EVENT DETAILS

The slam takes place at Dickens Pub.

Doors open at 6:30PM
Sign up opens at 7:00PM
Show starts at 7:30PM

Tickets are at the door, cash only!

General Admission - $10
Student or low income - $5

Slam FAQs

What is a poetry slam? 

Slam poetry is a type of competition where people read their poems without props, costumes, or music. After performing, they receive scores (0-10) from 3 randomly selected judges. The slam is broken down into 3 rounds, with the top scoring poets from each round moving forward into the next. The judges can be anyone: they don’t even need to be poets! Scores are awarded based on how much each judge likes a poem. The purpose of this judging process is to make poetry participatory for everyone. Slam poetry doesn’t need to be a specific form of poetry.

What are we competing for?

For fun and poetry! But on the practical side, it allows us to send a representative to the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam that takes place during the Verses Festival in Vancouver. If you win a slam, you're invited to compete in our finals in August to be Calgary's representative.  

How do I sign up for a slam?

Due to the overwhelming response in people looking to share their poetry we have devised a new system in hopes of hearing all your voices.

No more lining up at 6:30pm to sign up! Doors will still open at 6:30pm. But sign up will be announced on mic on the stage at 7pm. Poets will come to the stage to sign up for either the open mic or the slam. You can only sign up for one or the other not both. There will be no cut off. All that want to sign up can. All names who want to do open mic will be put in a jug. 5 names will be pulled. Those 5 names will be our open mic poets. All the people who want to slam be put in a different jug. 12 names will be pulled from the jug. Those 12 people will enter the slam.

For all the people who's names DID NOT get pulled. Your names will be added twice to the following months slam.
Want to come watch and not perform? That's totally okay!

What do I need to bring?

• $10 entrance fee

• 3 poems, each less than 3 minutes

• Friends! The bigger the audience, the better the show!

What are the rules?

• No props, no costumes, no animal acts, no nudity

• No booing

• Keep your poem under 3 minutes and 10 seconds or you'll loose points