Exit 36

The Eighth Annual Exit 36 Slam Poetry Festival is a three-day poetry festival that serves the community through educational, theatrical, and literary performances. The festival will nurture, support, and showcase regional, national, and international writers, facilitators, and artist from all over the country to honor the creative genius of our own cultural arts pioneers. The festival includes writing workshops, artists' talks, and the Slam Poetry competition. In its seventh year, the Exit 36 objectives remain the same -- to pay homage to poetry, spoken word, literacy, community engagement, and to celebrate the arts. The 3-day event attracts the premier spoken word artists in the country and will take place December 11 - 13, 2025 at the City’s cultural venues.

Tickets

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Rules

Festival Overview

• Total Competing Poets: 40
• Poems Needed to Win: 6 (including a 2-minute poem)
• Competition Stages: Preliminaries, Semi-Finals, Final Stage
• No Poem Repeats: New poem each round
• Venue:
  Pompano Beach Cultural Center
  50 W Atlantic Blvd.
  Pompano Beach, FL 33060
• Registration: $175

Preliminary Rounds

• Each poet competes in one of four micro-bouts per night.
• One original poem per round.
• Bout draw conducted virtually (Zoom, recorded).
• No eliminations in prelims.
• No poem repeats.
• Ranking System
  • Poets ranked 1–10 per micro-bout.
  • Ties share rank (e.g., 1,2,3,3,5...).
• Highest Score Prize
  • 1st: $100
  • 2nd: $75
  • Ties split prize.

Advancing to Semi-Finals

• Top 20 poets advance.
• 21st & 22nd open semi-final bouts.

Semi-Finals

• 20 poets split into two bouts of 10.
• Head-to-head battles.
• Winners advance to finals.
• Time: 12pm–2pm
• Performance Rules
  • 2-minute poems.
  • Random draw (1 vs 2, 3 vs 4, etc.).
  • Judges vote by color.
• Advancement
  • Top 10 move to finals.
  • Additional draw determines 2 extra participants.

Final Stage

• Round 1: 10 poets
• Round 2: Top 7
• Final Round: Top 4 (clean slate)
• Judging & Scoring
  • Rounds 1 & 2 cumulative.
  • Final round resets scores.
• Tiebreakers
  • Highest cumulative score wins.
  • If tied: 1-minute slam-off.
  • Final tie: up to 3:20 slam-off (repeat allowed).
• Protests
  • Must be raised immediately after bout.
  • No changes after score sheets are signed.

Performance Rules

• No props.
• No reading in final stage (ADA exceptions apply).
• Time Limits
  • Prelims: 3 min + 10 sec grace
  • Semi-finals: 2 min hard stop
  • Finals: 3 min + 20 sec grace
  • Penalty: -0.5 per 10 seconds over
• No poem repeats (except tiebreakers).
• No audience engagement before poem starts.

Judging

• 5 judges per bout.
• At least 3 from pre-selected panel.

Prizes

• 1st Place: $5,000
• 2nd Place: $2,500
• 3rd Place: $1,500
• 4th Place: $500
• Highest Score Prize: $100 highest score and $75 second highest score of the night

Event Schedule

Day 1 – Ali Cultural Arts Center & The Hive Black Box

• Mandatory Orientation: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM (poets only)
• Workshop: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (Ali Cultural Arts Center)
• Workshop: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (The Hive)
• Prelims: 7:30 PM – 9:45 PM (Ali & The Hive)
• Comedy in the Courtyard: 10:00 PM – 10:45 PM - Unwind and share a laugh at Comedy in the Courtyard, an open mic night blending local stand-up talent with feel-good and funny poetry. This lighthearted evening invites the community to enjoy witty wordplay, comedic storytelling, and the joyful side of spoken word in a relaxed, open-air setting.

After Hours @ Bojo’s: 11:00 PM – 2:00 AM

Day 2 – Ali Cultural Arts Center & The Hive Black Box

• Workshop: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (Ali Cultural Arts Center)
• Workshop: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (The Hive)
• Prelims: 7:30 PM – 9:45 PM (Ali & The Hive)
• Poetry Bingo: 10:00 PM – 10:45 PM - Poetry Bingo is an interactive twist on the classic game, blending the excitement of bingo with the power of spoken word. Participants mark off poetry-related words as they are spoken during live performances, racing to call out “Bingo!” It's a fun, immersive celebration of language and creativity.

Since You Here Anyways Underground Slam @ Bojo’s: 11:00 PM – 2:00 AM

Day 3 – Pompano Beach Cultural Center

• Semi-Finals: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
• Finals: 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM