The Seventh 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 12-14, 2024 at the City’s cultural venues.
Tickets
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Rules
There will be 30 competing Poets, all competing Poets will need a total of five (5) poems to win.
PRELIMINARY ROUNDS:
During preliminary rounds (“bouts”), all poets will perform one (1) original poem.
- Each poet will draw a number to determine the order of each performance.
- No poet will be eliminated during preliminary competition.
- The highest score of the entire night will receive their $175 registration back.
- If a single poet has the highest score on both nights the $175 prize can be gifted to the runner-up, per the winning poet’s request or prize will be forfeited.
- If there is a tie for the highest score of the night, poets can participate in a 1-minute poem off or spilt the registration fee
Each poet will compete in one of two preliminary micro bouts. A live bout draw will take place prior to the start of the festival for all 4 prelim bouts. The draw for the performance order will occur onsite at the start of the bout, with poets drawing a number 1-15 for each round. Poets should arrive 6:30pm nightly for performance order at designated Prelim venue Ali Arts Center located at 353 MLK Blvd Pompano Beach, FL 33060.
No ties will be broken in prelims. Poets will receive a rank based on their scores in the micro bout. So, a rank of 1-15 will be given, with the highest score receiving a 1. In the case of a tie, the rank will be shared, and the next person will receive an adjusted rank.
For example, if there is a tie for 3rd place, the assigned ranks will be: 1,2,3,3,5,6. If there are multiple ties, the adjustments will be the same. If there is a tie for 1st and 2nd highest scores the assigned ranks will be: 1,1,3,3,5,6.
The top 15 poets with the highest cumulative score after 2 days will advance to the Final Stage with the 16th and 17th ranked poets serving as sacrificial poets (Sacs) at Final Stage.
FINAL STAGE:
- Round 1 – Fifteen poets
- Round 2 – Eight poets
- Score is a cumulative based upon the evening’s first two rounds.
- Round 3 – Four poets
- The Final round score is clean slate
- There will be a calibration poet before the final round
- NO POEM REPEAT – Poets are not allowed to repeat poems performed throughout competition.
- Tie breaks will be decided by highest overall score except for the last round on final stage, which will be broken by poem, which can be a repeat poem.
- If there is a tie going into rounds after taking all 5 scores, we will take the extra Poet.
- Protest to Scores must be done after bout, before score sheets are signed. Once score sheets are signed by competitors no protest can be issued.
- Score sheets MUST BE signed by all competitors.
In case of a three-way tie all the prizes will be combined and spilt equally amongst winners, or they can decide to hold one round of slam off to decide winner
We will do our best to have scoring done as quickly as possible, but to be accurate we will take however long we need to ensure that the right scores are put out. Please allow us this time so that we can be our best for you.
Prizes
1st place : $5,000
2nd Place : $2,500
3rd Place : $1,500
Event Schedule
Thursday December 12, 2024 │ Ali Cultural Center
- 6:00PM - 7:00PM Workshop
- 7:30PM - 9:30PM Prelims
- 9:30PM - 10:45PM Poetry in the Courtyard Open Mic
Join us for Poetry in the Courtyard, a relaxed gathering where poets share their work in an intimate, open-air setting. Surrounded by the courtyard's beauty, this event offers a peaceful atmosphere for creative expression and community connection.
Friday December 13, 2024 │ Ali Cultural Center
- 6:00PM - 7:00PM Workshop
- 7:30PM - 9:30PM Prelims
- 9:30PM - 10:45PM Poetry'Oke Open Mic
Join us for The Poetry Soundtrack Open Mic, where poets recite their work over the instrumental beat of the Dj’s Choice. This event offers a unique blend of spoken word and music. Experience the powerful synergy of poetry and rhythm in an evening of creative expression.
Saturday December 14, 2024 │ Pompano Beach Cultural Center
- 7:00PM - 10:00PM Final Stage @ Cultural Center
Become a Volunteer
Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities.
Hotel Accommodations
The Home 2 Suites by Hilton Pompano Beach is offering special rates for attendees of the Festival.
