Slam
poetry
event
promises
to
be
anything
but
typical
“Roses
are
red,
violets
are
blue…”
If
that's
what
you
think
poetry
is,
then
perhaps
the
shoutOut!
With
Pride
is
not
for
you.
Event
organizer
and
host
Stacie
Boschma
envisions
the
Saturday
evening
poetry
slam
to
be
more
similar
to
battle
rap,
or
a
contest
of
lyricism.
“The
shoutOut!
With
Pride
is
a
poetry
slam,
which
for
the
uninitiated
is
basically
a
way
of
turning
poetry
readings
into
mock
combat,”
says
Boschma.
Boschma
is
a
slam
poet
herself,
having
competed
with
the
Atlanta
based
Art
Amok
Slam
Team
in
2006.
Now
she
regularly
hosts
and
emcees
slam
poetry
events
nationwide.
Word
got
back
to
Atlanta
Pride
organizers
about
Boschma
while
they
were
putting
together
their
own
poetry
event
and
she
seemed
an
obvious
choice
as
emcee.
“We've
certainly
had
poets
featured
at
Prides
past,
but
this
is
new,”
says
Atlanta
Pride
Entertainment
Co-chair
Jamie
Fergerson.
“We've
never
done
a
dedicated
poetry
event
before.
Stacie
is
an
experienced
poet
and
volunteered
to
help
out
[with
Pride].
She
was
the
natural
choice.”
The
judges
for
the
poetry
slam
will
be
selected
at
random
from
the
audience,
Boschma
says.
The
contestants
will
perform
original
works
of
their
own
choosing.
Boschma
contends
that
scoring
will
be
purely
subjective
with
categories
such
as
“Did
that
[poem]
speak
to
me?”
or
“How
cute
was
that
poet?”
The
winner
will
take
home
a
$100
cash
prize.
Boschma
hopes
that
this
event
will
gain
more
support
for
poetry
and
specifically
spoken
word
poets.
“The
rewarding
part
is
that
there
are
always
people
who
say
'I've
never
heard
spoken
word
before
and
I
loved
that,'
or,
'I
don't
usually
like
spoken
word,
but
I
loved
that,'”
she
says.
Boschma
wants
people
to
let
go
of
their
pre-conceived
notions
of
“poetry”
when
they
attend
her
event.
“Slams
are
competitive,
fast
paced,
and
just
happen
to
feature
some
of
the
most
interesting
and
vibrant
art
you're
likely
to
see.
There's
comedy,
politics,
and
all
sorts
of
personal
exploration,
so
if
a
given
piece
or
artist
isn't
really
your
thing,
just
wait
five
minutes,”
she
says.
Both
Boschma
and
Atlanta
Pride
have
high
hopes
for
shoutOut!
With
Pride.
This
year
will
be
a
test
run,
but
Boschma
hopes
that
Atlanta
Pride
will
become
one
of
the
marquee
slam
poetry
events
that
happen
yearly.
The
Atlanta-metro
currently
hosts
two
Slam
poetry
teams,
Art
Amok
and
Java
Monkey,
both
based
in
Decatur
and
both
highly
competitive
on
the
national
level,
with
Art
Amok
having
a
member
place
third
overall
in
the
individual
competition
in
the
2007
National
Poetry
Slam.
Boschma
boasts
about
Atlanta's
fortune
to
have
some
of
the
nation's
top
spoken
word
talent.
“Atlanta
really
is
a
powerhouse
city
for
spoken
word
and
has
an
incredible
reputation
on
the
national
stage,”
she
says.
—
Rory
Parker
Make
that
a
rainbow
flush
Pride
goes
all
in
this
year
with
a
new
way
to
ante-up
and
support
the
festival.
Facing
increased
rental
fees
at
the
Atlanta
Civic
Center,
the
Atlanta
Pride
Committee
decided
its
first
poker
tournament
would
be
a
good
way
to
part
card
players
and
some
of
their
money.
“My
husband
and
I
are
really
big
poker
players,
and
we
thought
a
charity
poker
tournament
would
be
a
great
addition
to
Pride,”
says
Darie
Wolfson,
Pride’s
events
coordinator.
“I
thought
it
was
great
fundraiser
and
might
appeal
to
people
who
aren’t
interested
in
going
[to
Pride]
otherwise.”
A
$30
tax-deductible
donation
buys
a
stake
in
the
game
and
$1,000
in
chips.
Players
who
go
out
in
the
first
hour
can
“buy
back
in”
for
a
$20
donation
and
receive
a
new
stack
of
$1,000
in
chips.
Tournament-style
poker
will
lead
to
eliminations
until
the
final
eight
players
are
at
one
table.
The
top
player
in
the
final
game
wins
a
trip
for
two
adults
and
two
children
to
an
all-inclusive
resort
in
Mexico.
The
World
Poker
Tour
Amateur
League
sponsors
and
administers
the
event
so
that
all
of
the
proceeds
go
to
Atlanta
Pride.
Early
registration
is
preferred,
but
entrants
can
register
onsite
before
the
event.
—
Matt
Schafer
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