Tonight at the Outpost Performance, the Albuquerque Poetry Slam closed our 25th Slam Season by crowning our 2019 Women’s Champion: Jessica Parascandola.
She will represent the Duke City at the Women of the World Poetry Slam in Dallas, Texas, March 5-7th 2020.
Many thanks, much love, & much respect to our finalists: D’Nessa MC, Liza Wolff-Francis, & Joanna Atencio for putting on an amazing show.
We’d also like to give a special thanks to our spotlight featured poets, Rowie Shebala & Emily Bjustrom for kicking off the show in fantastic form.
And of course, deep appreciation for our phenomenal feature & host, Gigi Bella.
3 minute time limit with 10-second-grace-period, no props, no musical accompaniment, no costumes.
5 Judges, high & low score dropped, 3 median scores added to give the poet their score.
.5 point deduction for every 10-second interval the poet gives over time.
4 poems needed to win. 2 Poems for Preliminaries, 2 for Finals. No repeats.
No repeating poems between Team & Indie Bouts.
Preliminary Rounds Format:
All Poets Perform in 1st Round.
Top 6 Poets Perform in the 2nd Round, high to low score.
Clean Slate Scoring, top 4 poets advance to finals.
If there is a tie for 4th place, all tying poets will advance to finals.
Indie Finals Format:
All Poets will read in both rounds.
Random Draw Order for both rounds.
Cumulative score determines champion.
The Judging Panel will score both Indie & Team Finals, unless a judge needs to be traded out, that will happen between Indie & Team Bouts.
Individual Grand Prize is Winner-Take-All of total Indie registration fees. $400 Minimum
Team Tournament Rules:
Team Preliminaries will be 3X4, 3 teams x 4 rounds
2 Preliminary Bouts, 1st & 2nd place finishers of both bouts will advance to finals.
3X4 Bouts will follow National Poetry Slam Prelims Bout Rotation Rules.
3X4: ABC/BCA/CAB/BAC
Each bout is 4 rounds, 3 minute time limit*, no props, no musical accompaniment, no costumes.
*We will uphold the 10 second grace period for all teams.
Prelim Bout Draw will be held On-Site at Tractor Brewing Wells Park on August 9th, 5:30 PM.
Group Pieces are allowed and encouraged. However, all teammates (excepting a 5th member) must be represented throughout the bout rotations in both writing & performance.
Finals Format:
4X4 Bout: ABCD/CADB/DCBA/BDAC
Team Finals will follow National Poetry Slam Finals Rules & Bout Rotation.
3rd place teams from preliminaries will perform the Sacrifice Poems.
No repeating poems between Team & Indie Bouts.
No repeating poems between Team Preliminary & Finals Bouts.
The Judging Panel will score both Indie & Team Finals.
1st – 4th Place prizes will be a tiered split of total Team registration fees.
In the event of a tie, teams have the option to accept the tie & split the prize, or they can break the tie with a 5th poem, which is applicable to the no-repeat rule.
The 16th Annual Southwest Shootout Regional Poetry Slam Championship Is coming to Albuquerque, NM!
Friday & Saturday, August 9th & 10th.
Registration for teams is $200 & Individual Registration is $40.
1st – 4th Place prizes will be a tiered split of total team registration fees. Registration will be capped at 16-20 teams.
Individual Grand Prize is Winner-Take-All of total indie registration fees.
Team bouts will be either 3X4, 4X4, or 4X5 depending on # of registered teams.
3X4 & 4X4 Bouts will follow National Poetry Slam Prelims Bout Rotation Rules.
4X5 Bouts will follow National Poetry Slam Semifinal Bout Rotation Rules.
Preliminary Team Bouts will be held Friday evening.
A separate Indie Preliminary Slam will be held after Team Bouts.
Finals will be 7:30 PM, Saturday August 10th, @ The Outpost Performance Space.
We’ll also have a couple day events, Nerd Slam & Haiku Deathmatch, on Saturday afternoon @ 1PM, Tractor Brewing Wells Park.
We’re forgoing a host hotel, but you can find many affordable hotels, hostels, & BBs online. Slams will be held Downtown & in the University Area, if you’d like to book close to the action.
Before a packed house at the Outpost Performance Space, Cathy Cook took first place and claimed the Albuquerque Poetry Slam Women’s Championship.
Her victory caps off a perfect season, claiming the ABQ Slams City Championship as well as the UNM Loboslam Championship. Making her the first poet to ever win all 3 tournaments in the same year.
Congratulations to Cathy for a hard-earned victory and well wishes as she represents the Duke City in 2019.
Juliette Torrez founded the Albuquerque Poetry Slam in 1994 after headlining on the Lolapalooza tour. Yes, THAT Lolapalooza.
When interviewed by PBS for the documentary, “Summon the Fire,” about her role in pioneering the Burque Poetry Scene, she gave this humble response with a smile, “It’s not about me, it’s about the poets.”
These words of our founding Slam Mistress have been the ethos of ABQ Slams for a quarter-century.
In celebration of 25 years of poetry slam in Albuquerque, we present our accomplishments as one of the most diverse, inclusive, & unique scenes in the country.
This data is a mere representation of just those few talented poets who each year worked & earned their way onto teams, won championships or coached. Since the first Poetry & Beer in 1992, thousands of Burque poets of myriad ages and identities, have hit the mic at our monthly shows, Grand Slams & Championships.
Such is the power of Poetry Slam: it’s art, it’s heart, it’s people, it’s fun, it’s enlightening, it’s necessary.
ABQ Slams enters its 25th year proud to carry on its mission: to embrace & honor our history of diversity and inclusion, produce professional poetry shows, providing Brave Spaces for underrepresented voices to speak & be listened to & be heard with open ears; to encourage our fellow Burqueños to create, spectate and perform poetry; and humbly continue Albuquerque Poetry Slam’s legacy as the premiere competitive spoken word troupe in the Southwest, if not the nation.
We tallied up all the Slam Champs since 2008 and 1995. All source info gathered from our Teams & Champions Page.
An overview all the Slam Teams & Coaches since 2008 and 1995. All source info gathered from our Teams & Champions Page, and is reflective of poets’ self-identified demographics.
An overview all the Slam Teams & Coaches since 2008 and 1995. All source info gathered from our Teams & Champions Page, and is reflective of poets’ self-identified demographics.
An overview all the Slam Teams & Coaches since 2008 and 1995. All source info gathered from our Teams & Champions Page, and is reflective of poets’ self-identified demographics.
Albuquerque, NM – ABQ Slams, The City of Albuquerque Cultural Services Dept., The Kimo Theater, and Zullo’s Bistro are proud to present the 2018 Southwest Shootout Poetry Slam Championship — the biggest night of slam poetry in Albuquerque this year on Friday & Saturday, July 20th & 21st at 7:00 pm. Poetry Slam is the art of competitive spoken word, and the Southwest Shootout will feature the top poets from Colorado, Texas, California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico in team and individual competition.
July 20th, Friday night Preliminary Slams are free to the public and will take place at Zullo’s Bistro, 509 Central Ave NW at 7:00 PM.
July 21st, Finals Tickets are $15 At the Door/$10 Pre-Sale available online at www.kimotickets.com, by phone, or in person, at the Historic Kimo Theater Box Office (505) 768-3522. Doors open at 7 pm. It will be an evening of high level performance poetry with ten of the top stage poets in the Southwest in poetic competition. The Southwest Shootout celebrates its 15th year, and features world class slam teams which will represent t at the National Poetry Slam in August.
“The 15th Annual Southwest Shootout Poetry Slam”
July 20 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm @ Zullo’s Bistro 509 Central Ave NW Free Show
July 21st 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm @ The Kimo Theater 423 Central Ave NW $10 Advance $15 at the door
www.abqslams.org, www.kimotickets.com
After a hard-fought slam before a packed house at Outpost Performance Space.
This year’s slam was hosted by Lauren Poole and featured poetry by Robin Reynolds, Gabriella Reyes, Brooke Von Blomberg, Bianca Sanchez, Kristian Macaron, Gigi Bella, Rowie Shebala, and Cathy Cook.;
In the end, we had a tie-breaker round between Gigi and Rowie and Gigi Bella walks away with the title.
She will represent Albuquerque Poetry Slam at the Women of the World Poetry Slam in Dallas, Texas, March 2017.
Saturday night, The Outpost Performance Space was sold out for another year and Albuquerque Poetry Slam crowned its 22nd consecutive Slam Team. Our show was hosted by ABQ Slams Legend, Manuel Gonzalez, and featured a slew of first-time finalists and seasoned poets: Kae Piller, Cathy Cook, Robin Reynolds, Marcial Delgado, and Brooke Von Blomberg all qualified for this year’s Grand Slam Championship. In the end, your 2016 AB! Slam Team is, Eva Crespin, Audrey Tobyas, Avery Frank, Mercedez Holtry, and Damien Flores. The team will compete in The National Poetry Slam in Atlanta, GA in August. Stay tuned for more news about the team and where you can catch their next performances.
After a great slam at the Outpost Performance Space on Friday night, Mercedez Holtry was crowned our champion for the second year in a row. She will represent the Duke City at the Women of the World Poetry Slam in Brooklyn, NY this March!
Also congrats to our finalists: Avery Frank, Robin Reynolds, Brooke Von Blomberg, Eva Crespin, and Audrey Tobyas.
