Sponsored by
Art That Heals, Inc. * McAllen Chamber of Commerce * Raul Tijerina, Jr. Foundation * Narciso Martínez Cultural Arts Center * El Zarape Press *
~Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival: Established 2008~
"Let the plethora of words commence!"
The Narciso Martínez Cultural Arts Center
Founded by Daniel Garcia Ordaz and Brenda Nettles Riojas with Creative Director: Vanessa Brown Now Seeking Sponsors to join Art That Heals, Inc., the Mcallen Chamber of Commerce, the Raul Tijerina, Jr. Foundation, McAllen Creative Incubator, the Narciso Martínez Cultural Arts Center, El Zarape Press, and Heredado Designs.
Phone: (956) 358-7211
Celebrate National Poetry Month . . .
WHAT: "Valley International Poetry Festival: Youth Slam and Adult Slam!
WHERE: Weslaco Public Library
ADDRESS: Weslaco, TX
TIME: Youth Slam: 6 -- 6:45 p.m.
Competition will begin after rules are explained, etc., at 6:15 p.m.
FYI: All events will be free and open to the public. Books, Chapbooks, CDs, T-shirts, etc., for sale.
Contact: Daniel García Ordaz, Founder, @ 956-358-7211
SEE SLAM RULES BELOW
Youth Poetry Slam Contest (Mission)
6:00 – 6:45 p.m.
Jitterz Coffee Bar
Note: Recitation contest open to high school students; 6:00 register to compete.
Slam Rules: www.vipf.org/yslam.html
UT-Pan American Student and Faculty Readings (Mission)
6:45 – 7:45 p.m.
Jitterz Coffee Bar
Note: While we respect freedom of speech, this is a family establishment; appropriate language is expected; inappropriate language will not be tolerated.
Open Mic (Mission)
7:45 – 8:30 p.m.
Jitterz Coffee Bar
Sign up with M.C.
Featured Poet Reading: Jesse G. Herrera (Mission)
8:30 – 8:45 p.m.
Jitterz Coffee Bar
Featured Poet Reading: Michael Guinn (Mission)
8:45 – 9:05 p.m.
Jitterz Coffee Bar
Adult Poetry Slam (Weslaco)
9:10 – 10:30 p.m.
Weslaco Public Library
Note: Recitation contest open to registered poets only.
Master of Ceremonies: Daniel Garcia Ordaz
Slam Rules: www.vipf.org/slam.html
Rules:
1. Competitors must be present on stage exactly at 6 p.m. (YOUTH) for final sign-in in order to compete.
Competitors will be posing for a group photo onstage before the slam, so be ready. After the slam, students will be allowed to pose with featured and registered poets.
2. Competitors will be drawing numbers to choose the reading order.
3. Depending on the amount of poets competing, competitors should be prepared to read three to four poems. All poems must be original--written by the contestant. Poets may read one poem twice--in other words, they may repeat one of their poems--at any time during the competition. So poets should have at least two unique poems ready.
4. Everyone will read during round one. Each round at least one person and up to five poets may be eliminated.
5. Poets with the lowest scores are out. This will continue until only two poets are left onstage. They will flip a coin to determine the order of reading. The person with the highest cumulative scores will call heads or tails.
6. Each poet has three minutes to read. The time starts when the poet starts to speak. (If you have to start again, you may, but the clock starts when you start the first time.) No props. No costumes. No music.
7. Poets going over the three-minute mark, plus a ten-second grace period--will be docked one point from their score for every ten seconds over three minutes.
8. An odd number of judges will be selected at random from the audience by the M.C., or head judge. Each judge will score poems on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest. The highest and lowest scores may be thrown out.
9. Scores will be cumulative, except in the final, or championship round. In that round, it's a one-shot deal; everyone starts with zero.
10. The festival founders, or their designee, are/is the final judge(s).
ALL EVENTS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC (unless otherwise noted)
[2011 Registered Poets] [2011 Featured Poets] [2011 Schedule of Events] [2011 Venues] [2011 Poetry Pachanga] [2011 Sponsors & Sponsorship Opportunities] [2011 Volunteer Opportunities] [2011 Youth Poetry Slam] [2011 Adult Poetry Slam] [2011 Registration] [Boundless 2011 Anthology Submissions] [2011 VIPF Home]