If you think poetry readings are boring, staid, dead…think again.

If you need to be convinced, check out this competition: The 2007 Buffalo Poetry Slam Championship takes place on Friday, May 4, at Clifton Hall in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

It isn’t often that you get to see live entertainment that is as thought-provoking, outspoken, personal, political and direct as slam poetry. “It’s an authentic experience,” says Gabrielle Bouliane, curator of the Nickel City Poetry Slam. “In a day when TV is telling you what to think, a poetry slam is a chance to hear what an individual has to say from the bottom of their heart.”

A poetry slam is an opportunity to encounter language bodily, and to realize that all of your senses can be engaged with language. Besides that, it’s fun.

You be the judge: You don’t need to be knowledgeable about poetry to enjoy this event; you just need to know what you like. Judges are chosen randomly from the audience. Poems are judged on a scale of zero to 10, based on content and performance. The judges are audience members, so the city really decides which poets are going to represent Buffalo. A poetry slam is like a traditional poetry reading with the addition of competition, judges, an emcee and an active, vocal audience.

The competitors are the best that Buffalo has to offer—each of the eight participants are slam winners from this past year’s Nickel City Poetry Slam contests. In previous years the championship contestants would be competing to go to the nationals in Austin, Texas. This year, however, the four finalists will be sent to a “slam camp;” a three-day weekend retreat of writing workshops aimed at developing the strengths of the poets as writers and performers and also as a team. The slam camp will allow the poets to build on their craft of writing and performing and will be a great opportunity for the team to bond. Bouliane says, “We’re investing in the poets in order to strengthen the local poetry scene.” Cultivating individual poets will raise the quality of the local scene and will prepare Buffalo poets to compete regionally and nationally in the future.

Encouraging strong local interest in poetry is another important goal of the Nickel City Poetry Slam. That is why the organizers are dedicated to bringing national voices of the highest caliber to Buffalo. The event will feature two of the top female voices of slam poetry: Marty McConnell and Lynn Procope. McConnell has appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and was one of four poets to tour with the only privately owned copy of the Declaration of Independence for Declare Yourself, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign that encouraged young voters to participate in the political process in the 2004 election year. Marty is currently a member of the NYC/louderArts poetry slam team. Procope, co-founder of louderARTS, will also be featured at Friday’s event. Both women are former poetry slam national champions and their work combines the best qualities of performance and poetic craftsmanship.

A competition for all ages, Nickel City Poetry Slam is a do-not-miss event for spoken word fans, an opportunity to cheer on local poets and experience the forceful impact of the poetry slam competition. Doors open at 7pm and all proceeds benefit the Buffalo Poetry Slam Team.