What's up Writing Wrongs faithful! As we prepare for another great slam season resulting in another great team to represent Columbus at the 2011 National Poetry Slam in Boston this coming August, we want to make sure everyone knows the ground rules.
The Slam schedule is as follows (all dates are subject to change)
January 4th (FREE NIGHT)
January 18th
February 1st
February 15th
March 1st
March 15th
March 29th (Last Chance Slam, Winner gains entry into Grand Slam)
April 12th - Grand Slam
*All Slams preliminary slams will consist of two 3 minute rounds except the Grand Slam which will be 3 rounds
*Points are awarded to the top 3 finishers from each slam (3 points for 1st place, 2 for 2nd, 1 for 3rd)
*Poets may not repeat poems during the preliminary slams. Poets CAN repeat poems they performed during prelims while competing in the Last Chance Slam or in the Grand Slam
*To qualify for the Grand Slam poets must finish among the top 8 point earners during the prelims AND slam in at least 2 of the prelim slams OR win the Last Chance Slam
**NEW RULE--Poets in the Grand Slam may not repeat poems performed in a previous National Team Grand Slam. For example: If you performed Poem A, B and C in the Team Grand Slam in the 2010 Grand Slam, then you may not perform those poems in the 2011 Grand Slam (though you may perform them during this year's prelims). This will ensure that the Grand Slams stay fresh with newer work from year to year.
That's all for now people, good luck to all you as I can't wait to see the work you bring to this new slam season!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Monday, August 16, 2010
Exercise #2
1. Make a list of objects from your past. Make them concise and specific. (Exp: a broken vase, a new Pontiac Vibe, a T-Shirt floating in a pool). List about 5 of them.
2. Your poem will have 5 stanzas of three lines each. The first line of your stanza will start: "I come from ___________" with one of the subjects in the blank. The next two lines of the stanza are free reign for you to follow up the original statement.
Example:
I come from a broken vase
the creases in my hands sharp and reflective
my ribs stretching across, wishing they could harness a bouquet
...and repeat 4 more times. Go!
2. Your poem will have 5 stanzas of three lines each. The first line of your stanza will start: "I come from ___________" with one of the subjects in the blank. The next two lines of the stanza are free reign for you to follow up the original statement.
Example:
I come from a broken vase
the creases in my hands sharp and reflective
my ribs stretching across, wishing they could harness a bouquet
...and repeat 4 more times. Go!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
2/30 William - From an old prompt, but a new poem
Execute. Command.
During the bloody sunset, my still-born twin told me I come from a sickle blade of executioners. Our hands, large and terminal. Two sets, one visible except to victims. We live in torsos, the hollowed out spines of men born of gallows and mischief. In the throats of liars, the railroad track wrists of thieves, their fingers sprawl out like fleshy firecrackers when bone is kissed by cleaver. The light we see in strangulation cannot be simulated, the growth of a knotted rope from the back of a husband slayer’s neck is a progress few can speak. My heart is a hornets’ nest of moans. A wild dog with a filthy coat, that has learned to forgo the carrot for the swing of the stick. When I speak, you can hear the scythe scraping the back of my teeth, the hardened glaciers in my gums, pinning spirits back onto my tongue. My apologies are always post-mortem, falling upon the ears of those that no longer need them.
During the bloody sunset, my still-born twin told me I come from a sickle blade of executioners. Our hands, large and terminal. Two sets, one visible except to victims. We live in torsos, the hollowed out spines of men born of gallows and mischief. In the throats of liars, the railroad track wrists of thieves, their fingers sprawl out like fleshy firecrackers when bone is kissed by cleaver. The light we see in strangulation cannot be simulated, the growth of a knotted rope from the back of a husband slayer’s neck is a progress few can speak. My heart is a hornets’ nest of moans. A wild dog with a filthy coat, that has learned to forgo the carrot for the swing of the stick. When I speak, you can hear the scythe scraping the back of my teeth, the hardened glaciers in my gums, pinning spirits back onto my tongue. My apologies are always post-mortem, falling upon the ears of those that no longer need them.
NaPoWrMo Challenge: William 1/30
Cannon
The first time a man is shot out of a cannon, he will not remember the heat
the searing of his elbows against iron walls
He won’t recall the flash of daylight sprinting to his origin
He may not even remember the low end conversation
Of the bang itself. What will stay with him
Is the silence
The absence of anything before his explosion
The way the white sucked at his skin
Like his 9 year old forearms by the vacuum attachment
I never took you for cannon
your mouth a flash of opportunity and reconstruction. I pray the monuments of lesser
are never flattered by your explanations. At your best you are collapsed towers
and brick dust. A concert of open fire hydrants responding to your outburst
I hope to be the white between your words. My name an explosion when it leaves
your iron clad lips. Sing. Please sing me. I have never been chord or wrecking ball
The first time a man is shot out of a cannon, he will not remember the heat
the searing of his elbows against iron walls
He won’t recall the flash of daylight sprinting to his origin
He may not even remember the low end conversation
Of the bang itself. What will stay with him
Is the silence
The absence of anything before his explosion
The way the white sucked at his skin
Like his 9 year old forearms by the vacuum attachment
I never took you for cannon
your mouth a flash of opportunity and reconstruction. I pray the monuments of lesser
are never flattered by your explanations. At your best you are collapsed towers
and brick dust. A concert of open fire hydrants responding to your outburst
I hope to be the white between your words. My name an explosion when it leaves
your iron clad lips. Sing. Please sing me. I have never been chord or wrecking ball
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
30/30 Starts on THURSDAY!
Yes, April is upon us. That means for poets, its 30/30 time! 30 poems in 30 days people that's the challenge. As for having a safe place to post them on-line for critique from your peers, you can put them up right here.
so starting Thursday, lets get on it!
so starting Thursday, lets get on it!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Writing Prompt / Exercise #1 (for 2010)
Ingredients:
1. First off pick from 1 of 3 people. A 24 year old female Runway model, a 63 year old grandmother or a teenage boy. Write that person at the top of your sheet.
2. Split your sheet into two halves and label the categories - "Cause" and "Effect".
3. Here are your causes - Unbuckled seatbelt, Open Bedroom Window, snowy driveway, first date, unattended stove, declaration of college major, breached firewall (computer), a present from a secret admirer, missed appointment, 3 consecutive hours on the internet.
4. Now, list an effect for each cause. Be descriptive, but not necessarily wordy, ie...a hand lifeless on the car hood or a pregnancy notification delayed.
5. After finishing the list, take the person you identified in #1 and write a poem using at least 5 of the effects you listed. You must use the effects to only describe the attributes of the person. For example; 'her smile was a hand lifeless on the car hood' or 'she laughed like a pregnancy notification delayed'.
Have at it!
1. First off pick from 1 of 3 people. A 24 year old female Runway model, a 63 year old grandmother or a teenage boy. Write that person at the top of your sheet.
2. Split your sheet into two halves and label the categories - "Cause" and "Effect".
3. Here are your causes - Unbuckled seatbelt, Open Bedroom Window, snowy driveway, first date, unattended stove, declaration of college major, breached firewall (computer), a present from a secret admirer, missed appointment, 3 consecutive hours on the internet.
4. Now, list an effect for each cause. Be descriptive, but not necessarily wordy, ie...a hand lifeless on the car hood or a pregnancy notification delayed.
5. After finishing the list, take the person you identified in #1 and write a poem using at least 5 of the effects you listed. You must use the effects to only describe the attributes of the person. For example; 'her smile was a hand lifeless on the car hood' or 'she laughed like a pregnancy notification delayed'.
Have at it!
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