Can You Hear Me Now?Calgary City High Schools’ Poetry Slam

Information Bulletin

www.canyouhearmenowyychs.com

ContentsPages Section Title2 I. Overview – What is Can You Hear Me Now?3 - 5 II. How do I start a poetry team?6 III. How do I register a team?7 - 9 IV. How will the competition work?10 - 11 V. But wait, there’s more?

i. Design Competitionii. Annual Anthologyiii. Admission Fee (Food Donation)

12 VI. What do I do next?

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I. Overview: What is Can You Hear Me Now?

Can You Hear Me Now? will be a spoken-word poetry competition for Calgary high school students representing their schools from both the Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District. One purpose of the event is to build relationships and connections between students from different schools and different cultural experiences; another purpose of the event is to give students a forum to voice their concerns for their world, describe their experiences in the world, and express their hopes for their world; and another purpose is to celebrate the writing and performance skills of the students who are being educated by our schools and teachers.

The poetry slam will have students perform poems for judges and an audience. They will perform individually as well as a team, being given a mark from 0.0 to 10.0 by judges selected from the community and audience. Scores are tallied for each team to determine a winner for the slam. The slam is a friendly competition characterized by mutual respect, encouragement, and inspiration. As the mantra in a long-running poetry slam for Chicago-area high school students asserts: “The point is not the points. The point is the poetry.” A final purpose of the slam, then, is to share amazing, unique, surprising, touching, inspirational, and profound pieces of poetry and performance with peers, family members, and the community. It is about letting people hear the voices and ideas of our students, and celebrating the artistry, effort, and eloquence of those students.

This event will benefit our students and our schools by creating a stronger sense of community across all high schools, helping students to further develop writing and speaking skills, inspiring and encouraging students to work towards better schools and communities, engaging students in dialogue about significant social issues, and fostering in students school pride and team camaraderie.

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II. How do I start a poetry team?

One strategy for starting a team would be to make an announcement requesting any students interested in spoken word poetry, performance poetry, poetry, or slam poetry to attend a meeting. See if there’s interest in starting a team or a club and go from there.

Another good strategy to start any team would be to organize a slam, open mic, or other poetry performance as an in-school assembly or otherwise open gathering. You could also feature experienced spoken word youth and adult artists at a performance to introduce the concept, and have them talk a little about poetry slams to pique interest. At the end of the show, have interested students sign up for a performance poetry club or team.

Finally, you could do some work with performance poetry in your English classes and use that as a way to gauge the interest of your students. Once this is done, talking with some of the most passionate and gifted poets about the possibility of starting a performance poetry team or club would be a natural way to progress.

Once you have enough interest in a club or team, there are three levels of increasing commitment you can employ to start a high school poetry slam team.

LEVEL 1 – Low Commitment a.k.a “Quirky”

For this level it is important that everyone know the realistic commitment they are making - the bare minimum is that students write 5 performance poems (4 solo poems and 1 two to four-person group poem) 3 minutes or less in length, and they attend at least one bout. Advisors/coaches must attend an organizational meeting before the competition begins.

Needs: An advisor/coach; a minimum of 4-6 youth poets; $150 registration fee; weekly or bi-weekly meeting spaceTimeline: December through MayEstimated Costs:

Time: up to 1 hour per weekMoney: $150 registration feeMaterials: what you can find online

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LEVEL 2 – Medium Commitment a.k.a. “Strange”

This level approaches the Can You Hear Me Now poetry slam like a regular sports or debate season with the finals in May being the climatic event at the end of the season. At this level, you may want to organize one or two informal slams or open-mike events at your school or with other schools to practice your poems and build community. You may also want to invite some poets or organizations in to your school to hold workshops to help your students refine their writing and performance skills. Advisors/coaches must attend an organizational meeting before the competition begins.

Needs: An advisor/coach who teaches English, Speech, or Theatre; 6-8 youth poets; $150 registration fee; a weekly meeting spaceTimeline: September through MayEstimated Costs:

Time: 1 to 3 hours per week (max)Money: $150 registration fee; approximately $100 in teaching materials (DVD’s, books, CD’s)Materials: what you can find online; books about performance poetry (see below); DVD’s of performances (see below)

LEVEL 3 – High Commitment a.k.a. “Insane”

A high level of commitment means the group you’re organizing is relatively large and committed to the spoken word community. Often a poetry slam at these schools will need to be employed in order to determine the final team members, or another method will be needed for try-outs. Teams with “insane” commitment proactively organize their own special events and are highly invested in the future of spoken word poetry in schools and the larger community, and may have student poets regularly participating in local events throughout the year. Advisors/coaches must attend an organizational meeting before the competition begins.

Needs: An advisor; a coach who teaches poetry writing; a spoken word poetry club of 10+ students; a weekly meeting space; participation and organization of special showcases, workshops and slams throughout the yearTimeline: September through MayEstimated Costs:

Time: 3+ hours per weekMoney: $150 registration fee; $100 in teaching materials; $? to pay people for workshops; $? to take students to writing workshops; $? for professional development of coachMaterials: what you can find online; books about performance poetry (see below); DVD’s of performances (see below); CD’s or downloads of spoken word performances; whatever the secret pacts you make in the dark can generate

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Definitions of key terms:

Sponsor: A teacher who communicates with CYHMN organizers to familiarize the team with all rules and expectations, including what to prepare for competition and when to be where.

Coach: Can also be the advisor, though this person should be able to knowingly guide youth through their writing process, performance techniques, and slam strategy (if valued by the team). This person may be on school faculty, but also may be a teaching artist with slam and spoken word pedagogical experience.

Poet: For the purposes of the competition, competitors need to be in 10th to 12th grade. They will be expected to write and perform original work individually and in a group of up to four youth poets performing a group poem.

Links and Resources:www.canyouhearmenowyychs.comOn the Can You Hear Me Now? website we’ve posted writing lessons you can use with your club to generate poems that lend themselves to performance. A number of us have used parts of these lessons with classes/our club, and they help students to generate some great poetry. (Most of these lessons have been adapted from materials created by the Young Chicago Authors organization in support of their high school poetry slam, Louder Than a Bomb.) Go to the “For the Clubs” tab on the website to find them.

www.YoungChicagoAuthors.org and www.LouderThanABomb.orgThere are also lessons on the LTAB (used to generate the lessons we’ve posted on our website) that you can use with your clubs/teams. Most of the resources we’re providing are, in whole or in part, based on the resources they have created.

Wilson, Sheri-D (Ed.). (2011). The Spoken Word Workbook. Calgary, AB: Calgary Spoken Word Society.

Stafford, Tim & Meacham, Molly (Eds.). (2010). Learn Then Burn. Long Beach, CA: Write Bloody Publishing.

Eleveld, Mark (Ed.). (2003). The Spoken Word Revolution: Slam, Hip Hop & the Poetry of a New Generation. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks mediaFusion.

Eleveld, Mark (Ed.). (2007). The Spoken Word Revolution: Redux. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks mediaFusion.

Jacobs, Greg & Siskel, John (Producers & Directors). (2012). Louder Than a Bomb.

IndieFeed: Performance Poetry podcast.

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III. How do I register a team?

Download the forms from the website prior to the deadlines listed below and mail them, along with applicable fees, to:

Richard Wagner c/o Lord Beaverbrook High School9019 Fairmount Drive SE Calgary AB T2H 0Z4

Please make cheques payable to Lord Beaverbrook High School.

Alternately, you can complete the forms online (on the website) and mail only the cheque to the address listed above.

Please ensure that you have mailed the cheque and/or forms early enough for them to arrive at Lord Beaverbrook before the deadline.

Deadline Form and Cost Purpose

November 31, Intent to Compete To provide organizers with the2013 $50 number of schools planning to compete so that a schedule can be created, events can be planned,

and volunteers can be organized.

February 28, Registration To confirm the number of teams2014 $100 that will be competing and to

finalize the team members whowill be participating. Also, to order

shirts.

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IV. How will the competition work?

Format:

The format will vary as shown, dependent on the number of schools who elect to participate.

For the participation of:

5 – 10 teams - semi-finals (dates TBA in the first week of May/last week of April)- one North and one South (locations TBA)- top 3 to 4 teams make finals (3 teams to finals if only 5 teamsentered, otherwise 4 teams in finals)- 5 rounds: 4 individual performances and 1 team performance

– finals May 14, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Lord Beaverbrook High School- 5 rounds: 4 individual performances and 1 team performance- top 3 or 4 teams to compete

11+ teams - preliminaries (dates TBA in the first week of April)- one in each Area (4 CC and 5 CBE) for a total of 9 moving to semi-finals (locations TBA)

- may combine Areas if there are no/few teams in some- every team entered participates in preliminaries

- 5 rounds (4 individual and 1 team)

- semi-finals (dates TBA in the first week of May/last week of April)- one North and one South (locations TBA)- top 4 teams make finals (top 2 from North and top 2 from South)- 5 rounds: 4 individual and 1 team

– finals May 14, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Lord Beaverbrook High School- 5 rounds: 4 individual and 1 team

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Rules:

Preparation: Schools are responsible for completing off-site activity approval forms and for

arranging transportation of their teams to and from the event(s) Six members per team (+ 2 alternates – optional) Participants must be enrolled in a high school for the year of the competition and

must be in good academic standing (not on suspension or subject to other disciplinary action)

Teams must be sponsored by a school and have a teacher sponsor present at the event in order to participate.

If you register and find out later that you will not be able to attend, please notify organizers ASAP so that an alternate team may have the chance to participate in the slam.

Teacher-sponsors must attend the information session held prior to the slam. Non-attendance may result in disqualification. Notify organizers as soon as possible about an absence.

Participants must be physically present and checked in at least 30 minutes before their bouts begin. Lateness to a scheduled bout time will result in disqualification for the team.

Performance: All members (not alternates) must participate in each bout (the two people not

participating in individual rounds must compete in the team round) All members of the team participating in the team round must contribute to the

writing of the poem being performed Each poem must be under 3 minutes in length. Scores will be penalized for going

over the time limit. Penalties will begin at 3:10, with a 0.5 point deduction for every ten seconds overtime. Poets will be asked to leave the stage if they reach 4:10.

Participants must perform pieces of their own original writing. Participants who plagiarize will be disqualified. Quoting other works and utilizing literary allusions are not plagiarism.

Props, costumes, and/or musical accompaniment may not be used in the slam. Singing or beatboxing may be used to enhance the piece, but should not be the primary focus of the piece. This is neither a singing nor a beatboxing competition.

It is the responsibility of the teacher-sponsor to ensure that all poems and performances are appropriate for the event. Teams not following the guidelines for appropriate language and content will be sanctioned according the following policies:

o Content matter may not exceed a PG-13 rating. Avoid excessive violence, sexually explicit content and/or language degrading any group of people. Failure to heed the PG-13 rating will result in a .5 deduction from the poet’s score for each infraction or the disqualification of the poet or team.

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o Profanity is prohibited. Violations will result in a .5 penalty for every infraction.

o Discriminatory language is prohibited. Violations will result in disqualification of the team the performer is representing.

o The Slam Marshal may choose to stop a performance if the expectations regarding appropriate language are repeatedly ignored. Performances being penalized or stopped, and the disqualification of performers, are at the discretion of the Slam Marshal.

o Determining content infractions is the responsibility of the Slam Marshal.o All protests of possible rule infractions must be lodged with the Site

Marshal and Site Organizer before the end of the day on which the possible infraction occurred. The Slam Marshal and the Site Organizer will review the complaint with the rest of the tournament staff before making a decision regarding potential consequences. The decision will be presented to the affected individuals the next morning (or earlier if time-sensitive).

Judging: A panel of artists, educators, youth and audience members will judge each bout.

Judges should in no way be affiliated with the teams they are judging. Teams may challenge a judge to the site organizer if unfairness is anticipated.

Teams: Each team must be accompanied to events by a teacher sponsor, having

completed all appropriate paperwork including an off-site activity approval form and a registration form.

Teams are responsible for providing their own transportation to and from events. Only one team per school is allowed to compete. Each team must have a minimum of four and a maximum of six poets, with up to

two additional alternates. Teams must send the same poets (alternates included) whose names are on the

entry form, unless the organizers are otherwise notified before the first bout, after which only registered team members may compete. If a registered team member cannot compete after the competition has started, only a registered alternate may serve as a replacement.

There are five rounds in each team bout. The first four rounds are for individual pieces. The final round is for the mandatory 4-person group piece.

Teams cannot repeat poems in subsequent rounds. Therefore, each team must prepare a minimum of 4 individual and 1 team performances, up to a maximum of 12 individual and 3 team performances.

No poet may compete in more than one individual poem round in a single round. While the entire team may contribute to the writing of a group piece, only four

team members may perform the group piece, and all group piece performers must have been involved in the writing of that piece.

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V. But wait, there’s more?

i. Design Competition

Can You Hear Me Now? will also be holding an annual logo and poster design competition. The winning design submission (pairing of logo and poster from the same group/artist) will be used for the subsequent year, and will be placed on, and used for, all official Can You Hear Me Now? materials, including registration packages and advertising posters, as well as any other items used to promote the competition.

The rules for the logo and poster design competition are as follows:

Submissions: Schools must submit the same artist or group of artists for the logo and

poster design competition 1 submission per school (each school determines their own selection

process to determine the best paired logo and poster designs)o Limited to grade 10 and 11 students o A consent to publish form must be completed and attached to all

submitted designs

Designs: All design submissions must be completed using Adobe Illustrator (not

Photoshop) with the minimum resolution set to 300ppi for each submission

Logo and poster designs must incorporate either the entire “Can You Hear Me Now?” name, or use the initials (the question mark must be included) as well as the year in which the event will be held

Logo and poster designs must be gender neutral or gender balanced. Logo competition submissions must use only black and white Poster designs must be completed in black & white as well as any three

other colours (but one of these three colours must be the colour of the poster paper)

The logo and poster designs should be complimentary All parts of the image must be completely original designs, owned and/or

created by the artist(s) submitting the design (no copyrighted material is allowed)

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Competition: All competing designs will be displayed and voted for in-person at the “Can

You Hear Me Now?” final slam on May 14, 2014 at Lord Beaverbrook High School

Voting will be limited to audience members that are present when voting begins

The winning designs will be featured on “Can You Hear Me Now?” promotional material for the following year (t-shirts, posters, book cover, and other event materials)

The winning designer will also be given a copy of each of the promotional materials for the following year

ii. Annual Anthology

Can You Hear Me Now? is also planning to publish an anthology of all poems being performed at all rounds of the competition from preliminaries, to semi-finals, to finals. Each participating school will have a section of the book devoted to those poems that were performed in the competition. Each school will be asked to submit a cover design for their section of the book that will include the school’s name and logo (must be in black and white, 300 ppi), as well as to submit a picture of all members and coaches/sponsors of the team.

Consent to publish forms must be completed by all poets, artists, and photographers, prior to poems, cover designs, and pictures being submitted.

The poems, cover design, and pictures will have to be submitted by April 18, 2014* so that they can be included in the book.

Each school will be provided with one copy of the book per team. Additional copies will be available for purchase on the night of the finals for a nominal fee.

iii. Admission Fees

All spectators at Can You Hear Me Now? events will be asked to bring and donate a food item to charity in lieu of paying an admission fee. In this way, it is hoped that the events can contribute back to our community, not only by providing a showcase for talented students and poets and a venue for powerful and inspiring poetry, but also in a very concrete and tangible way by supporting local charities at a time of year when donations are routinely less than what is necessary to meet the needs of the community.

* Date is subject to change depending on publication demands.

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VI. What do I do next?

There are nearly an infinite number of options confronting you in relation to your next action, but checking out the website, and checking back regularly, would be a good place to start as we’ll be constantly updating and adding information to it. If you forgot the URL, it’s www.canyouhearmenowyychs.com

If you have questions about Can You Hear Me Now?, or about anything (related to the poetry slam), please contact Richard Wagner (rgwagner@cbe.ab.ca), Anders Alm (acalm@cbe.ab.ca), or Nancy Krar (nancy.krar@cssd.ab.ca).

If you’d like to volunteer to help out, please check out the “Volunteers” section of the website for the roles we will need filled at each event. When you find one you’d like to do, please email any of the people above to let us know and we’ll ensure that your generosity is put to good use.

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