Poetry in Motion
By Leon Nigrosh
 February
2005 - Worcester has long been home to many famous poets, including
Elizabeth Bishop (1911- 1979) and Stanley Kunitz (who will celebrate his
100th birthday later this year). So it stands to reason that the city
has won the privilege of hosting the Second Annual Individual World Poetry
Slam Championships [iWPS].
February 10 through 12, Worcester will be hosting more than 60 of the
best performance poets from around the United
States, and possibly Europe as well. This important event is being sponsored
by the Worcester Poet’s Asylum in conjunction with Po8ry Slam Inc
and the venerable Worcester County Poetry Association.
These competitions pit individuals against each other in bouts lasting
one to four minutes. No props, costumes or music are allowed, just the
sound of each poet’s original words. And there are no hotshot judges
like Simon Cowell or Paula
Abdul. For these proceedings, the judges for each bout are chosen from
members of the audience who then score each poet Olympic-style, with scorecards
from zero to ten. This year, Worcester is being represented by writer/artist
Lea Deschenes.
To add to the excitement, preliminary events and opening ceremonies will
be held in the Bijou Cinema, graciously lent by Berkeley Management, on
Wednesday night, February 9 at 7 p.m. There’s also a full list of
daytime events, workshops and latenight readings. The three-day festival
culminates with the final rounds taking place in the beautifully restored
Tuckerman Hall.
For more information, check out
iwps2005.poetsasylum.org
or call Bill
MacMillan at (508) 755-5673.
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