Full Moon Poets 17th Annual Winter Poetry Slam, Thursday, March 5

Full Moon Poets present 17th Annual La Paloma Winter Poetry Slam Thursday, March 5

Local writers and performers gather, compete, celebrate spoken word

Encinitas, CA: Stereotypes and commonly held opinions about poetry are hurled out with the old bathwater when 17 poets perform their work for five live judges and a crowd known to fill every seat in this city’s signature Coast Highway 101 landmark, the historic La Paloma Theatre on Thursday, March 5 at 7:00 PM. Doors open to the audience at 6:45. Free to enter and free to attend, this twice yearly event promises a memorable evening of pure entertainment from familiar locals and nationally renowned writer/performers ranging from angst laden adolescents to wickedly wise and funny seniors whose work spans a broad horizon of poignant reflection, biting satire, incisive commentary and bizarre perspective.

Interested poets should arrive early—sign-in is 6:00 PM sharp. They should be prepared with three of their original poems (each to be performed in 3 minutes or less). No props, no costumes, no musical instruments are allowed and 5 judges picked at random from the audience will observe and report their scores on a scale of 0 through 10.

Please be advised. This is not a warm and fuzzy evening that caters to standards and tastes of the shy, squeamish, and sleepy types. Content can be “adult oriented,” so poets under 18 years of age will need a signed parent permission to participate. As a celebration of First Amendment free speech rights, the La Paloma Slam stands squarely in the middle of every imaginable point of view. It’s an unpredictable roller coaster ride starting with 17 hopefuls in the first of three rounds and ends with 3 finalists (each performing their third poem of the evening). As judges announce scores, the audience responds with approval or disapproval. A generous audience donates cash to reward three finalists.

Thanks to the following local sponsors, this event is free to enter, free to attend: 101 Artists’ Colony, E101 Mainstreet, Iced Tea Services of San Diego, The Coast News, Double Take, Moonlight Beach 7-11, and Soulscape.

For a full version of the rules and directions to the event, please visit www.fullmoonpoets.org. For questions or more information ask at info@artsalivefoundation.org