Norwegian poetry slam championship [sold out]

After 15 years under the sound direction of Association Read, LitFestBergen is taking over the baton and organising the Norwegian poetry slam championship. We’re really looking forward to it.

Poetry slam is a direct and spontaneous poetic experience which lies at the interfaces between poetry readings, spoken word, stand-up and rap. The first such event was organised at a Chicago jazz club in 1984 by construction worker and poet Marc Smith with the aim of making poetry more popular and inclusive. Contact with the audience, mood and the temperature in the room are the be all and end all, and the actual performance counts just as much as the textual content.

Presenter and musician Heidi Marie Vestrheim will serve as compere for the final. Semi-finals have been held nationwide during the autumn and winter, and the finalists from Tromsø, Trondheim, Stavanger, Bergen, Oslo, Østfold and Innlandet will assemble at the Bergen House of Literature on 12 February. The winner gets to represent Norway at the world championship in Paris during May 2022.