Bards & Brews Last Poetry Slam of 2024 Slated for Friday, September 6, at the Central Library

Bards & Brews Slam is back this September! We've got live music, craft beers to sip on, and our final poetry competition of 2024 that you don't want to miss. 

Join us next Friday, September 6, at the Central Library to see who will win our last slam. Bards & Brews is free and open to the public, but patrons must be 18+ to enter and 21+ with proof of I.D. to drink.

Thed Weller is hosting this slam and local singer/songwriter Kanou Babel (pictured below) is our guest performer! 

Kanou, originally from the Caribbean Island Haiti, is a singer songwriter who enjoys lacing his thoughtful and sometimes playful lyrics with the natural rhythms of home. Influenced by the sounds of New Orleans, he often thrills his audience with elements of jazz.

The Birmingham metro area's most talented poets will compete against each other with original spoken word poetry for three rounds for the chance to win cash prizes by impressing the audience volunteer judges. But only 10 poets get to compete, and only three poets will win.  

1st place wins $200.00, 2nd place wins $100.00, and 3rd place wins $50.00. While the volunteer judes decide the score, the rest of the audience can try to persuade the judges by cheering for their favorite poet or (politely) booing scores they disagree with. 

Registration starts promptly at 6:00 p.m. on-site at the Central Library, and it is open to the first 10 poets who register with the $5.00 entry fee. Poets must be at the library in person and must be prepared to compete with original spoken word poetry for three (3) rounds to register. 

The slam will have three rounds and a final round between the remaining two poets. Scoring is cumulative.

It's been a minute since we had a Slam—here are the rules for competing:

• Poets will be reminded before the slam that judges are chosen from the available audience

• All poems performed in the competition must be an original work of the performing poet

• Poets can sample up to 30–seconds of work from another artist

• Poets may use whatever is on stage and available to them during their performance

• No props, musical accompaniment, or costumes are allowed as a part of the performance

• Costumes are defined as any piece of clothing or accessory that is worn on stage which is not a piece of the poet's regular outfit; an item worn to enhance the poet's performance (like wearing a Superman t-shirt during a performance that references a superhero); and any form of nudity, including performing shirtless or in a swimsuit

• Performers should be careful not to put on or take off clothing while on stage as this could be considered a prop violation

• Poets have a 3–minute time limit with a 10–second grace period
• After 3:10, a poet's score is penalized .5 points for every 10–seconds over the time limit

• During the final round, the grace period is extended to 20–seconds

• The high and low scores of each poem are dropped and the remaining 3 scores are added together to get the poet's score

• Poets with the 3 highest scores at the end of the 3 rounds win 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place respectively

• A slam off with 1 final performance from each finalist will decide a tie

Expectations for Volunteer Judges:

Thed Weller, Bards & Brews's resident host, will choose 5 members from the audience to be our judges for the night. Before the slam, he will pull the judges aside to warn them about "score creep" and ask them to be consistent with their scoring. Score creep happens when judges give out increasingly higher scores as the rounds progress due to environmental factors instead of awarding scores based on merit.

Judges must:

• be impartial

• not be related to—including being friends with—any of the competitors or an employee of the venue

• be able to stay for the duration of the competition

• not sit next to another judge

Poems are judged from 0.0 to 10.0 with a single decimal point (like 6.2 or 9.5) encouraged as a tiebreaker. Judges should score based on their response to the poet's performance, relevance, and passion. A sacrifice poem from a non-competitor will open the slam so judges can practice scoring.

We've covered the Bards, so let's talk about the Brews!

Patrons are welcome to sample—for FREE—our select craft beers that we will have available that night at our Drinks Table. You must get your I.D. checked at the Welcome/Registration Table to try the beers; their table will give you a wristband to wear that staff at the Drink Table will mark off till you have had your allotted samples. 

Soft drinks, water, light snacks, and napkins will also be available at the Drink Table for free, no wristband necessary. Bathrooms in the Grand Commons will be available for Bards & Brews patrons on either side of the elevator. Come ready to compete and to have a good time next Friday at the Central Library!

Event Details: 

• Title: Bards & Brews September Slam
• Date: Friday, September 6, 2024
• Time: Registration starts at 6:00 p.m.| Slam starts at 6:30 p.m.
• Location: Birmingham Public Library | 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL 35203
• Grand Commons | East Building, First Floor
• Details: 10 poets will compete against each other for 3 rounds with their original spoken word poetry for the chance to win cash prizes with the audience judges deciding who wins. 1st place wins $200.00, 2nd place wins $100.00, and 3rd place wins $50.00. Only 10 poets are allowed to compete, and registration is open to the first 10 people to register with the $5.00 registration fee. Registration starts promptly at 6:00 p.m. on-site. This program is free and open to the public. Must be 18+ to enter and 21+ with proof of I.D. to drink. Free parking for patrons is provided in the library's attached parking lot until closing time.

Follow the Birmingham Public Library on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter for more updates like these. Follow Bards & Brews on Facebook to stay informed on all poetry related programs. 

Bards & Brews is sponsored by the Alabama State Council on the Arts. 

By Cheyenne Trujillo | Library Assistant Ⅲ, Public Relations