Recent comments on here have indicated that there’s a perception that the world of spoken word has shifted dramatically toward reinforcing performance over writing as a poet’s first priority.

I agree.

I also agree that the average open mike has become a scene of public masturbation — plenty of people pleasing themselves in public with very little attention to the idea of what might please another.

Who are we to judge this?

We’re the folks who did this before doing this was just another moderately successful pop-culture trend.

I’m not sure that qualifies us for understanding where this scene has gone.

I’m not sure I belong here anymore.

The problem is, I don’t belong anywhere else just yet.

We are responsible for creating the next place — the place where the masturbators go to please others, or get kicked to the curb.

By the way: none of the masturbators know they are doing that. They think they’re pleasing us.

Just like sex, if we don’t tell them otherwise when it’s happening…

Recently someone here said (I truly don’t recall who) that no one should ever get a 2.7 for a score on a poem.

Bullshit. If I had my way, there would be a lot more 2.7s at slams.

Time for folks to wake up. The average slammer (open miker, academic, beat wanna be, etc., etc., etc…)

SUCKS OUT LOUD.

We need to change that if we dislike it. And part of that means telling folks they suck if they do. (In a loving and constructive way, of course.)

Recent comments on here have indicated that there’s a perception that the world of spoken word has shifted dramatically toward reinforcing performance over writing as a poet’s first priority.

I agree.

I also agree that the average open mike has become a scene of public masturbation — plenty of people pleasing themselves in public with very little attention to the idea of what might please another.

Who are we to judge this?

We’re the folks who did this before doing this was just another moderately successful pop-culture trend.

I’m not sure that qualifies us for understanding where this scene has gone.

I’m not sure I belong here anymore.

The problem is, I don’t belong anywhere else just yet.

We are responsible for creating the next place — the place where the masturbators go to please others, or get kicked to the curb.

By the way: none of the masturbators know they are doing that. They think they’re pleasing us.

Just like sex, if we don’t tell them otherwise when it’s happening…

Recently someone here said (I truly don’t recall who) that no one should ever get a 2.7 for a score on a poem.

Bullshit. If I had my way, there would be a lot more 2.7s at slams.

Time for folks to wake up. The average slammer (open miker, academic, beat wanna be, etc., etc., etc…)

SUCKS OUT LOUD.

We need to change that if we dislike it. And part of that means telling folks they suck if they do. (In a loving and constructive way, of course.)