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 and are holding tryouts in April, 2023 to select a spoken word poet to represent Nebraska at the national competition.
Saturday, April 29th 4p-9p
at: The Meadowlark
1624 South St, Lincoln, NE
At the Nebraska Poetry Society (NPS) Slam Tryouts, the winning poet is selected to represent Nebraska at the BlackBerry Peach National Slam Poetry Competition.
NPS has paid for the poet’s Registration/Berth. NPS will also provide a stipend to cover some or all the poet’s travel and hotel expenses. Fundraising efforts will determine the stipend amount.
National Slam Tryout Format
Registration: Poets may register in advance here, or they may register on the day of the event. We will begin taking walk-ins at the event at 4:15p. The competition will start at 5p.
Fees: There is no fee to participate. We are asking for donations from the audience and those attending. All donations will be used to cover the expenses for the winning poet at the BlackBerry Peach National Slam Poetry Competition. Donations are also accepted here.
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: Judges will score each poem on a scale of 1 to 10, utilizing one decimal place to give further nuance to the scores.
Poems: The poems must be written by the poet without any AI assistance. Vulgar or offensive language of any sort will not be accepted. Poems cannot be repeated in any round, including any tie-breaking rounds.
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. If there is a large turnout, and we do not have time for all poets to compete in the second round, the poets with the lowest scores will not move on to the second round.
Scoring: 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.
Eliminations: The highest-ranked poets (those with the lowest numbers) will advance to the final round. The highest-ranked poet, not moving on to the final round, will serve as the sacrificial poet to begin the final round.
Ties: Ties in any round, including the final round, are solved by adding scores from all judges and all rounds. If there is still a tie, a tie-breaking round will be held.
Prize: The highest-scoring poet in the final round wins and is given a paid trip (full or partial, depending on fundraising results) to the BlackBerry Peach National Slam Poetry 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!
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:
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Kelsey Bigelow: a multi-slam champion, published poet, and workshop leader from Iowa
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Ed Mabrey: a poet, professional speaker, screenwriter, comedian, voice actor, and considered to be the GOAT of Poetry Slam, and currently living in LA.
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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
Eco Poetry/Ekphrastic 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:
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Jennifer Knox: teaches at Iowa State University and is the author of Crushing It.
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Hai-Dang Phan: a poet, translator, essayist, and author of Reenactments, currently living in Iowa City and teaching at Grinnell College.
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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.
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Linda Brown: author of numerous poems, plays, short stories, essays, and three novels.
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Hannah/Charlie Hall: a storyteller, poet, award-winning spoken word poet, and writer from Iowa City.
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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
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).
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.