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Annual Poetry Convention
Catch Poetry: State & Page

BlackBerry Peach National Slam Poetry Competition

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June, 2023 at the West Des Moines Marriott in Des Moines, Iowa

We are thrilled that the National Federation of State Poetry Societies annual convention and national slam competition is so close to us this year! All events are open to the public and we encourage you to attend.

We plan to take full advantage of this opportunity. Hannah Johnson won the tryouts held in April, 2023 and will be the spoken word poet to represent Nebraska at the national competition. 

Annual Convention

Catch Poetry: State & Page

June 22nd – June 26th, 2023

at: West Des Moines Marriott
Des Moines, IA

Catch Poetry: State & Page is a great opportunity to meet other poets from across the country, hone your skills, and get inspired by published poets. It has four days packed full of poetry events.

Each day of the conference, you will have writing workshops to improve your skills. There will be readings from several notable poets each day and open mic time for you to take the stage and share your work.

The conference is in a different state each year, so don’t miss this opportunity to attend while it is close to Nebraska!

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Register for Annual Convention --- Catch Poetry: Stage & Page

Conference $75: Convention registrants can also attend all events of the BlackBerry Peach National Slam Poetry Competition.

All Meals Package $170: Options for purchasing lunch ($18) and dinner ($29) individually is available on the NFSPS convention website

All Event Pass $245: Includes conference pass and all meals

 

Itinerary for the Annual Convention — Catch Poetry: State & Page

Thursday, June 22nd

Registration Opens: 9:30a

How to Conduct a Slam Competition: 1:30p-4p Panel Discussion with:

  • Kelsey Bigelow: a multi-slam champion, published poet, and workshop leader from Iowa

  • Ed Mabrey: a poet, professional speaker, screenwriter, comedian, voice actor, and considered to be the GOAT of Poetry Slam, and currently living in LA.

  • Thomas Sayer Ellis: a published poet and author, photographer, and band leader from Washington, D.C., who founded the Dark Room Collective to give greater visibility to writers of color.

Meet the Poets: 5:30p-6:30p

Open Mic Poetry Reading: 10p

Friday, June 23rd

Open Mic Poetry Reading: 7:30a-8:30a

"Strange Times for Rhymes: Writing Poetry After the Pandemic" Poetry Workshop: 10:45a-11:45a taught by Jennifer Knox, a professor at Iowa State University and author of Crushing It.

Iowa Showcase: 2:45p-5p featuring:

  • Jennifer Knox: teaches at Iowa State University and is the author of Crushing It.

  • Hai-Dang Phan: a poet, translator, essayist, and author of Reenactments, currently living in Iowa City and teaching at Grinnell College.

  • Dr. Paul Brook: professor and Endowed Chair of Creative Writing at Grand View University in Des Moines, and an award-winning poet and author with five books of poetry.

  • Linda Brown: author of numerous poems, plays, short stories, essays, and three novels.

  • Hannah/Charlie Hall: a storyteller, poet, award-winning spoken word poet, and writer from Iowa City.

  • Ray Young Bear: an award-winning poet and novelist who was raised in the Meskwaki Tribal Settlement in Iowa who has published six books of poetry and two novels.

Keynote Speaker: 7:30p-8:30p Vince Gotera is the leading Filipino American poet of his generation and editor of the North American Review. He has published three books of poetry.

Open Mic Poetry Reading: 8:45p-10p

Saturday, June 24th

Open Mic Poetry Reading: 7:30a-8:30a

Dramatic Presentation of Your Poetry Workshop: 1p-3p with Caleb Rainey, an author performer and producer from Columbia. He was named the Best Poet/Spoken Word Performer in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City in 2020 and 2021.

Open Mic Poetry Reading: 10p

 

Sunday, June 25th

Open Mic Poetry Reading: 8a-9a

Panel Discussion: 9:30a-11:45a

Writing Workshop: 2:15p-4p with Thomas Sayer Ellis, a published poet and author, photographer, and band leader from Washington, D.C., who founded the Dark Room Collective to give greater visibility to writers of color.

Keynote Speaker Address: 7:30p-8:30p by Thomas Sayer Ellis, a published poet and author, photographer, and band leader from Washington, D.C., who founded the Dark Room Collective to give greater visibility to writers of color.

Open Mic Poetry Reading: 10p

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NPS National Slam Tryout Winner

Hannah Johnson

Hannah will represent Nebraska at the BlackBerry Peach National Slam Competition 

Help us send Hannah to Nationals!

Submit your donation here. All proceeds go towards Hannah's registration, hotel, meals, and expenses.

She's representing Nebraska, so let's help her shine!

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Thank you to our judges!

Phillip Bauldwin

Phillip is currently the Host of the Benson theatre. He has had a passion for poetry since the age of 10 when he won 2nd place at a Fox 42 talent show by reciting poetry. At the age of 11 he was selected by The Omaha Housing Authority Association to speak and recite poetry at charity events. In his adult years his accomplishments include receiving “The Best Creative Essay Award” from Metropolitan Community College for his short story titled, The Rebel who Conformed. Phillip continues to pursue his passion for poetry by reciting at and hosting open mic events. 

Jessica Freeman

Jessica is an Omaha-based poet, visual artist, and educator. A former art teacher with Omaha Public Schools, Jessica currently serves as the Education Manager at the Union for Contemporary Art in Historic North Omaha.  

AA Monet

AA is an African American female author and poet of her work, Lost And Found, which can be found in local bookstores around the Omaha area! For the poet, poetry gave her pain a place to heal. AA Monet focuses on initiatives that create spaces for emotions to freely and safely exist. 

Courtney Kilroy

Courtney is a poet, library professional, and fiber artist based in Omaha, Nebraska. In their art practice and work as a librarian, they seek to encourage curiosity, celebrate inherent goodness, and speak to the universalities of unique human experiences. They have a background in slam poetry and currently cohost Corner’s Space, a biweekly poetry workshop designed to encourage artists to explore, learn, share, and grow through the poetic form, at the KANEKO-UNO Library.

Chad M. Christensen

Chad is the managing editor of the WSC Press and the director of the Plains Writers Series. He has an MFA from the University of Nebraska Omaha and teaches writing and publishing at Wayne State College. His books of lo-fi poetry are Ground Bound and Shoot from the Hip (Pseudo Poseur Productions), and his latest poems have appeared in Sugar House Review and Plainsongs. He also writes a column for The Big Smoke called “Boy with Shovel.” His latest book No More Passing Notes in Death Class is forthcoming Fall 2023.

Hannah Johnson
Hannah has been writing slam since 2015, where she began at her high school Louder Than a Bomb club. She has competed in the Miss Nebraska and Miss America Organization since 2019 where she competed with slam poetry in the talent portion of the competition. Hannah uses her platform to talk about difficult topics such as depression, sexual assault, women’s rights, and growing up as a young adult in a fast changing society. 

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We heard great work from Jamie, Maghie, Alexia, Kaylee, Christopher, SeanHannah, and Abu Bakar

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The three finalists: Maghie, Alexia, and Hannah

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MC: Nathan Lachner
Nathan (@tracesofaheadspace) is a poet and essayist who has been writing in one form or another for 1 years. Evolving from the ideas of beauty in language, poetry as confession of self, and a desire to do the words good, his work tends towards the bittersweet, seeking always to find hope and wisdom inside of pain and joy alike. Also an aspiring voice actor, Nathan delights in the auditory roots of language, and endeavors to bring that passion to his performances."

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BlackBerry Peach National

Slam Poetry Competition

June 21st – June 24th, 2023

at: West Des Moines Marriott
Des Moines, IA

The National Competition is limited to 40 of the top spoken word poets from across the country. It is held by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS) and sponsored by the Iowa Poetry Association (IPA).

Registration/Berth

The Nebraska Poetry Society has reserved and paid the Berth for the winning poet from the NPS National Slam Tryouts. The winning poet will also receive a stipend for some or all their expenses and lodging fees. Fundraising efforts will determine the stipend amount.

It is possible to compete in BlackBerry Peach without attending, or winning the NPS National Slam Tryouts. Poets can register themselves here and pay their lodging and travel. However, space is limited and will sell out.

BlackBerry Peach National Slam Poetry Competition Registration/Berth $175: Includes a one-year membership to the NFSPS and their state’s poetry society. All slam participants may also participate in any of the convention events.

 

Prizes

First Place: $2,000

Second Place: $1,000

Third Place: $500

Fourth Place: $250

Fifth-Twelfth Place: $100

 

BlackBerry Peach National Slam Poetry Competition Itinerary

Orientation: 4pm Wednesday, June 21st

Round One: 7p-11p Wednesday, June 21st

Round Two: 7p-11p Thursday, June 22nd

Round Three/Finals: 7p-11p Saturday, June 24th

 

Competition Format

Time Limit: All poems in the competition have a 3-minute time limit. The grace period for Prelims is 10 seconds. The grace period for Finals is 20 seconds.

Judging: Five judges will score each poem on a scale of 1 to 10, utilizing one decimal place to give further nuance to the scores.

Prelims: Round One and Round Two

Poems: Poems cannot be repeated in any round, including any tie-breaking rounds.

Bout Limit: A maximum of 10 poets will compete in each bout.

Order: There will be two rounds in each bout. The order in the first round will be chosen by random draw. The order in the second round will be determined by the first-round scores, in order of highest score to lowest.

Scoring: The highest and lowest score from the 5 judges will be dropped. The remaining three scores will be added to the poet’s total score for the round. 

Eliminations: After the two rounds, all scores are added together. The highest cumulative score shall be given a ranking of 1. The next highest will earn a ranking of 2, and so on, with the lowest cumulative score awarded a ranking of 10. The 12 highest-ranked poets (those with the lowest numbers) will advance to the Finals. The 13th highest-ranked poet will serve as the sacrificial poet to begin the Finals.

Ties: Ties for poets who could advance to the final stage will be broken by comparing the cumulative scores of the poets in question over both days of Prelims. If there is still a tie, the dropped judges’ scores from all rounds will be added back in. If the resulting score still results in a tie, there will be a tie-break slam to determine who advances.

 

Finals

Poems: Poems from the Prelims may be repeated in the finals.

Rounds: The Finals will have three rounds, with eliminations at each round. Scores for the last two rounds will be cumulative.

Order: The order in the first round will be chosen by random draw. The order in the second round will be determined by the first-round scores, in order of highest score to lowest.

Eliminations: After the first round, the 8 highest scoring poets will advance to the second round. After the second round, the 4 highest scoring poets progress to the final round. After the third round, the highest-scoring poet wins.

Ties: If there is a tie, the pots may decide to be co-champions, or they may do another unscored round judged by the panel.

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