Thought the sappy love poems you wrote in your high school notebook were worthless? Think again. Those gems could be worth $100, if you manage to dig 'em up and perform 'em well at the Anthology Invitational Poetry Slam, 8 p.m. on Friday, May 22 at Club Mardi Gras, 8040 East McDowell Rd. in Scottsdale.
How do I score some cash, you ask? It won't be easy. Seven well-known Arizona poetry venues from Flagstaff to Phoenix to Tucson were asked to provide one of their top poets to compete in the event.
Those seven performers -- who include International Poetry Slam Champion Ed Mabrey of Black Pearl Poetry and professional writer Christopher Fox Graham -- will be joined by the first seven people to sign up at 8 p.m. on the night of the event.
Rules after the jump...
Expect two rounds of standard poetry slam, plus a third "mystery round" to be announced during the invitational. If you're not sure what a poetry slam is, here are the basics: Poets get up and "perform" their works live. There's a three minute time limit for each piece, and no props or costumes are allowed. Randomly selected judges then score the piece on a scale of 1-10. The performer with the highest average score over three rounds wins. Easy peasy!
Ok, maybe it's not that cut and dry. Some performers, like Mesa Slam host The Klute, hint that the rules can be stretched a little. "The rule is that you have to leave with the clothes you came in wearing," he quipped at a recent slam. "If I came in here with a Batman suit on and wanted to slam, that's ok...as long as I leave with it on."
21-and-over only. Event cover is $5, and the bar is offering $4-5 drink specials all night!
