Dear Ann Arbor Poetry Slam Friends,

I am writing to invite you to be a part of the Women of the World Poetry Slam. I have had the distinct pleasure of coordinating this first ever event and I hope you can enjoy it too!

I’m looking for both volunteers (you would get in to events for free and get the pleasure of helping out) AND for audience. We have nearly 60 poets coming from as far as Vancouver, CA and Albania and we want to make sure they have an audience to listen to their words.

So, if you can make time in your busy schedules, please check this out. Our website is www.wow.poetryslam.com. If you can help out, please email me back so that I can put you to work!

I’ve included a short press release below so that you have more details, in case you wanted to know

Deb

Women of the World to perform in Detroit March 12-15

Poets will share stage for international spoken-word competition

DETROIT – Women poets will converge on the Motor City for three days of competition March 12-15, 2008 at the “Women of the World Poetry Slam Championship.”

Various venues in the city’s Theatre District will host acclaimed spoken-word artists from major North American points of origin, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Canada and beyond.

For three days, Detroit will serve as the site of various workshops, open mic readings and collateral events in support of the title competition. The championship will be held at 8 p.m. March 15 at the Fillmore Detroit (the old State Theater) on Woodward. Prelims will begin at 7:30 PM on Thursday night at the Detroit Beer Company, Hockey Town and 1515 Broadway.

Poetry slam competitions, which eventually became the non-profit Poetry Slam, Inc., were invented in 1984 by writer Marc Smith, a full-time construction worker, who wanted to help breathe life back into a dwindling poets’ scene. Since the beginning of slams – typically judged by audience members, based on poetic content, delivery and showmanship – performance poetry has spread like wildfire across the country, crossing over into mainstream media through television shows like HBO’s “Def Poetry Jam.” In 1990, Smith started the National Poetry Slam, which brought together teams of poets from across the country in head-to-head poetic battle. Following numerous successful competitions across the country, in 2006, Poetry Slam, Inc. voted to start “Women of the World Poetry Slam Championship.”

Hope you can make it!

You can check out wow.poetryslam.com for more information.

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