Sedona Poetry Slam brings poems to the stage3 min read

The Sedona Poetry Slam brings high-energy, competiĀ­tive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, April 27, at 7:30 p.m.

A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performĀ­ers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. All types of poetry are welcome on the stage, from street-wise hip-hop and narrative perforĀ­mance poems to political rants and introspective confessionals. Any poem is a ā€œslamā€ poem if performed in a competition. All poets get three minutes per round to entertain and inspire the audiĀ­ence with their creativity.

All poets are welcome to compete for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five memĀ­bers of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.

Poets in the Sedona Poetry Slam come from as far away as Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff, competing against adult poets from Sedona and Cottonwood, college poets from Northern Arizona University and youth poets from Sedona Red Rock High School.

Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Tickets are $12. Call 282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org for tickets.

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The second slam of the spring will be held Saturday, May 25.

The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.

Contact host Christopher Fox Graham at foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up to slam early by Friday, April 26, or arrive at the door by 7 p.m. on April 27 to sign up the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive. The Sedona Poetry Slam will be hosted by Graham, who represented Northern Arizona on 12 FlagSlam National Poetry Slams in 2001, 2004-06, 2010 and 2012-18. Graham has hostĀ­ed the Sedona Poetry Slam since 2009.

Visit sedonafilmfestival.com or foxthepoet.blogspot.com for more information.

What is Poetry Slam? FoundĀ­ed at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984 by Marc Smith, poetry slam is a comĀ­petitive artistic sport designed to get people who would othĀ­erwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. Poetry slams are judged by five ranĀ­domly chosen members of the audience who assign numerical value to individual poetsā€™ conĀ­tents and performances.

Poetry slam has become an international artistic sport, with more than 100 major poetry slams in the United States, Canada, Australia and Western Europe. Slam poets have opened at the Winter Olympics, perĀ­formed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on ā€œRussell Simmonā€™s Def Poetsā€ on HBO.

For the last seven years, Sedona sent a four-poet team to National Poetry Slam, held in different cities around the United States every August. Sedona sent its first team to the 2012 NPS in Charlotte, N.C., its second to the 2013 NPS in BosĀ­ton and Cambridge, Mass., and its third and fourth to Oakland, Calif., its fifth to Decatur, Ga., its sixth to Denver and its sevĀ­enth to Chicago.

Unfortunately, there will be no National Poetry Slam this year due fiscal insolvency of the Poetry Slam Inc. national nonĀ­profit last fall.

The Sedona poetry slam, however, is doing well as it heads into its 10th year of hostĀ­ing poetry slams in the Verde Valley.

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