In July, THIRTY plucky poets will compete for: the chance to grace the Hackney Empire’s main stage supporting top US slam poet Daniel Beaty, a slot in the final of the Hackney Empire’s legendary ‘291′ talent show, and £100 cash!

Each heat begins at 7.30pm in the Hackney Empire’s Marie Lloyd Bar and is hosted by Utter!’s Richard Tyrone Jones: ‘Wonderful compere and poet’ – Daljit Nagra. 10 intrepid contestants will compete in each heat!

Heat One - Tuesday 1st July - FREE
Special Guest Poets: Niall Spooner-Harvey, 2004/5 UK slam champion, and awesome roots-reggae revivalist Crisis.

Heat Two - Tuesday 8th July - FREE
Special Guest Poets: PolarBear, shortly due to unleash his one-man show ‘If I cover my nose you can’t see me’ at the Purcell Rooms, and Kat Francois, 2005 World Slam Champion and BBC3 Poetry Slam winner who’s conquered the world with her one-woman show.

Heat Three - Tuesday 15th July - FREE
Special Guest Poets: Baden Prince Jr, host of the Marie Lloyd’s ‘Speakeasy’, the ‘Isaac Hayes of Poetry’ and a very special Mystery Guest…

Tuesday 22nd July – THE FINAL… £14.50/£12.50/£7.50
(Pick up a discount voucher at one of the heats!!!)
The three finalists picked from the Marie Lloyd bar heats will compete against each other on the main stage, forming the barnstorming first half of a show that culminates in Daniel Beaty’s unmissably powerful Fringe-First winning show ‘Emergence-See’.

The winner of the Hackney Empire Spice Festival Slam 2008 takes home £100 and earns a guest spot in the final of the Empire’s legendary Talent show ‘291′ on Friday 25th July, so to book your slot, email richardtyronejones@gmail.com now!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 at 10:58 am in 2008, Events, Participation, Performance, Poetry, Slam, Spoken Word. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.