From Volcanoartcenter.org . . .

VOLCANO POETRY SLAM
emceed by Kimberly Dark

Friday, May 29
7:00 p.m.
Niaulani Campus in Volcano Village
$5 at the door for both audience and poets

This high-energy, audience-judged poetry competition is emceed by performance poet Kimberly Dark, and is open to the public, both as audience members and participating poets.

ABOUT THE EVENT

"A well-run poetry slam nurtures a creative writing and performing community," says spoken word and performance artist Kimberly Dark. "Poets have a venue to share their work and they may also improve their work because of the feedback they get from the audience. And everyone has fun. That's the main thing: the show is engineered for the audience. It's not an open mic night. There are rules, clever banter, and fast moving fun."

Dark is the standing host of the Volcano Art Center’s popular Volcano Poetry Slam, which takes place two or three times a year, whenever Dark is home from touring her one-woman shows. A slam merges the spoken word with dramatic presentation, which ranges from the personal to the political, the poignant to the comedic. (Since poets cover a wide range of topics, parents are advised that some material may not be appropriate for children.)

"I've hosted poetry slams at various venues over the years and the Volcano Poetry Slam is definitely my favorite," says Dark. "The audience is so diverse and enthusiastic and the poets represent a lovely mixture of cultures, writing, and performance styles and topics."

THE PARTICULARS

The Volcano Poetry Slam is open to the public, both as audience members and participating poets. Up to 15 poets can compete, with poets chosen by lottery that evening at 7 p.m. sharp. Five judges are chosen from volunteer audience members, who are instructed on how to score based on the poets' content and performance. The reactions of other audience members, who are encouraged to show their vocal approval or disapproval of the judges' scores, are an integral, often entertaining part of the slam experience.

"You may have heard that poetry slams are scary and competitive, and indeed, there is an element of competition because we ask five audience members to judge the work. It's playful though, and... if anyone gets booed, it's the judges!" quips Dark.

The rules for participating poets are simple. First, bring two poems of your own construction (though not everyone gets to round two). Second, make sure each poem is no longer than three minutes performed (if you go over, points are deducted from your score). Finally, poems can be read or memorized, but no props please. Prizes are awarded to the top three finalists.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

(808) 967-8222 or visit Volcanoartcenter.org.