Central Library Hosting Bards & Brews 1st Poetry Slam of 2025 on February 7

 What: Bards & Brews Poetry Slam

When: Friday, February 7, 2025, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Where: Central Library, 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL, 35203

Details: 10 talented spoken word artists will compete for $350 in cash prizes ($200 1st place, $100 2nd, $50) in the Birmingham Public Library's first Bards & Brews poetry slam of 2025. Guitarist David Hobdy will provide entertainment. On-site registration begins at 6:00 p.m. and poetry begins to flow at 6:30 p.m. $5 registration fee required for participating poets. Free admission. Must be 18 to enter and 21 or older to drink alcoholic beverages. Bards & Brews is sponsored by the Alabama State Council of the Arts, which provided a grant to the Friends Foundation of the Birmingham Public Library.

 Birmingham, Ala. - Have you ever been to a spoken word poetry slam? Join us at the Central Library in downtown Birmingham at 6:30 p.m. this Friday, February 7, for the Birmingham Public Library’s first Bards & Brews Poetry Slam of 2025.

 Some of metro Birmingham's top spoken word poets will compete for a combined $350. The slam is limited to the first 10 poets to sign up on-site beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Central Library, 2100 Park Place. The first place winner will receive $200, second place wins $100, and  the third-place poet will receive $50.   Members of the audience who volunteer as judges will choose he winner. 

A poetry slam is a competition using elimination rounds in which individuals perform their own original poetry.  Judges give scores from 1 to 10, and the highest finishers advance to the next round. Attendees are encouraged to  attempt to sway the judges' opinions by cheering on their favorite poets or booing judges' scores they do not like. 

Bards Emcee Thed Weller is hosting the slam. Entertainment will be provided by guitarist David Hobdy, an employee in the Central Library's Computer Commons.  

 Free samples of alcoholic beverages will be provided. You must be 18 or older to enter and 21 or older with proof of age to drink. Bards & Brews is sponsored by a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts to the Friends Foundation of the Birmingham Public Library.

 In its 15th year, Bards & Brews is one of BPL's most popular programs, and has built a reputation for unifying metro Birmingham's arts community, especially the spoken word scene.   

 Registration this Friday will start promptly at 6:00 at the Central Library. The slam is open to the first 10 poets who register in person by paying a $5 entry fee. 

The slam will have 3 rounds between the 10 competitors, followed by a final round with the top poets. Scoring will be cumulative. 

Here are the rules for competing in the slam:

* 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 will have a 3-minute time limit per poet with a 10 second grace period. After 3:10, a poet's score will be 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 judge scores are added together to get the poet's score per round.

* The top poets will advance to the finals. A slam off with one final performance from each finalist will decide a tie.   

Bards Host Thed Weller will choose 5 volunteers from the audience to serve as judges. 

Judges must:

* Be impartial. Judges must not be related to - or friends of - any of the poet competitors.

* Be able to stay for the duration of the competition.

* Not sit next to another judge.

Come see why Bards & Brews - especially poetry slams - has become so popular by joining us at the Central Library this Friday night!

For more information on programs happening at the Birmingham Public Library, follow BPL on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. 

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 By Roy L. Williams, PR Director|Birmingham Public Library