We will be hosting the first slam here, on this column. I would come up with some cutsie little name for a corner café type of thing, but I don’t feel like it. If you want to, I’ll add it to the column & such.
As the slam master of these bouts, its my duty to gently remind you all of the rules of slam. They are truly simple. Teams of poets will perform poems of 3 minutes or less, with a flexible 10 seconds in there. Though parodies & references are allowed, all poets work must be original. Four audience members & myself will serve as the judges of these poems based on both performance & poetry. The scores will range from 1 to 10, going only to one decimal point. Sorry, not 3.1415 blah blah blah shit. In Olympic fashion [where this contest started], the top & bottom scores will dropped. To calibrate our judges, I will perform a poem of my own & give you all a chance to hone your scores for tonight. The top team in each slam will move to the finals & the bottom teams will be slaming for their livelihood in this competition. The important to remember here though is that “the point’s not the points, it’s the poetry.”
A note to the judges:
Since we are not going to be able to actually see these performances, we are going to keep the escence of the slam. I've been debating with myself how to judge this slam, but I've decided. Just read each poem once, either outloud or with your eyes. I personally will be reading them outloud. Then give them their scores, on the spot. In an actual slam, you aren't allowed to go back & analyze metaphors & vocabulary, you take it as it comes, & that same concept is going to stick here.
Our performers & order for each round, with scores soon to follow:
first round
Team A
"combustion"
Chandni: 8.7, Kevin: 8.4, Nate: 7.5, Mark: 7.9, Myself: 8.3
Total score: 24.6
Team score: 24.6
Team D
"time is god"
Chandni: 8.9, Kevin: 9.5, Mark: 8.7, Nate: 9.7, Myself: 9.2
Total score: 27.6
Team score: 27.6
Team E
"grey area"
Chandni: 8.7, Kevin: 8.8, Mark: 7.9, Nate: 9, Myself: 8.6
Total score: 26.1
Team score: 26.1
second round
Team D
"beat"
Chandni: 8.5, Kevin: 8.6, Mark: 9.1, Nate: 8.7, Myself: 8.6
Total score: 25.9
Team score: 53.5
Team E
"ivy is a subtle noose"
Chandni: 8.8, Kevin: 8, Mark: 8.6, Nate: 8.8, Myself: 8.7
Total score: 26.1
Team score: 52.2
Team A
"the slipped specter within storm"
Chandni: 9.3 , Kevin: 9.5, Mark: 9.8, Nate: 9.9, Myself: 9.7
Total score: 29
Team score: 53.6
Third round:
Team E
"No Happily Ever After"
Chandni: 8.3, Kevin: 8.0, Mark: 7.4, Nate: 7.5, Myself: 7.3
Total score: 22.9
Team score: 75.1
Team A
"how to lower your self-esteem in 10 days"
Chandni: 9.4, Kevin: 8.9, Mark: 9.1, Nate: 9.7, Myself: 9.6
Total score: 28.1
Team score: 81.7
Team D
"white picket fences were never meant for you. nor were pants that tangled your legs"
Chandni: 8.9, Kevin: 8.7, Mark: 9.3, Nate: 8.5, Myself: 9.4
Total score: 26.9
Team score: 80.4
fourth round
Team A
"My Myspace Sexes Yours"
Chandni: 9.8, Kevin: 9.5, Mark: 9.5, Nate: 9.9, Myself: 9.7
Total score: 29
Team score: 110.7
Team D
"pigeon dearest waves a dove feather for peace"
Chandni: 8.7, Kevin: 9.0, Mark: 8.9, Nate: 9.2, Myself: 9.4
Total score: 27.1
Team score: 107.5
Team E
"wisdom void"
Chandni: 9.6 , Kevin: 9.3, Mark: 9, Nate: 9.1, Myself: 9.4
Total score: 27.8
Team score: 102.9
Final team scores:
Team A: 110.7
Team D: 107.5
Team E: 88.9**
Deductions
Team E: -14 points. Poem turned in "2 hours ago" at 3:15PM.**
& our second bout of the night:
first round
Team B
Cassie: 0, Marty: 0, Stef: 0, Tyler: 0, Myself: 0
Total score: 0
Team score: 0
Team C
"Zeitgeist"
Cassie: 6.8 , Marty: 6.5 , Stef: 6.6 , Tyler: 7.4 , Myself: 6.8
Total score: 20.2
Team score: 20.2
second round
Team C
"Convictions Among Leaves"
Cassie: 9.0, Marty: 8.5, Stef: 8.7 , Tyler: 9.1 , Myself: 8.9
Total score: 26.6
Team score: 46.8
Team B
Cassie: 0, Marty: 0, Stef: 0, Tyler: 0, Myself: 0
Total score: 0
Team score: 0
third round
Team B
Cassie: 0, Marty: 0, Stef: 0, Tyler: 0, Myself: 0
Total score: 0
Team score: 0
Team C
"I'm pretty sure this is your reflection."
Cassie: 8.7, Marty: 8, Stef: 9.5 , Tyler: 9.6 , Myself: 9.3
Total score: 27.5
Team score: 74.3
fourth round
Team B
Cassie: 0, Marty: 0, Stef: 0, Tyler: 0, Myself: 0
Total score: 0
Team score: 0
Team C
"get over it"
Cassie: 8.6, Marty: 9, Stef: 8.8, Tyler: 8.7, Myself: 8.7
Total score: 26.2
Team score: 100.5
Final team score:
Team B 0
Team C 100.5
[Please note that in the second bout, the order would usually be decided by my personal preference as to which team would go first each round by who’s ahead in points, but since we have the alphabet, I’m just making it easier this way.]
I will be updating as poems & scores come in. I'm still editing the column itself, so be patient.
Since people have been confused about due dates, I will move things up one minute. Remember, poems & their order for this pre-liminary round are due at 11:59PM tonight, May 14th. Poems for the final round are due Friday, May 16th at 11:59PM. This is a new date once again & should give you all a chance to put everything together, considering the fact we will know our final bouts for sure by then. Also, don't forget that you may use prewrites for this final round.
Update: Since Bri dropped, we're back to four rounds each team again.
Update #2: There is something up with some of your teams. Stef has yet to turn in her poem. Team B did not turn anything in, which I find very weird & Audri didn't turn in her poem, even though Pu has covered for her.
I am not going to straight up eliminate you guys. Here's the deal: For every hour it takes for you to turn your stuff in, that will be a point off of your teams end score. As for Audri's case, since Pu did cover for her team, I will only deduct .3 for every hour, since Pu did show team work & such.
For right now, hold off on judging. I will get on bright & early tomorrow. If nothing has changed in the way of poems, then we will say screw the order & judge when we want to. :]
I will be going over math tomorrow, just to make sure, but I'm pretty sure I didn't mess it up. haha
Good luck, guys.
-Chase
Adding your comment:
hehe i'll go the second round i guess!
☆ 
that wasn't bribing!
