Poetry Slam at Hoyt

Join us for the first annual Hoyt Library Poetry Slam!  The event is open to everyone.

Poetry Slam Rules

• Poets of any age may participate.
• Poets must perform poems of their own creation. No AI generated creations.
• Poems are limited to three minutes, with a 10-second grace period.
• Poets can't use props, costumes, or pre-recorded audio during their performances.
• Live instruments and musical accompaniment are not allowed.  Singing, beat boxing, clapping, or making any sounds with your body is permitted.
• Memorization is optional.  Poets can memorize their poems or read them from paper or some other device.
• Team performances are allowed, in which multiple poets collaborate on a single poem.
• Poems cannot contain hate speech or speech that denigrates any group or person, or make sexist, racist, homophobic, or transphobic comments.
• The poet receives scores out of ten from all three judges, giving the poet a total score out of 30.
• In the event of a tie, the top two poets face off in a final round.
• The crowd may heckle the judges if they don’t agree with the scores a poet receives.
• The winner will receive a gift card for $50.

Judging Criteria

Poem (4 points possible)

The poem is well crafted and demonstrates effective use of poetic language, which may include figurative language and/or rich vocabulary.

The poem clearly conveys an idea and a point of view.

The poem captures and conveys human emotion and experience.

The poem effectively uses rhythm and sound of language.

Interpretation (2 points possible)

The poet’s body movements, facial expressions, and gestures are consistent with and enhance the ideas and mood of the poem.

The poem conveys energy and emotion that is consistent with and enhances the ideas and mood of the poem.

Performance (4 points possible)

The poet speaks clearly.

The poet projects their voice.

The poet effectively performs for the audience.