Editing Poetry slam (section)

==Competition types==
[[File:Digiluule Slam Arvamusfestivali kohvikualal 04.jpg|thumb|Poetry slam in [[Paide]], [[Estonia]]]]
In an "Open Slam", the most common slam type, competition is open to all who wish to compete, given the number of slots available. In an "Invitational Slam", only those invited to do so may compete.

In 1998, spoken word poet [[Emanuel Xavier]] created the House of Xavier and the Glam Slam, an annual downtown arts event staged at the [[Nuyorican Poets Cafe]] (and later at the [[Bowery Poetry Club]]). The fusion of [[ball culture]] and poetry slam competitions featured four open categories such as Best Erotic Poem in Sexy Underwear or Lingerie, Best Verbal Vogue and Best Love Poem in Fire Engine Red (alternately Best Bitter Break Up Poem in Blue). Winners of each category received a trophy and went on to compete for the Grand Prize title of Glam Slam Champion. The annual competition was first held in New York City and then London until 2010.

Poetry Slam, Inc., holds several national and international competitions, including the Individual World Poetry Slam, the National Poetry Slam and The Women of the World Poetry Slam. The current (2013) IWPS champion is Ed Mabrey, who is the only three-time IWPS champion in the history of the event.<ref name="2012iWPS">{{cite web |title=Individual World Poetry Slam - October 12-15 2016; Flagstaff, AZ #iWPSFLG |url=http://iwps.poetryslam.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509002327/http://iwps.poetryslam.com/ |archive-date=2013-05-09 |access-date=2013-02-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.houstonvipslam.com/swso/presentation/a-morning-with-ed-mabrey/|title=Workshop: The Three Lives of a Poem|access-date=2014-06-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626170429/http://www.houstonvipslam.com/swso/presentation/a-morning-with-ed-mabrey/|archive-date=2015-06-26|url-status=dead}}</ref> The current (2013) National Poetry Slam Team champions are Slam New Orleans (SNO), who have won the competition for the second year in a row.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nps2013.poetryslam.com/|title=National Poetry Slam Championship winners|access-date=2013-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007114720/http://nps2013.poetryslam.com/|archive-date=2013-10-07|url-status=dead}}</ref> The current (2014) Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion is Dominique Christina.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.poetryslam.com/|title=Poetryslam.com|website=www.poetryslam.com}}</ref>

From 10 to 11 December 2016 [[Salzburg]], [[Austria]], held a world-record poetry slam competition (28 hours of classic slam poetry) and broke the so-far-record of Nuremberg, Germany (25 hours), by Michl Jakob. The winner of the competition (Friedrich Herrmann) scored one point better in the finals than the second ranked (Darryl Kiermeier). The event was organized by Lukas Wagner (Slamlabor) and took place in the SN-Saal of the Salzburger Nachrichten.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sn.at/wiki/Poetry_Slam_Weltrekord|title=Poetry Slam Weltrekord – Salzburgwiki|website=www.sn.at}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://salzburg.orf.at/news/stories/2814009/|title=Austria holds new record|date=2016-12-11}}</ref>

Similar to the House of Xavier's Glam Slam, a "Theme Slam" was one in which all performances must conform to a specified theme, genre, or formal constraint. Themes may include [[Nerd]],<ref name="nerd">{{cite web | url=http://gotpoetry.com/News/article/sid=6821.html | title=There Will Be Nerds (History of the Nerd Slam | access-date=June 4, 2016 | author=J. Bradley | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208193822/http://gotpoetry.com/News/article/sid=6821.html | archive-date=December 8, 2008 | url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Erotica]], [[Queer]], [[Improvisational theatre|Improv]], or other conceptual limitations. In theme slams, poets can sometimes be allowed to break "traditional" slam rules. For instance, they sometimes allow performance of work by another poet (e.g. the "Dead Poet Slam", in which all work must be by a deceased poet). They can also allow changes on the restrictions on costumes or props (e.g. the Swedish "Triathlon" slams that allow for a poet, musician, and dancer to all take the stage at the same time), changing the judging structure (e.g. having a specific guest judge), or changing the time limits (e.g. a "1-2-3" slam with three rounds of one minute, two minutes, and three minutes, respectively).

Although theme slams may seem restricting in nature, slam venues frequently use them to advocate participation by particular and perhaps underrepresented demographics (which vary from slam to slam), like younger poets and women.