Union Square Slam is super psyched to feature Alain Ginsberg and host our first of six qualifying slams for our 2017 National Poetry Slam Team, headed to Denver, CO next August!!

6pm: Free Poetry Workshop with IS Jones
7pm: Slam Sign-ups and Socialize
8pm: Slam (Round One)
(intermission)
Featured Poet: Alain Ginsberg
Slam (Rounds Two and Three)

$5 // All Ages // Wheelchair Accessible

About our Feature:

Alain Ginsberg is an agender writer and performer from Baltimore City, MD whose work focuses primarily on narratives of gender identity, exploration, and performance, sexuality, and mental illness and trauma. Their work has been featured or is forthcoming from Public Pool, Black Heart Magazine, Shabby Doll House, Voicemail Poems, Rising Phoenix Press, Drunk In A Midnight Choir, Crab Fat Magazine, and elsewhere. Alain has competed in the Individual World Poetry Slam (2014), Capturing Fire (2014, finals stage ’15 & ’16), Word War VII, Rouge Roulette Poetry Slam, 2015 Louder Than A Bomb (College Stage, 2nd place), as well as Baltimore’s slam scene Speak Out: Slammageddon and DC’s Beltway Poetry Slam. Outside of competitive poetry Alain has also been hired by Wesleyan University, Rowan University, the Maryland Institute College of Art, and the Women of The World Poetry Slam to run writing workshops.

About our Slam:
::Union Square Slam National Team Competition::

There are six opportunities to compete for the Union Square Slam National Team. The top two winners of each Open Slam have secured their spot in Finals.

Each open slam will :

– consist of up to 8 poet competitors

– have a 3 min time limit for each round with a 10-second grace period

– go from 8 in the first round to 5 in the second round and 3 in the third round (this is subject to change depending on the number of competitors that night — see below)

– be scored cumulatively — the winner of the night will have the highest cumulative score from all three rounds.

Union Square Slam Nationals Qualifiers (Open Slams) are on the following dates:

September 20th
October 18th
November 15th
January 17th
February 21st
March 21st

Union Square Slam National Team Selection Finals will be held on April 18th.

The National Poetry Slam will be held in Denver, CO August 7-12th, 2017. All proceeds and donations to Union Square Slam go directly to funding travel, lodging and registration fees for representatives of Union Square Slam at national events.

In order to represent Union Square Slam at any National Competition, you must meet the following requirements:

Be 18 years old or older

Be an active member of PSI at the time of competition (register at www.poetryslam.com you cover your annual registration fee of $20 — questions? Talk to Cecily or the current slam manager)

Read, sign, and adhere to the PSI Code of Conduct

Participate in at least one Specialty Slam during the 2016-7 season. Specialty Slams include WOWPS qualifiers, Nerd Slams, Petty Slams, Iron Poet Slams, etc.