Women of the World Poetry Slam
The Women of the World Poetry Slam (WOWPS) is a yearly Poetry Slam tournament put on by Poetry Slam, Inc. that pits individual slam poets from around the world that "live their lives as women"[1] against one another.
History
In 2008, the Women of the World Poetry Slam (WOWPS) was introduced, in which only female and female-identified poets are allowed to compete.[2] The first WOWPS was held in Detroit, Michigan and the first WOWPS champion was Andrea Gibson.
In late 2015, the languaging around inclusion was updated to read: "Competition at WOWps is limited to poets who live their lives as women. Qualified poets include female assigned or identified individuals who are PSi members and are 18+ years of age, including gender non-conforming individuals."
Format
The tournament has two days of preliminary rounds, in which poets compete in 1, 2, 3, and 4 minute bouts. After these 4 bouts are completed, the poet's rankings in each bout are added up and the top 12 poets of the tournament are invited to compete in the final round. A 3 minute time limit is applied to the poems in the final round.[4]
Women of the World Poetry Slam Results by Year
Year | Winner | Runners Up | Number of Competitors | Host City |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | TIE - Imani Cezanne & Emi Mahmoud[5] | (3) iCon (4) Honey Sanaa (5) Shasparay Lighteard (6) Taylor Steele (7) Rheonna Thornton (8) Elizabeth Acevedo (9) TIE - Crystal Valentine & Confidence & Tanesha Nicole (12) Chrysanthemum Tran |
96 | Brooklyn, NY |
2015 | Janae Johnson[6] | (2) Roya Marsh (3) TIE - Mercedez Holtry & Desiree Dallagiacomo (5) TIE - Taylor Steele & Angelique Palmer & Samira Obeid (8) Confidence Omenai (9) Samantha Peterson (10) FreeQuency (11) Miss Haze (12) Kwene |
72 | Albuquerque, NM |
2014 | Dominique Ashaheed[7] | (2) Imani Cezanne (3) Denice Frohman (4) Carrie Rudzinski (5) Janae Johnson (6) Venessa Marco (7) Melissa May (8) Candace Liger (9) Megan Falley (10) Giddy (11) elizag (12) Erin Claridy |
72 | Austin, TX |
2013 | Denice Frohman[8] | (2) Dominique Ashaheed (3) Falu (4) Porsha Olayiwola (5) Denise Jolly (6) Theresa Davis (7) Eris Zion Venia (8) TIE - T. Miller & Sierra DeMulder & Suzi Q Smith (11) Meg Waldron (12) Laura Lamb Brown-Lavoie |
72 | Minneapolis, MN |
2012 | Dominique Ashaheed[9] | (2) Porsha Olayiwola (3) Kait Rokowski (4) Joanna Hoffman (5) Lauren Zuniga (6) TIE - Olivia Gatwood & Whitney Greenway (8) Melissa May (9) Miss Haze (10) Krista Mosca (11) Kay Kron (12) DeAnn Emett |
72 | Denver, CO |
2011 | Theresa Davis[10] | (2) Gypsee Yo (3) Suzi Q Smith (4) Rachel Wiley (5) T. Miller (6) Safia Elhillo (7) Lacey Roop (8) Franny Choi (9) Joanna Hoffman (10) Tova Charles (11) Mahogany L. Browne (12) Jerrica Escoto |
72 | Columbus, OH |
2010 | Eboni Hogan[11] | (2) Airea "Dee" Matthews (3) Chauncey Beaty (4) Laura Yes Yes (5) Miss Wise (6) Megan Rickman (7) Original Woman (8) Tristan Silverman (9) Nicole Homer (10) Gypsee Yo (11) Sierra DeMulder (12) Hannah |
72 | Columbus, OH |
2009 | Rachel McKibbens[12][13] | (2) Gypsee Yo (3) Dee Mathews (4) Ocean (5) T. Miller (6) TIE - Bethsheba & Chauncey Beaty (8) The Original Woman (9) Theresa Davis (10) TIE - Faylita Hicks & Taaj Freeman (12) Red Summer |
71 | Detroit, MI |
2008 | Andrea Gibson | (2) Isis (3) T. Miller (4) Nicole Homer (5) Sonya Renee (6) Tara Hardy (7) Karyna McGlynn (8) Original Woman (9) Christena B. (10) Ami Mattison (11) D.E.E.P. (12) Ms. Wise[14] |
70 | Detroit, MI |
See also
- Individual World Poetry Slam
- List of performance poets
- National Poetry Slam
- Oral poetry
- Performance poetry
- Poetry Slam
- Poetry Slam, Inc.
- Spoken word
- Denice Frohman
References
- ^ "Women of the World - Eligibility".
- ^ Poetry Slam, Inc. Website: WOWPS page
- ^ Poetry Slam, Inc. Website: WOWPS News page
- ^ "Women of the World Poetry Slam - Scoring".
- ^ "WOWPS 2016 : Finals".
- ^ "WOWPS 2015 : Finals".
- ^ "WOWPS 2014 : Finals".
- ^ "WOWPS 2013 : Finals".
- ^ "WOWPS 2012 : Finals".
- ^ "Theresa Davis wins national poetry slam".
- ^ "Eboni Hogan, 2010 WOWps Winner".
- ^ "Women of the World Poetry Slam - 2009 Results".
- ^ "Rachel McKibbens!".
- ^ "Women of the World Poetry Slam - Friday (3/14/2008) Results".