On Saturday, Feb. 24, performance poetry will reach a new height in Jamestown.

Pulse Poetry Slam has been invited to host the 2018 National Win & You’re In Poetry Slam, a qualifier event for poetry slam teams in the region. Poetry slam teams representing Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio, will travel to Jamestown to participate in this event, which will decide which teams will have a spot to compete in the 2018 National Poetry Slam, hosted in Chicago, Ill., this summer.

The National Poetry Slam is the largest and longest running team poetry slam in the world, and teams from across the country will participate.

A poetry slam is a performance poetry competition. Poets who participate in a slam read or recite original poetry in front of an audience, and five randomly selected judges, who are generally individuals simply attending the event as spectators. These judges attribute numerical scores to the performances, and cumulative scores from multiple rounds and performances decide the winner of the slam.

The performances are judged on the content of the poems, the performance itself, the impact, style and overall way that the performances move the judges. Poetry slams are energetic, engaging and fun. They combine performance art with the excitement and unpredictability of a competition, and force us to ask the question, “How do you judge art?”

This qualifier slam will be hosted at the Studio Metro Underground Theatre, located at 316 E. Fourth St. in Jamestown and will begin at 7 p.m. In addition to the team slam, there will be an open mic for participants interested in performing their own original poetry at the event. There will also be live music from local musicians. This event is free to attend!

For more information, visit facebook.com/pulsepoetryslam, email pulsepoetryslam@gmail.com or call 602-339-6980.