Attention Poets, Writers, Rappers and members of the “there’s nothing to do in Martin” bandwagon.

Exercise your freedom of topic and word choice! The English Department is sponsoring a Poetry Slam Tuesday, April 22 at 7:00pm on the 2nd floor lobby of the U.C. It’s a great chance for students to display their own personal mix of culture and literary talent by not just reading poetry, but performing it.

What is a Poetry Slam?

Basically, a poetry slam involves contestants reading 1-3 minutes worth of original poetry (created by the poet). I repeat, the content of the poetry is left totally in the hands of the poets.

Channel all of your creative writing with all those qualities you learned in public speaking to get you through 3 rounds of competitive literary presentation in any style you chose. You only need to follow 3 simple rules:

3 Rules of Poetry Slam

1. Each poem must be of the poet's own construction;

2. Each poet gets three minutes (plus a ten-second grace period) to read one poem, if the poet goes over, points will be deducted from the total score.

3. The poet may not use props, costumes, or musical instruments.

Judges are randomly selected members of the audience. Performances will be judged on a scale of 1(poor)-to-10 (excellent). And yes, prizes will be awarded. All potential slammers are urged to sign up at the English Department. Questions? Call 587-7288.

Greg Hammond is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.