The 4th Annual Ohio MeatGrinder Slam - July 22, 2017
Teams ~ Rules ~ Schedule ~ Press
A Word from the Hosts ~ Home
“We have to be organizing something.”
- The Poets Who Put This Event Together
A Word from the Hosts
The poetry slam is a proud, long-standing poetry tradition. For over 25 years poetry slams the world over have changed the face of the art form all over the planet. The Ohio MeatGrinder Slam operates in the spirit of the roots of Slam, putting a good time had by all above all other considerations. To this end, we’ve opted to install only a handful of rules and to distill the experience of a true roots-based poetry slam into one soul-packing day of poetry…no drama, no fuss.
We will have early morning workshops, registration, preliminary bouts, finals and an after party all in the span of one day…that’s where the grind comes in. It’s like a Slam festival but without all of the workload, demands and infrastructure that larger festivals demand. You come, you enjoy the shows, you go home. Please tip your bartender.
This event is about allowing poets to play with the form of poetry in ways that traditional slam competitions often prohibit. You might see a team with props or in costume or playing instruments during a poem. The goal of the poets is to engage you and we encourage them to do so as they see fit, while still attempting to bring honest and earnest poems to the stage and without turning all of this into an actual competitive agenda. We don’t care about who wins and we’re largely disinterested in creating an environment in which anyone else does either.
Ohio is home to a great many phenomenal poets and writing traditions. We want to celebrate those artists and legacies. It is our hope that you witness every manner of voice, story, and emotion that we can fit into one day, and that you walk away happy to have been part of a truly unique and profound artistic experience whether you be an audience member or a competing poet.
See you at the slam!
Louise Robertson & Scott Woods
Founders – The Ohio MeatGrinder Slam
10 Teams. Six cities in OH.
Amazing poems all over the place.
