Event Details:
Coffee bar and bookstore open throughout the show.
If you are a poet interested in competing, please see the “Calling All Poets!” section below.
When
First Thursday of Every Month
Doors at 6:30, Show at 7:00pm
Show is about 2 hours long
Where
Blackbird Books & Coffee
323 Blake Street, Raleigh, NC
Historic City Market in Downtown Raleigh
How
Tickets are $5
First-come, first serve seating
Parking available on-street or paid lot behind building
Accessibility
Blackbird is an accessible venue. However, please note that the sidewalk outside is cobblestones and can be uneven.
If you have any questions or need specific accommodations, please don’t hesitate to reach out to raleighpoetryslam@gmail.com and we will do our absolute best to take care of you.
What is a poetry slam?
At a poetry slam, poets compete with original work and are scored by judges randomly selected from the audience on a scale of 0.0 to 10.0. Poets cannot use any props, costumes, or musical accompaniment, just whatever sounds they themselves can make on the microphone. Poets have a time limit of three minutes (with a ten second grace period), after which they will be deducted 0.5 points for every ten seconds over.
At the Raleigh Poetry Slam, we have two rounds, with 12 poets competing in the first, and 8 poets in the second. The poet with the highest cumulative score at the end of the night wins $100, and 2nd through 4th places get gift cards to Blackbird!
Still want to learn more about poetry slam?
Calling All Poets!
If you are interested in competing, please purchase a ticket and then confirm with the person at the door checking you in that you would like to compete. The list opens at 6:30 and closes at 7:00; if you have not checked in personally by 7:00, we cannot guarantee a performance spot.
If more than twelve poets sign up, the list will be determined via random draw, and if you aren’t chosen one month, you will have priority for the next month. Poets with priority will be confirmed before the show that they are performing in, and the rest of the list will be drawn in the venue and announced at the start of the show.
Season Rules
Our official competition season runs from August to March, culminating in our Grand Slam in April! To qualify for the Grand Slam, poets must place either first or second in one of the monthly slams from August to March. In the event that a poet who has already qualified places first or second in any individual slam, the third and/or fourth place poets will qualify. The final two spots are wild card spots and will be earned by the non-qualifying poet with the highest placement AND closest point differential. Point differential is determined by closeness in total score to the above-placed poet. For example, a poet with a third place finish and a .5 point differential would qualify for a wild card spot before a poet with a fourth place finish and a .3 point differential. Any questions should be directed to raleighpoetryslam@gmail.com.
Poets Qualified for the 2027 Grand Slam:
John O
Nik Mullowney
Your organizers, Neil and Anny Hilborn
Poets from our first ever Raleigh Poetry Slam on February 06, 2025
