547088 A place to store real stinkers. by Pita

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When There’s Hope  [13+] #846280 An animal story - For the short story slam by Joy

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Writing Prompt:

Prompt brought to you by Starr* Rathburn :

Write a story about something/someone who is missing.


Please feel free to submit your results to this prompt here: "Invalid Item" 

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Quote brought to you by Starr* Rathburn :

Not writing would be like going the rest of your life without having dreams. - Stephen King

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Recommended Reading, Groups and Forums:

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A Poet's Tool Box  [E] #554651 Tools for the trade. by Red Writing Hood <3

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AND check this out!


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You are invited to submit suggestions to the Writers' Circle editors. To submit an item for consideration in the WC newsletter:

WC Newsletter Feedback and Submissions  [E] #641406 WC newsletter submission, a cheer or jeer, or just want to join the group? Find it here! by Red Writing Hood <3

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All comments about this and any WC newsletter are welcome!

Tell your friends about our newsletter! They can sign up through this link. Feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends.

WC Newsletter Feedback and Submissions  [E] #641406 WC newsletter submission, a cheer or jeer, or just want to join the group? Find it here! by Red Writing Hood <3

Issue #128
5/27/2004
Edited by: {suser:redridinghoo