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Two audience members will be chosen at random to be judges for the group's Grand Slam, which will feature spoken word artists from the school community.
According to the group's Facebook page, the Wordsmiths work to "capitalize on that creativity" by offering a chance for UNC students and community members to "share their stories, ideas, and experiences through poetry."
The slam will feature nine poets who have previously won monthly Wordsmiths slams held on campus. The last slam had an audience of over 100 people, said Tariq Luthun, Executive Director of UNC Wordsmiths.
The top five scorers in the Grand Slam will join UNC Wordsmiths' team for the national College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI) in April, according to the event's Facebook page.
How do the judges score the poets?
On a score from 0-10 based off "how it makes them feel" Luthun said. "It's arbitrary."
He explained that a poet could perform the same poem the same way many times and get different scores each time.
He also stressed that judges are encouraged to judge based off quality of the work rather than judges' preferences for topics. He said that if someone writes an excellent poem about a pet dying, that should get a higher score than a mediocre poem about slavery.
"We can't have emotions getting in the way," he said.
Usually there are five judges from the audience, but Luthun said that three judges at this slam will be poetry experts. This will ensure that the team going to CUPSI will have the best poets possible.
The judges and audience will see a model poet before the competitors when Sacrificial Poet Kane Smego takes the stage, according to the Facebook event page. The Wordsmiths are the collegiate branch of the Sacrificial Poets, who, according to their website, are "North Carolina's premier youth poetry organization." The Sacrificial Poets host their own open mic nights from 6:30-8:30 every first Wednesday of the month at Flyleaf Books.
The judges aren't the only ones who will be engaged in the slam. When asked if the audience has any influence over the judges, Luthun responded with a resounding "Yes."
"It's interactive. Loud. Dynamic," he said of the atmosphere during a poetry slam.
The audience is allowed to respond while the poet is reading as long as it is not too distracting. Luthun said that people often stomp their feet or snap their fingers when they hear something that strikes them.
When the scores are called out, however, the audience can cheer to try to sway the judges, Luthun said.
"But you can never boo a poet," he said.
When asked how spoken word artists are different from traditional poets, Luthun said, "they are helping the audience feel something."
He said that while readers of poetry have to work to get their own meaning out of the piece, the audience of spoken word poetry is able to sit back and take it in.
"It takes the workload off them," he said. "It's indulgent."
If you want to "indulge," check out the slam 7-9 p.m. Saturday at the Carrboro Arts Center. Tickets are $5 and can be bought at the event or by calling (919) 929-2787.
