The final round of the Ottawa Capital Slam Poetry Competition came to a poetic end June 5, when the team who will represent Ottawa at the national spoken word festival in October was selected. Eight spoken word/slam poets competed for four festival spots during the competition, held in the University of Ottawa auditorium.

The competition saw OpenSecret, Chris Tse, John Akpata and Prufrock victorious at the end of the night — with Brandon Wint as the fifth-place alternate. Chris Tse was also crowned overall champion, after he earned the highest score of the evening.

During the evening, the packed theatre buzzed with giddy energy. Artist, spectators, long-time fans and curious on-lookers filled the room. Each performer ingested the energy differently – some mingled with friends, others performed pre-show rituals, and some kept to themselves, mentally reciting their piece.

Nathanael Larochette, host and director of the Ottawa Poetry Collective, said each poet was given three minutes on the microphone, with a 10-second grace period. Points are deducted if they exceed the time limit.

Larochette spoke about the challenges the poets face. “What do you say to a room full of strangers that they will get something out of it?”

And slammaster Rusty Priske warned audience members new to slam poetry, “Prepare to have your mind expanded. Prepare to get the itch.”

Five judges were selected from the audience, given white boards and told to score each poem out of 10 within a decimal point. As the night went on, Priske explained a phenomenon the judges experience which he calls "score creep"— where the scores tend to dramatically increase.

“We tell them to judge based half on content, half on performance (however, they are free to do whatever they want)," he said. "Ottawa audiences are very supportive, so score creep is a danger because the judges want each poet to do well.”

At the end of the night, the highest and lowest score a performer receives is taken away to get a more balanced score.

Slam team member OpenSecret said he finds his inspiration in everything and is open to nature and life. When you’re naturally "open," he said, you become knowledgeable about what you should speak about.

As the show opened, Larochette took the stage. He welcomed everyone, asking, “Who has never been to a slam before? (A few reluctant hands were raised.) And who has been to so many slams, you’ve lost count?” (The room explodes with cat calls and loud cheers.)

Before introducing the first poet, Larochette asked the audience to raise their hands, to show solidarity with each poet and to settle the audience.

“'Raise it’ is something we adapted from Halifax," he said. "Yhey did a thing called ‘speak’, so before the poets would speak, the slam host would say, ‘Okay put your fists up, and then they went 3-2-1. Speak!”

"It gives the audience a moment to just let out a burst of energy and just bring all the energy together before the poet speaks. And that’s a very important thing, especially with spoken word because it’s a very delicate thing and the energy has to be focused for the magic to really work.”

It’s not all about the performers, he added. “The audience is so important to what we do. We encourage the audience. We tell them, ‘Let us know what you think of the scores,’ and they do, they’ll boo.”

Larochette said booing for the audience is almost a routine part of the slam experience; it should be expected, just as a referee gets booed. The audience is booing in solidarity with the poets.

In a phone interview, Priske explained the difference between slam poetry and spoken word. “Slam, by definition, is competition; slam only exists in competition. It means there are judges. The competition aspect just adds that extra edge.”

Hodan Ibrahim, a guest poet, said, “I find my inspiration through questions and conversations. Also, in children who have to walk to school and are at risk of being attacked by suicide bombers.”

Priske responded to the common misconception that Ottawa is a government town devoid of a vibrant arts culture. “Ottawa has a huge arts community," he said. "Ottawa is possibly the hottest city for spoken work in the country. It’s been growing.”  

Larochette agreed with Priske's assessment of Ottawa’s arts community. “We have one of the strongest scenes in the nation.”

The Ottawa Poetry Collective is volunteer-run; the collective has received grants in the past and is currently applying for another. Priske says the organization is run solely on revenues and admission fees collected at the door of each show.  

While no one is making a dime, Priske says he became involved because he wanted to see a show and stepping up and organizing one was the only way to guarantee a show.  “Our goal is to provide a place for poets to perform and that’s what we want to continue to provide.”

Each show is billed as an all-ages event; both Priske and Larochette are clear that they do not restrict what poets say on stage. Larochette believes there is no need for him to tell poets what is and isn’t acceptable because the live audience will let them know.

Two teams representing Ottawa will compete in the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, which runs Oct. 12 to 16. The newly-formed Ottawa team will perform monthly at the Mercury Lounge in the ByWard Market.

Further information is available through the Capital Poetry Collective Facebook group Raise It!