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THE JUDGE'S INSTRUCTIONS

"SO, you've been chosen to judge a poetry slam?"
You have been enlisted in the service of poetry. This is supposed to be
fun, and we don't expect you to be an expert, but we can offer certain
guidelines that might help to make this more fun for everyone involved,
especially you.

We use the word "poem" to include text and performance. Some say you should
assign a certain number of points for a poem's literary merit and a certain
number of points for the poet's performance. Others feel that you are
experiencing the poem only through the performance, and it may be
impossible to separate the two. You will give each poem only one score.
Trust your gut; and give the better poem the better score on a scale from
0.0-10.0 (only use one decimal point). Penalties for over-time might come
up, but the timekeeper and scorekeeper will determine this after you submit
your score, so just focus on the quality of the slam poet's writing and
performance. Feel free to give a 0.0 to the worst possible poem, or a 10.0
to the most orgasmic verse you've ever experienced.

Be fair. We all have our personal prejudices, but try to suspend yours for
the duration of the slam. On the other hand, it's okay to have a prejudice
that favors the true and the beautiful over the mundane and superficial,
the fascinating and enchanting over the boring and pedestrian. It's hard
not to be influenced by the audience, but remember that in a quiet poem,
the audience has no way to communicate what they're experiencing. The
audience may boo you, that's their prerogative; as long as the better poem
gets the better score, you're doing your job well. Be consistent with
yourself. If you give the first poem a seven and the other judges give it a
nine, that doesn't mean you should give the second poem a nine unless it's
a lot better than the first poem. In fact, if it's not as good as the first
poem, we count on you to give it a lower score. Although the high and low
scores will be thrown out, don't ever make a joke out of your score
thinking that it doesn't really matter. A poem about geometry does not
automatically deserve PI as a score. Nor does one about failing a
breathalyser test deserve a 0.08. Your scores may rise as the night
progresses. That's called "Score Creep." As long as you stay consistent,
you're doing your job well. The host will come by to answer any questions.
THANX!!!

[thanks to Slam Team Austin and the National Poetry Slam family for making
these and other rules/instructions available]

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