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It took place this Saturday 8 June in the courtyard of the Bookique the provincial poetry slam semifinal organized by the Trento Poetry Slam collective. Six participants in total who took turns on stage challenging each other with verses: Adriano Cataldo, Builderbuff, Giulia Forti, Nicola Barbato, Francesca Pase and finally also Giuliano LogosPoetry Slam world champion in 2021.
The winner on Saturday evening was Francesca Pasewhich thus accesses the final of the provincial championship which will take place on 6 July at the Teatro Capovolto in Trento. First, however, there will be another appointment in Riva del Garda on Friday 14 June, as part of the Apparitions Festival.
Over the last few years, the events dedicated to this performance genre have increased exponentially. Trentino, in particular, has a very active scenewith the two collectives Trento Poetry Slam and AltroVerso Poesia, which organize events throughout the province.
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But what is poetry slam? Literally a “poetic slap”, this form of live poetry was born in the United States in the first half of the 1980s, by Marc Kelly Smith, and soon spread worldwide.
Anyone can take part, as long as they respect some simple rules: you can only participate with your own songs, not with pieces written by others; during the performance the use of scenic objects is not permitted, only body and voice are used; each performer has three minutes available, if you exceed the limit you will incur a penalty.
A jury composed of the public then assigns a grade to the individual performances, from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 10. Finally, a notary then calculates the overall score, eliminating the lowest and highest grades and adding the remaining three votes.
Before we begin, tradition dictates that the emcee, the Master of Ceremony who is entrusted with the management of the evening, perform the so-called sacrificeor the performance of one’s own text offered “as a sacrifice” to bring the public into the heart of the competition.
Many and varied themes emerged from the voices that alternated on stage: from the declaration of love to the memory of loved ones, from existential anguish to nostalgia for one’s homeland, the evening gave intense emotions and reminded everyone of the extraordinary power of poetry. Not only a literary form, but also an instrument of union and conviviality.
