First Annual Poetry Slam at Hoyt

Join us for the first annual Hoyt Library Poetry Slam!  The event is open to everyone. Some prizes have been generously donated by the Friends of Roethke Foundation. The judges are Jared Morningstar, Olivia Muñoz, and Donny Winter.

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 cannot 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.
• 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.  Additional prizes have been generously donated by the Friends of Roethke organization.

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.

About Our Judges:

Jared Morningstar is a high school English teacher and serves on the Friends of Roethke board. He has published four collections of poetry and prose (American Fries, American Reality, A Slice of American Pie, and Lost in America) through Alien Buddha Press, and he has had works nominated for the Pushcart Prize (2020) and Best of the Net (2024).

Olivia Muñoz is a Mexican-American writer, artist, and educator from Saginaw, Michigan. Her debut chapbook, These Women, They Carry Purses Full of Knives, was published as the 2024 winner of the Latin American Poetry Prize from the Blue Mountain Review.

Donny Winter is an LGBTQ+ poet, educator, and activist currently residing in Midland, Michigan. He teaches creative writing and composition at Delta College. He’s authored three poem collections: Casting Seeds (2022), Feats of Alchemy (2021), and Carbon Footprint (2020), each garnering a Pushcart Prize nomination. His poems have appeared in numerous magazines and journals, including Somber Midwest, Awakened Voices, CultureCult Magazine, and Millennium Pulp. As of 2024, his poetry has appeared in the comic story “In the Shadow of a God,” in IDW Publishing’s Godzilla: 70th Anniversary comic book anthology.