Big Island Events: Volcano Poetry Slam at the VAC Jan. 17th

Poetry is Slammin’ in Volcano


“A well-run poetry slam nurtures a creative writing and performing community. And I think
that’s what’s happening at the Volcano Art Center (VAC),” says spoken word and performance artist
Kimberly Dark.

“Poets have a venue to share their work and they may also improve their work because of
the feedback they get from the audience. And everyone has fun. That’s the main thing: the show is engineered for the audience. It’s not an open mic night. There are rules, clever banter, and fast moving fun,” she adds.

Dark emcees VAC’s popular Volcano Poetry Slam, which takes place two or three times a year,
whenever she is home from touring her one-woman shows. The next slam is Friday, January 17 at 7
p.m. at VAC’s Niaulani Campus.

A poetry slam is a high-energy, audience-judged poetry competition. The genre merges the spoken
word with dramatic presentation, which ranges from the personal to the political, the poignant to the comedic. (Since poets cover a wide range of topics, parents are advised that some material may not be appropriate for children.)

“I’ve hosted poetry slams at various venues over the years and the Volcano Poetry Slam is
defi nitely my favorite,” notes Dark, who used to ‘play the poetry slam game’ quite often in California during the late 90s but now mostly hosts them. “The Volcano audience is so diverse and enthusiastic and the poets represent a lovely mixture of cultures, writing and performance styles, and topics.”

The Volcano Poetry Slam is open to the public, both as audience members and participating
poets. Up to 15 poets can compete, with poets chosen by lottery that evening at 7 p.m. sharp.

Five judges are chosen at random from the audience, who are then instructed on how to score based on the poets’ content and performance. The reactions of other audience members, who are encouraged to show their vocal approval or disapproval of the judges’ scores, are an integral, entertaining part of the slam
experience.

The rules for participating poets are simple. First, bring two poems of your own construction
(though not everyone gets to round two). Second, make sure each poem is no longer than three
minutes performed (if you go over, points are deducted from your score). Finally, poems can be read or memorized, but no props please. Prizes are awarded to the top three finalists.

“You may have heard that poetry slams are scary and competitive, and indeed, there is an
element of competition because we ask five audience members to judge the work. It’s playful, though, and all the poets are respected when I host the slam. If anyone gets booed, it’s the judges (all in good fun, of course)!” quips Dark.
VAC’s Niaulani Campus is located on Old Volcano Road at the corner of Kalanikoa in Volcano
Village.

Admission is $5 at the door for both audience and poets. For more info, call or visit
www.volcanoartcenter.org