Get Lit’s Youth Poetry Slam
What is Slam Poetry?
“Our lives end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” 

Divisions

(Two Performances):

1. Youth Poets: Age 11 and younger from 4-6PM. Registration begins at 3:15 PM.
2. Teen Poets: Age 12 to 19 from 7-9PM. Registration begins at 6:15 PM.

Teams:

1. Must consist of at least two people.
2. Teams must be named.
3. Each team must be accompanied by an adult.
4. Solo Poets: if you don’t have a team mate and want to participate, contact your teacher or Linda Cooper (623-4227) prior to the event to arrange for matching.
5. Students do not need to be from the same school.
6. Family and friends are encouraged to attend. Cheer and join in on the fun.  

Length:

1. Performance cannot be longer than three minutes.
2. Points are deducted for longer works after a 10 second grace period.  

The Poetry:

1. Original work only. We want to hear what YOU have to say. All poems must be written by a member or members of the team.
2. School appropriate material only.  

The Performance:

1. Memorization: Team members are encouraged to memorize their work.
2. Music and Theatrics: All sounds must be made by the performers. No musical instruments, props or costumes are allowed. Beat boxing is encouraged and some lines can be sung, but the work must include spoken lines.
   

Structure:

1. Three rounds. Each team performs only one poem per round (team members may perform alone, all members may perform together or any combination of team members may perform together).
2. Everyone moves from round one to round two. The 4 lowest teams are dropped for the final round.
3. Judging: performances are rated 50% content, 50% performance on a scale from 0-10. Performance and confidence go a long way. Practice!
4. Judges: 5 judges will be chosen from the audience. The highest and lowest scores are discarded.  

Other:

1. Entry fee: $1 per student plus a can of food for the Spokane Valley Food Bank. Register on site 30-45 minutes before the event. No late registrations will be accepted.
2. Prizes:

Elementary: $50 for the winning team plus the winning team will perform as an opener for the children’s concert at the Met Theatre on Saturday, April 17^th at Get Lit. The second place prize is $50.

Teen: $50 for the winning team plus the winning team will perform as an opener for the Garrison Keillor show at Get Lit on Sunday, April 18^th. In addition, each teen 1^st place winner will receive 3 tickets to the show. The second place prize is $50.

3. No booing will be allowed. Loud cheering encouraged.
   

For more information, contact Linda Cooper, Director of Writers in the Community at witc@mail.ewu.edu or 623-422