You know you’ve been dying to scream out a throaty “BOO!” after hearing certain poems. Or maybe you’re the kind of person who loves all poetry, and have wanted to cheer excitedly, but have had to settle instead for wildly snapping your fingers.
Whichever way you lean, at the Women of the World Poetry Slam, you, the audience, get to decide which poems are best by cheering them to the top or booing them down. If this sounds like your cup of tea, you’re in luck: for its five-year go around, WOW choose Minneapolis to host the event.
LZ Photography
A couple pointers for those who are new to poetry slams. Slams are competitions in which poets recite their work within a three-minute time period. Competitions, which are popular around the world and held in more than 200 countries, allow five randomly selected judges from the audience to score each poem on a scale of zero to 10. Although there are judges, all audience members are encouraged to share their opinions of the scores and the poems by cheering or booing….loudly.
During WOW’s fifth-annual slam, 72 women poets from across the United States, Canada, and even New Zealand will compete in the art of spoken word. Four nights, multiple preliminary rounds, and one final round will determine which lady of poetry will be this year’s Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion.
In addition to the competition, the festival will feature a variety of other programs, including workshops, showcases, open-mic nights, and late-night events.
To make things even more official (and cool), crowd-surfing Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak named Wednesday, March 6, 2013, “Women of the World Poetry Slam Day.” Time to get our poetry on.
Women of the World Poetry Slam
$5-$25
March 6-8
Kieran’s Irish Pub
601 N. First Ave., Mpls.
612-339-4499, kierans.com
March 7-8
Institute of Production and Recording
300 N. First Ave., Mpls.
612-375-1900, ipr.edu
March 9 (Championship Finals)
Aria at Jeune Lune
105 N. First St., Mpls.
612-342-2742, ariampls.com
