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2003 NATIONAL POETRY SLAM: THE MIDWEST CONNECTION
The biggest poetic news in Chicago right now is the 13th Annual National Poetry Slam, which will be held here from August 6 through 9, Thursday through Saturday with some preliminary festivities on Tuesday, August 5. I’m going to assume my readers know what the slam is, but if they don’t they can get the skinny from Poetry Slam, Inc. or Marc Smith (the father of the slam), or Kurt Heintz (Slam’s unofficial historian).
Nationals 2003 is the Biggest Slam Ever with 63 teams competing. As every team has four members, plus an alternate and a coach, at least 315 poets will be gathered in Chicago. Add the non-slam poets and scene followers who treat Nationals like a big poetry convention, and we will have maximum poetic density in the Windy City.
This poetic herd features 12 teams from the Midwest, 3 from Illinois and 2 from Chicago. Though this town is the place where Slam was created, it hasn’t fared too well in competition. Chicago hasn’t won since 1991 (when there were eight teams) and has only placed in the top four once in 12 years, back in 1997. There’s a variety of speculation as to why Chicago doesn’t win (one being the “second city” syndrome) -- but I believe part of the reason is that our teams are very skilled but tend to have too many serious poets. Slam tends to favor Big Topics and Big Emotions, but humor often makes the difference when scores are close, and Chicago is notorious for losing by a fraction of a point.
This year, however, all three Illinois teams are anchored by poets who do not take themselves too seriously. Mental Graffiti is handicapped by an all-male team, but they’re such a cute-ass bunch they may win on swoons alone. The Green Mill team is a combination of old hands and new members (at least for Chicago). The upstart team this year is from Normal, Illinois, a new venue started up by Joel Chmara, a long-time slam favorite in Chicago who went downstate to teach.
Whether Illinois triumphs or not, the Midwest is a major contender against the other regions. Despite a tendency for the coasts to dominate in competition, Heartland teams made the final four every year but two, and Detroit and Cleveland have both won it all. This may be the year for the Midwest to be the best.
CAN CHICAGO DO IT AGAIN?
Every year Nationals is held in a different city. Chicago has chosen to host for the second time in four years, making it the only city to host Nationals three times, and the most frequent host since the number of Slammers hit the triple digits.
Chicago’s confidence as Nationals central host city comes from having a Host Committee made up of seasoned slam hands, but the energy comes from a key member: Katherine Zwick (quoted in this NPR story). Katherine is not only half the age of most of the other Committee members, she’s the youngest person ever to work on Chicago’s Nationals. She deserves special mention as she’s doing triple time on one big project.
It’s not just the number of participants making 2003 a daunting year for Nationals. This is also a year of change for the slam community. For years the official Slam has been run by Poetry Slam Incorporated, a non-profit which owns the phrase “Poetry Slam.” Yet slam remained a grass roots movement; Nationals was organized and funded in a loose, freewheeling way. As poets are a fractious and cash-strapped bunch, and almost no one who works Nationals is paid, it is a miracle that Slam thrived and grew each year.
The National Poetry Slam has reached the limits of this operating method. All agree 63 teams is at and perhaps surpasses the size limit. Chicago was deemed strong enough to run such a large event while PSI works on a more centralized, long-term structure for the future (including hotly debated methods of limiting the number of teams).
Meanwhile, Def Poetry Jam increased the visibility of Slam poets on TV and Broadway. Some claim it has spread clichéd slam styles. Slam started as a rebellion against poetry institutions, but it is becoming an institution. This year’s Nationals is seen as determining whether slam remains a viable, entertaining art form (in my opinion, it definitely will).
Chicago now faces a more concrete, immediate issue: can it pull off the Biggest 13? The organizers have done it up right: scheduling workshops, discussions, special showcases and a book fair in addition to the slam bouts. Mayor Daley is dedicating the opening ceremonies at the Cultural Center. Almost all the events have one convenient location, trendy Wicker Park. One thing is uncertain: audience. Slam requires a decent turnout for every show, because the audience provides the judges. The first two nights involve 42 slams in 7 venues. Are there enough poetry enthusiasts in Chicago, and has there been enough PR to draw them in?
More importantly, can people afford it? Admission prices during the first few days is good -- $10 per night covers everything. The final Saturday night bout, however, is $35, the most expensive finals ever. This is because it’s being held at the Navy Pier Skyline Stage (which is controlled by Ticketmaster, so the price may be higher depending on how you buy your tickets). I’m sorry to be critical, but damn, for thirty-five plus dollars I expect a perfect venue, and the Skyline ain’t it. It’s an outdoor tent amphitheater, open to heat, rain and ambient noise, and the sound quality is inconsistent. Why the organizers chose this place over many other cheaper, more appropriate auditoriums is a mystery.
Beyond this problem, I’m looking forward to the amazing energy that will be generated from having a nation of poetic temperaments invade the lakefront. It should make for one wild dramatic week, no matter how things turn out.
