The Sedona Poetry Slam hosts the second slam of its 16th year as performance poets bring high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Saturday, Oct. 19.
Between rounds, Flagstaff spoken word legend Ryan Smalley will perform a featured set.
A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Anyone can sign up to compete in the slam for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize.
Ryan Smalley
Originally hailing from Alaska, Smalley attended Northern Arizona University to study political science, but left with an enduring love of spoken word and the written form.
His experience with music and theatre weaves itself through his works, leading to a frenetic display of wit, humor and social commentary through the rhythms of spoken word.
This combination has taken him to poetry competitions all over the country, competing with colleagues from all of Arizona to perform in Chicago, Denver, Portland, Ore., and Oakland, Calif. His nuanced writing combines seamlessly to deliver high-powered performances alone or in concert with others.
His approach to spoken word feels modern, yet arcane, exploring the intricacies of the internet and modern society as breathlessly as love, community and the natural world. His focus on the interconnectedness of these subjects, along with his deft performance style has captivated audiences for more than a decade.
Smalley won the Flagstaff Grand Poetry Slam three years in a row, from 2014 to 2016, against some of the top poets in Northern Arizona and was on the Flagstaff National Poetry Slam Team in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018, showcasing his talents across the country on behalf of his home community.
Open Slam
To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.
Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists. Poets come from as far away as Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff, competing against adult poets from Sedona and Cottonwood, college poets from Northern Arizona University and youth poets from Sedona Red Rock High School. All types of poetry are welcome on the stage, from street-wise hip-hop and narrative performance poems, to political rants and introspective confessionals. Any poem is a "slam" poem if performed in a competition. All poets get three minutes per round to entertain and inspire the audience with their creativity.
The next poetry slams of the season will be held on Saturdays, Nov. 9, Feb 1, March 15, April 5, May 3 and finally on May 31.
The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.
Email foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up early to compete or by the Friday before the slam or at the door the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive.
For more information, visit
sedonafilmfestival.com or foxthepoet.blogspot.com. For a full list of
slam poetry events in Arizona, visit azpoet.com.
What is Poetry Slam?
Founded at the Green Mill Tavern in Chicago in 1984 by Marc Smith, poetry slam is a competitive artistic sport designed to get people who would otherwise never go to a poetry reading excited about the art form when it becomes a high-energy competition. Poetry slams are judged by five randomly chosen members of the audience who assign numerical value to individual poets' contents and performances.
Poetry slam has become an international artistic sport, with more than 100 major poetry slams in the United States, Canada, Australia and Western Europe. Slam poets have opened at the Winter Olympics, performed at the White House and at the United Nations General Assembly and were featured on "Russell Simmons' Def Poets" on HBO.
Sedona has sent four-poet teams to represent the city at the National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C., Boston, Cambridge, Mass., Oakland, Calif., Decatur, Ga., Denver and Chicago.