1. Each solo poem must be of the poet’s own creation.
 
2. Memorization is not required or necessary.  The poet may choose to bring a sheet of paper or chapbook to the stage to read off of.
 
3. Participating poets will perform three poems, one for each round.
 
4. Each poet has three minutes (plus a ten-second grace period) to read one poem. If the poet goes over time, the total score will lower by half a point for each 10 seconds they go over.
 
5. The poet may not use props, costumes, pre-recorded music, or instruments while performing.  It’s just you and your poem.  However, you are allowed to make live sounds with your body as part of your performance (singing, beatboxing, etc.).
 
6. The poet receives scores out of 10 from five randomly-selected judges from the audience. The high and low scores are dropped and the middle three are added together, giving the poet a total score out of 30.

7. All must be ready to hear some incredible works and have a great time.