You may not have heard, but New Hampshire has its own slam poetry team.
And it's going to the national competition in Austin, Texas.
For slammers, it's like going to the super bowl.
NHPR correspondent Brian Early attended the New Hampshire finals last Friday in Manchester and has the story.
(31 secs)
What I said, 'I hope that wasn't thunder, it's been such a nice day.' What I meant was 'I hate your guitar. It puts puncture wounds dreams and I would like to roast it in the oven like a suckling pig with an apple at its neck. And then I would eat with a fork and knife and every time you rub my stomach I would play you a song about how much I hate your guitar.'
That's poet Cara Loiser of Manchester.
She is one of four poets selected this weekend to represent the state in the national finals this summer.
But what exactly is slam poetry?
Poetry Slam is a competition combining poetry and performance. Each poet gets the chance to do a three minute performance of their own work.
Slam master Hope Jordan.
They can't use music. They can't use props. If they go over three minutes, they begin to get penalized. Judges are chosen randomly from the audience. The judges are supposed to rate the performer on content and performance about 50 to 50.
BE: Is it weird to rate poetry?
HJ: There are some people who think it's just plain wrong to rate poetry. And there are others who think that slam poetry is the only kind of poetry there is. It's fun. It gets the audience intensely involved. It's makes poetry competitive. And that's great.
MP: (5) I like the rush of connecting with the audience in having a short period time to do that.
BE: That's Mark Palos – known as the Colonel'
He made it to the finals on Friday, but didn't make New Hampshire's team
MP: (22) The first minute you got to grab the audience, and the last two minutes you've got to get them on board with you. People who have the ability, in the course of three minutes, make you laugh and then turn around and make you cry and then turn it around again and make you laugh again. The best national poets can bring you up then crush you in poem.
Most credit Chicago in the early 80's as the birth place of slam poetry.
National competitions started in 1990, as rival poets in Chicago and San Francisco battled it out for bragging rights.
This August, seventy five teams are scheduled to compete in a five day competition in Austin Texas.
New Hampshire has never sent a team before.
But that wasn't because it lacked poets.
New Hampshire lacked a certified venue, a consistent place for slams to happen.
For the past eight months, Manchester's Bridge Cafe has been that consistent place.
And the winners from those eight competitions vied for the four person team.
They tried capturing the hearts of the three judges, who rate each poet Olympic style – one through ten.
Karen Martzoff was one of those judges.
KM: (20 seconds) I was kind of scared to be a judge cause I knew I was going to be a low scorer because I was going to be strict about my expectations. Without sounding too snotty, I expect a lot. I really want to see people who will go to Austin and knock them dead. I've been the low scorer all night. I'm the one that everyone keeps booing at.
(30 seconds) the world is being reconstructed without us. There is no longer a heaven or hell. Only Wal-mart. Who wants to worship falling prices. It's time to act out. To Patriot Act out. To act a lot. Go to your favorite chain restaurant, bring a cock roach and drop in the soup. Tell them that they are poisoning America, and get a free meal.
That's poet Al Fonzo Rigatoni.
He joins Summer Whitmore, Unseen the Poet and Cara Loiser in representing the granite state in slam poetry.
Al Fonzo: So drive around with your windows down and blare some hard rocking, NPR.
For NHPR News, I'm Brian Early in Manchester.
