Maricopa Grand Slam to bring poetic ‘War of Words’ on Nov. 14

A dual-county, real and virtual contest in performance poetry comes to Maricopa on Saturday, Nov. 14.

The Maricopa Grand Slam pits 12 slam poets from Pinal and Maricopa counties performing their own words over three elimination rounds in a vigorous artistic contest over three rounds. The poets will perform live, with audience and five judges from around the United States online on Facebook Live.

The Maricopa Grand Slam is produced by Maricopa ARTS Council (MAC) in collaboration with Councilmember Vincent Manfredi, and co-hosted by InMaricopa.com. Strict health guidelines will be followed. All participants at City Hall will be masked at all times except when performing, and social distancing is mandated. Present in the Council Chamber during the contest will be only the performing poets, the contest Slam Master and his timekeeper and scorer, a City representative and two MAC co-directors, plus technical crew.

Slams are always immensely engrossing experiences, wrapping a spirited three-round contest around a series of fiercely competitive and exciting mini-theatrical performances done with no costumes, music or scenery. Over the past five years MAC has held both a City championship and an Arizona All-State Slam Championship annually, taking place in various venues ranging from cafes to Maricopa City Hall. All MAC’s slams adhere to National Slam rules: Each poem must be the poet’s own creation and should be no longer than three minutes. And Slams are free-speech events. Every performance is rated by each judge Olympics-style. By round 3 only five poets remain to compete for MAC’s three money prizes.

This season’s Slams kick off with an event for both poets from Maricopa and its County and Valley surrounds. MAC’s long-time Slam Master, poet and ocean conservationist Bernard Schober, will preside. He’s well-known to Maricopa audiences, a veteran Slam competitor at state, regional and national levels performing as The Klute. The 12 Grand Slam poets were selected by an online drawing held Oct. 25. They include Maricopa poet Janaye Medina, plus past MAC Slam honorees Tristan Marshell, Stacy Eden and Bill Campana.

The Grand Slam will be on Facebook Live from Maricopa City Hall, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020. Art-on-the Spot will be held from 5:15 to 5:30 p.m. The Poetry Slam will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The Art-on-the-Spot segment celebrates the visual arts as a sister art form emphasizing both creation and execution. On Nov. 14, Visual Arts will serve as 5:15 p.m. prelude to the 5:30 p.m. Slam proper, being the prize presentation ceremony to the three winners of last month’s online Abstract Art Contest for the City of Maricopa. Prize checks will be awarded to the winning artists – Jenniann West, Chantelle Fuce and Betsy Wager – by MAC co-director Kristal Hoeh, and the three winning works will be on display at City Hall as backdrop throughout the Slam competition.