iWPS is the Individual World Poetry Slam, which is an international competition organized by Poetry Slam, Inc.( PSi), the primary organizing body for slam in the United States.
iWPS is an individual competition, in which 72 poets present their work in four preliminary rounds of competition. Each round has a different time limit( 4 minute, 1 minute, 2 minute, 3 minute). The cumulative score for each competitor for the first four rounds determines the top 12 poets for the competition, who then compete in Finals. For iWPS Finals, there are four rounds, with poets eliminated after each round, until only one is left. The time limit for all rounds in Finals is three minutes.
Poets will come from across the United States and Canada. PSi opens this competition to poets from all over the world, though travel costs and time frames often result in a field of primarily US-poets. The 2016 Poetry Slam Team includes: Fitz Fitzpatrick, Luke Grayson, Jansen Niccals, and Jack Siebel. The 2015 Slam Team included: Chadwick Aufderhar, Devin Devine, Fitz Fitzpatrick and Seth Marlin.
You may wish to attend Slam events as an audience member. You might volunteer to be a judge. Or you might start prepping to compete for the 2017 Slam Team.
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