North Beast Regional Poetry Slam Competition - December 4, 5

2009 NorthBEAST Regional Poetry Slam Competition to be held at SNHU on December 4 and 5 - Eight poetry slam teams from all over the northeastern U.S. will converge for a two-day poetry festival, being held for the first time in the granite state

MANCHESTER, NH-- On December 4th and 5th, NH will host the 3rd Annual NorthBEAST Regional Poetry Slam competition.  The NorthBEAST Regional is a competitive poetry event held this year on the campus of Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH. This is the biggest poetry slam event ever hosted in New Hampshire and the first time that the regional competition has been held here! Nationally registered slam poetry venues from New England and beyond are invited to compete for bragging rights, poetic glory, and a spot at the 2010 National Poetry Slam. The event is co-sponsored by Southern New Hampshire University and the NH Writer's Project.

On Friday, December 4 poetry teams from all over the northeastern U.S. deliver all the tricks of storytelling, theatre, stand-up comedy, and cold hard poetry to wheedle points from judges selected from the audience. Eight teams from all over the northeastern United States will compete in two 4x4 bouts, one at 7pm and the second at 9pm in the Walker Auditorium in Robert Frost Hall on the SNHU campus. 

Then, on Saturday, December 5 there will daytime workshops and open mics to try your hand at performance poetry yourself. Finally, on Saturday night, the top eight poets from the previous night's events will battle for the NorthBEAST 2009 individual title!

Tickets to both night's events will be available at the door for $5 per night (with a 2-night pass available on Friday night for $8).

About NorthBEAST
The northeastern United States have a great number of poetry slam venues all concentrated relatively close together with almost all of the New England states sending a team (and in some cases, multiple teams) to the National Poetry Slam each year.  As a result, the northeastern teams have a tight sense of community and are very supportive of one another when the competition goes to a national level.  Out of this was born the nickname 'NorthBEAST', as, not only does the northeast boast a high number of teams, but they are also considered a force to be reckoned with on the national poetry slam scene.  This will now be the 3rd year that the NorthBeast has held a regional competition as part of a process called 'Win and You're In', which helps narrow down what teams will secure spots at the National Poetry Slam.  The last two years, the event has been held in Boston, but this year, for the first time ever, the event will be held in the granite state.

About Slam Poetry
Slam poetry is the competitive art of performance poetry, putting a dual emphasis on writing and performance, encouraging poets to focus on what they're saying, and how they're saying it. Nearly every state in the U.S. has venues that host regular poetry slams.  Judges are selected at random from the audience and asked to rate each piece (using a point scale of 0 to 10) based on the content and performance of the poem.  Poets have 3 minutes to perform their original work, and there are point deductions for going over.  Friday night will be a team competition, which may featuring 'team pieces' in which multiple poets perform a poem together. 

For more information on this event, check out our website: slamnews.com/northbeast