This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Individual World Poetry Slam took place in Charlotte, North Carolina from December 8-11, and local slam poet, Jesse Parent took second place overall.A poetry slam is a competition in which poets have a time limit to perform a poem, and then are judged by five randomly selected members of the audience on the content of their words, performance, and other factors. The judges score from a 1, which is a horrible poem, to a 10, which is the best thing they've ever heard. The high and low scores are dropped to give a poet their final score.The Individual World Poetry Slam involved 72 international competitors who met in Charlotte to compete for the world title among slam poets. After two days of preliminary bouts in which the poets compete in rounds with 1, 2, 3, and 4 minute time limits, the 12 highest placing poets competed in the finals held on December 11. After three rounds of competition, San Diego poet Rudy Francisco took first place, with Salt Lake City poet Jesse Parent taking second place.Parent competes monthly at the Put Your Mouth Where the Word Is poetry slam held at Mo's Neighborhood Grill, 358 South West Temple in Salt Lake City, held every last Monday of the month at 8 p.m.. Admission is $5.For more information, visit http://iwps.poetryslam.com/
To see Jesse perform, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT83rEyWsBM