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The 6th annual Young Writers of the Lost Horse youth
writing conference has a new twist in 2007. This year’s
workshops—four days of outstanding poetry writing instruction, led by Missoula
poets and teachers, Mark Gibbons and Robert Lee—will be held
in the Sandpoint Middle School and Sandpoint High School from April 9 through
April 12, no registration necessary. Lost Horse Press has organized this year’s
conference to prepare students for the first Sandpoint Poetry Slam, to educate
students and teachers on the ins-and-outs of poetry slams, as well as to help
students grow in their appreciation of poetry and their attitude toward public
speaking. On the evening of April 12, Lost Horse Press and the Sandpoint Library
will again partner up to host the first Sandpoint Poetry Slam for young writers
from grades 5 through 12. In short, a poetry slam is a spoken word event in which
poets perform their work and are judged, both for content and delivery, by audience
members who volunteer for this role. It puts a dual emphasis on writing and performing,
encouraging poets to focus on what they're saying and how they’re saying it.
Click here for Rules and Information.
Participation in the writing workshops is not compulsory to take part in the Slam,
which will take place in the Rude Girls Room of the Sandpoint Library
(corner of Cedar and Division Streets, Sandpoint, Idaho) at 6 pm on Thursday,
12 April. A non-perishable food donation for Sandpoint’s Food Bank is the cost
of admission to the Slam. Any Bonner County student in grades 5 through 12 may
sign up for the Slam between 5 pm and 6 pm on April 12 at the Library. Prizes
for first ($50), second ($25) and third place ($10) will be awarded. If sufficient
interest is expressed, the next Slam will include categories for adults.
Youth Poetry Slam: ages 11 and younger—limit of 20 teams
Teen Poetry Slam: ages 12-19—limit of 20 teams
In short, a poetry slam is a spoken word event in which poets perform their work and are judged, both for content and delivery, by audience members who volunteer for this role. It puts a dual emphasis on writing and performing, encouraging poets to focus on what they're saying and how they're saying it.
Rules and Information
Teams:
- Must consist of one or more people.
- Teams must be named.
- Solo Poets: if you don’t have a teammate and want to participate, contact Sandpoint children’s librarian, Suzanne Davis, prior to the event to arrange for matching.
- Students do not need to be from the same school.
- Family and friends are encouraged to attend. Cheer and join in on the fun.
Length:
- Performance cannot be longer than three minutes.
- Points are deducted for longer works after a 10 second grace period.
The Poetry:
- Original work only. We want to hear what YOU have to say. All poems must be written by a member or members of the team.
- School appropriate material only.
- Prepare and bring three different poems for the competition.
The Performance:
- Team members are encouraged to memorize their work, but it is not necessary.
- Music and Theatrics: All sounds must be made by the performers. No musical instruments, props or costumes are allowed. Beat boxing is encouraged and some lines can be sung, but the work must include spoken lines.
Structure:
- Three rounds. Each team performs only one poem per round (team members may perform alone, all members may perform together or any combination of team members may perform together).
- Often everyone moves from round one to round two (will depend on number of teams). The 4 lowest teams are dropped for the final round.
- Judging: performances are rated 50% content, 50% performance on a scale from 0-10 (10 being the highest). Performance and confidence go a long way. Practice!
- Judges: 5 judges will be chosen from the community (one librarian, one teacher, one journalist, two high school students). The highest and lowest scores are discarded.
Other:
- Entry fee: a can of food or a donation for the Sandpoint Food Bank. Register at the Sandpoint Library.
- No booing will be allowed. Loud cheering will be encouraged!
- Refreshments will be provided. Event is free and open to the public.
Prizes: Provided by Lost Horse Press & Common Knowledge Book Store & Tea
Shop
- First Place Youth Team: Winning team will receive $50 cash, plus a book from Common Knowledge Book Store.
- Second Place Youth Team (second place will be awarded if 6 teams or more compete): Winning team will receive $25 cash, plus a book from Common Knowledge Book Store.
- Third Place Youth Team (third place given only if 10 teams or more compete): Winning team will receive $10 cash, plus a book from Common Knowledge Book Store.
- In preparation for the Youth and Teen Poetry Slams, Lost Horse Press is offering a poetry slam workshop to educate students, teachers and parents on the ins-and-outs of the upcoming poetry slams, as well as to help students grow in their appreciation of poetry and their attitude toward public speaking. Poetry slam workshops usually last between 1-2 hours and help to re-create the classroom into an imaginative environment, inspiring expression and creativity through group writing exercises and performance. Workshops will be offered in the Sandpoint Middle and High School.
What is a poetry slam?
A poetry slam is a competitive event in which poets perform their work and are judged by members of the audience. Typically, the host or another organizer selects the judges, who are instructed to give numerical scores (on a zero to 10 or one to 10 scale) based on the poets' content and performance.
Though rules vary from slam to slam, the basic rules are:
- Each poem must be of the poet's own construction;
- Each poet gets three minutes (plus a ten-second grace period) to read one poem, if the poet goes over, points will be deducted from the total score;
- The poet may not use props, costumes, or musical instruments;
Of the scores the poet received from the five judges, the high and low scores are dropped, and the middle three are added together, giving the poet a total score of 0-30.
Slams are typically organized by poets interested in cultivating poetry in their communities. The vast majority work on a volunteer basis, and the price of admission typically goes toward either keeping the show running or toward special projects, like funding a slam team's trip to the annual National Poetry Slam.
How did poetry slam start?
In 1984, construction worker and poet Marc Smith started a poetry reading at a Chicago jazz club, the Get Me High lounge, looking for a way to breathe life into the open mike format. The series, and its emphasis on performance, laid the groundwork for the brand of poetry that would eventually be exhibited in slam.
In 1986, Smith approached Dave Jemilo, the owner of the Green Mill (a Chicago jazz club and former haunt of Al Capone), with a plan to host a weekly poetry competition on Sunday nights. Jemilo welcomed him, and the Uptown Poetry Slam was born on July 25 of that year. Smith drew on baseball and bridge terminology for the name, and instituted the basic features of the competition, including judges chosen from the audience and cash prizes for the winner. The Green Mill evolved into a Mecca for performance poets, and the Uptown Poetry Slam continues to run every Sunday night.
Sandpoint Poetry Slam and the Young Writers of the Lost Horse conference are sponsored
by Lost Horse Press and the East Bonner County Library District, and are funded,
in part, by generous grants from the Idaho Commission on the Arts
and the Marilynne Robinson Young Writers Fund. To make a tax-deductible
donation to the Marilynne Robinson Young Writers Fund to support future literary
programs for young writers in Bonner County, please contact Gloria Ray at the
Sandpoint Library at 263.6930.
For additional information about the Young Writers of the Lost Horse or the Sandpoint Poetry Slam, please contact Lost Horse Press at 208.255.4410 or email losthorsepress@mindspring.com.
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