Individual World Poetry Slam 2005!

Wednesday

Let's get this party started, shall we? Mingle, mix, & size up the competition. Figure out who has the best gossip, and start compiling the Cutest Poets Evar!!!1! List, to be posted in the bathroom on Saturday afternoon.

The winner of this completely open slam gets the wildcard slot in iWPS. No entry fee required, and a shot at glory may await. Who doesn't want a shot at glory??

Is this a poetry festival, or is it a poetry festival? This is our "Getting to know you," open mic, a chance for the grandstanders to go on and start standing grandly on stage.

Thursday

Welcome to Worcester! Welcome to the 2005 Individual World Poetry Slam! And find out which of our esteemed poets will be competing in which bout. The fate of the championship depends on the draw sometimes, and it's bound to be nail-biting.

Read some poems, k?

The old canard states that those who cannot, teach. Or they host. Our MCs are ready to read that lie a story and put it to bed. The winner of this slam gets first choice of bouts to host.

You've always wanted to get tied up & left for dead outside the monster's lair, and the winner of the Sacrifice slam gets to live out that fantasy... You get to throw yourself on the mercy of the monstrous judges as the sacrificial poet in one of tonight's bouts! Virginity not required.

Competing poets perform 1 minute and 4 minute poems.

Competing poets perform 1 minute and 4 minute poems.

The ever-popular erotic open mic. Toes will curl & snow will melt, baby. Make me want to want you. Please note that no actual selling of sex will be permitted, but trading *ahem* services of equal value (after the reading, and not in public) is encouraged.

Friday

Poems, poems everywhere, and not a drop to drink. Actually, there may be soda.

Poets who gender-identify as male, reading poetry about fathers, sons, and manhood. This is the guys' chance to reveal their unique shared experiences. Bring your dog-eared copy of Iron John and your detailed life plan.

For poets who gender-identify as female. Maybe the men go first (isn't that typical?), and maybe men make 22% more money than women do for the same work. But the women finish it off, & they prove they're worth every bit as much as a boy. Math is hard! Yeah, well, so are our steel-toed boots!

The prestigious Haiku/Senryū Death Match in which competitors battle until all opponents are defeated. Each haijin has studied his or her saijiki, and emerged with a devastating kigo specially designed to KILL. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but seventeen syllables may DESTROY YOU. There can be only one.

Competing poets perform 2 minute and 3 minute poems.

Competing poets perform 2 minute and 3 minute poems.

In olden days a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking,
But now, God knows,
Anything Goes.
Break all the rules you want to break, be as risqué and outré as you want. Bring a theremin, perform with dancing poodles, or wear your Dominatrix outfit. Try not to break any laws.

Saturday

No themes, just poetry. Let's heat it up, babies.

The oldest rule in the slam books gets shattered by whatever props the poets want to drag on stage. In fact, if any poet attempts to perform without a prop, they'll be hauled in front of the Protest Committee where their honor will be questioned by Taylor Mali, who will be dressed as Danny Solis.

Karaoke, slam-style. T.S. Eliot couldn't perform worth a damn, but in this slam you can find out what it might have been like to listen to his recordings if he *could* command the stage. Want to see Shakespeare rock the house? Sexton set the mic on fire? Any poem not written by the performer is fair game.

Instead of filling up every moment of the 3 minutes (plus 10 second grace period) allowed in the traditional slam, we invite you to listen to a slam where all the poems are 1 or 2 minutes long. It's the biggest little slam you'll see all weekend.

The top 12 poets compete for the grand prize: $1200 and a book or CD deal from The Wordsmith Press .

Be there or be []. We'll party & dance the adrenaline of the weekend away in grand style. Celebrate, brothers and sisters, we brought it.

Sunday

Go home already! We have sleep to catch up on & day jobs to go back to...