How To: Organize a Poetry Slam for Your Cause

Who says you can't use art to promote change? Poetry is a great way to tell people about your cause and get them to take action.

1. Seeing is Believing. Before you do anything, go to a few poetry slams in your area. This will give you some tips on what to do and what not to do for your own event. If you don’t have any slams nearby, you can try to rent one of the many documentaries on poetry slams. Check out Slamnation or HBO's Def Poetry series.
2. Pick a Poetic Place. You want to find a space that is big enough to accommodate a lot of people, but one that isn’t so big that voices will get lost. Your school’s library or auditorium might work. Otherwise, you can check out local places like the community center, town hall, or a nearby cafe.
3. Go Team, Go. Friends or family can help you with the event. Together, write out a long-term plan of action and designate a certain task to each person in your group. Remember to figure out who will be judging the event, what the contestants will be judged on, and what they might win as a prize. Remember to get judges that you know won’t be biased in their decisions.
4. Hype It Up! Talk about the event at school, and post fliers for it everywhere you can. Once you have permission, make sure the posters include:
   • that a person can come as a performer or just as an audience member
   • the details for the people who want to peform, like age, sign-up sheet location, poem length, or theme (i.e. anti-smoking)
   • the date, time, and location
   • lots of colors to get people's attention
5. Snack Attack. Bake some goodies to sell them during the event. Donate the profits to a charity or organization that benefits the cause you support.
6. Detail Time. You may want to create a program with info on the poets. This is also a great place to insert some facts about your cause and give action ideas.
7. Running Smoothly. Make a schedule of performances and allow some extra time between poets. Never let the microphone stand alone; if you are waiting for a poet, it’s up to you to get up there and entertain the audience for a couple minutes. If you're not comfortable with this, find someone who can emcee. It's up to that person to keep the audience engaged between acts.
8. F-U-N, Fun! Have fun, enjoy yourself, make sure the crowd is energized and the poets feel comfortable.