BRAVE NEW VOICES, INTERNATIONAL YOUTH POETRY SLAM FESTIVAL RULES
 

• There must be a minimum of four people on each team, a maximum of six. No alternates. All 6 can be

on the team. We do this so as to encourage the involvement of more youth from your area. Teams can

bring other youth, who can be incorporated into all aspects of the festival except the slam itself

(additional youth can be sacrificial poets).

• No more than 4 poets on the stage at any time (during the slam). By “on the stage,” we mean as a part

of the poem.

• Team members must between 13-19 years old (cannot turn 20 before April 29, 2005).

• Teams must have a minimum of one adult sponsor/ mentor over the age of 21 for every 4 youth.

• Teams must do their best to attend all of the festival events. We have put together an incredible lineup

of performance and growth opportunities. We strongly encourage you to participate in all aspects of

the festival.

• All participating youth, even those over 21, must submit a signed permission slip or acknowledgment

form before arriving in New York (see below)

• There is to be no alcohol or using of illegal drugs at any point as part of the festival (adults over the

age of 21 are free to have a few drinks, but please, no over indulgence). Any youth or adult caught

violating this policy will be asked to leave, and will serve a probationary period of one year before

being eligible to be a part of future BNV festivals.

• We encourage everyone to be as gregarious and outgoing as possible. This is a once-in-a-lifetime

opportunity to meet, share, and build with a community of young writers, leaders, and educators from

across the country (and beyond). Please take advantage of this.

• There are no wrong answers and the standard is yourself. Please show us all how dope you really are.
 

SLAM GUIDELINES –

Although we distress the competition, we have come up with the following guidelines. Please abide by them so as to avoid controversy and keep the focus on the fun and expansive nature of poetry and the festival as a whole.

• 4-6 members per team.

• No more than 4 members involved in any one poem during the slam competition itself.

• Teams must prepare at least one individual poem per member.

• All of the work used in the Slam must be original writing by the individuals slamming. Teams that

plagiarize will be disqualified. Plagiarism, as defined by Miriam-Webster, is to steal and pass off (the

ideas or words of another) as one's own; use (another's production) without crediting the source; to

commit literary theft; present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

• Group pieces constructed and performed as duets, trios, and quartets are not only permissible, but also

encouraged. Each performing member of a group piece must have participated in the writing of the

group piece.

• The Slam is about the poet(s) and the mic(s). Props may not be used in the Slam. Props are defined as

any non-body piece of equipment. Musical accompaniment (excluding mouth/body percussion) may

not be used in the Slam.

• Each individual and group piece must be under three minutes in length. We will have a 30 second

grace period, after which significant time penalties will incur.

• If individuals or teams go over the time limits, their scores will be penalized .5 for each 10 seconds

beyond 3:30 minutes, starting at 3 minutes 40 seconds. (e.g. up to 3:39 – no penalty; 3:40 to 3:49 - .5

point penalty; 3:50 to 3:59 – 1 point penalty, etc.)

• There is no censorship whatsoever, but gratuitous use of profanity could work against you when it

comes to scoring. It is recommended that teams regulate themselves and try to avoid excessive

violence, sexually explicit content and/or language that is degrading to any group of people. Please,

do it for the love.

• Teams as a whole can repeat a maximum of 2 poems throughout the slam, except for the 8 teams who

make the semi-finals. Semi-Finalists will be allowed 3 repeats. Choose wisely. We do this to

encourage young folks to push your creativity and write/perform new work. To clarify, this is two

poems that can be performed twice by the entire team, not by each individual member (3 in case of

the semi-final teams). Because there are two preliminary bouts (4 rounds), the Semi-Finals (4 rounds),

and the Finals (4 rounds), each team should prepare a minimum of 13 poems for the Slam itself.

There are many opportunities for open mics and other readings as well.
 

Preliminary & Semi-Final BOUTS (word courtesy of the Taos Poetry Circus)
 

• Each team will compete in TWO Preliminary bouts.

• 8 Teams will participate in the Semi-Finals, and 4-5 Teams in the Finals

• Each Bout will have a scorekeeper, timekeeper, bout manager and emcee.

• Bouts are 4 rounds.

• The Slam will be judged by a mixed panel of poets, adults and young people who are in no way

affiliated with the teams who participate in the Slam. Many judges will be pre-selected, and some will

come from the audience. We will shoot for diversity in the judging panel.