WY Extemp Debate Scrimmage Tourney Extravaganza

2021 — Online, WY/US

• Invite
• Judges
• Pairings
• Live Updates
• Results
• Judge Signup

Original Spoken Word Poetry

Event Description:

Students write and perform original poetry to express ideas, experience, or emotion through the creative arrangement of words according to their sound, their rhythm, their meaning.

The maximum time limit is 5 minutes with a 30-second grace period. The delivery must be memorized, and no book or script may be used. No more than 150 words of the original poetry may be direct quotations from any other speech or writing. A successful performer will craft a piece that elicits critical thought, reflection, or emotion. As opposed to traditional Poetry, Spoken Word Poetry is created to be performed aloud and may feature rhythmic flow, vivid imagery, word play, gestures, lyrical elements, and repetition. Use the Getting Started with Original Spoken Word Poetry guide as a helpful tool to explore ways to express thoughts and experiences through poetry.

Original Spoken Word Poetry

1. Material: Students will write and perform original poetry. Original Spoken Word Poetry is poetry written for performance to express ideas, experience, or emotion through the creative arrangement of words according to their sound, their rhythm, their meaning.

2. Quotation: No more than 150 words of the original poetry may be direct quotations from any other speech or writing, and such quotations must be identified in a printed copy of the speech. An introduction is permitted, but not required.

3. Delivery: The delivery must be memorized, and no book or script may be used.

4. Time: The maximum time limit is 5 minutes with a 30-second grace period. This is a hard limit, and time spent walking to and from the camera counts toward the recording time. If there are multiple judges in the round, all must agree that the student has gone beyond the grace period. Should a student go beyond the grace period, the student may not be ranked 1st. There is no other prescribed penalty for going over the grace period. The ranking is up to each individual judge’s discretion. Judges who choose to time are to use accurate (stopwatch function) timing devices. No minimum time is mandated.