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Flagslam

Flagslam | Flagstaff Bi-weekly Poetry Slam

April 8th, 2026 | Firecreek Coffee

$5 Cover | All-ages, Adult themes

April is National Poetry Month, and FlagSlam is going to be loaded with some incredible talent coming to northern Arizona. We are so excited to bring these poets to Flagstaff!

“Alone Featuring Company is just that… Through sharing their spoken word with the public, they hope to bring more company into their life. Through their personal stories, they hope to stitch a second tongue onto all those who have had their taken or silenced. We are not free, until freedom can be sung from the mouths of those commonly sown shut, through occupation and imperialism. “

“Derrick C. Brown is an award-winning poet, storyteller, comic and president of Write Bloody Publishing. His innovative fusion of poetry, romance and comedy earned Paste Magazine’s Comedy Album of the Year (2023). The New York Times praises his work as “a rekindling of faith in the weird, hilarious, shocking, beautiful power of words.” A former paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne, Brown has authored ten poetry collections and four children’s books, winning the Texas Book of the Year award for Poetry. He serves as the 2025/26 Poet Laureate of Los Feliz CA.”

As usual, our slam is an all ages, free speech event. Pay what you can. Doors at 7:30, show at 8 PM. Wednesday, April 8th. Firecreek Coffee, 22 E Route 66, Flagstaff, AZ 86001.

This show will have limited sign-up slots to allow more time for our features. Cash prizes for first, second and third place sponsored by the Northern Arizona Book Festival (which is taking place that same week)!

The FlagSlam this volunteer-run endeavor serves as a community space to cherish transformative writing and performance. One of the oldest and most acclaimed poetry slam venues in the nation, FlagSlam hosts the longest-running poetry slam in Arizona.

Over 30 years later, the FlagSlam stage continues to convene a diversity of voices committed to exposing silenced narratives, courageous engagement with language and truth, and supporting one another along the way.

FlagSlam currently offers multi-genre open mics, competitive poetry slams, feature performances by traveling artists, and community writing workshops.

Ghost Poetry Show Poetry Slam

April 20, 2026 | The Rebel Lounge

15 poets compete in a poetry slam for cash prizes judged by 5 randomly selected audience members.

Through the competitive, high-energy environment of a “slam,” poets are encouraged to build both writing skills and confidence. Forget the old school idea of poetry open mics and academia. This event will make a ghost out of your grandfather’s poetry readings.

The Rebel Lounge is a live music venue located in Phoenix, Arizona. Housed in what used to be the home of The Mason Jar, Stephen Chilton of Psyko Steve Presents took over the building in 2015 to turn it into The Rebel Lounge.

To sign up to perform email us at GhostPoetryShow@gmail.com

Doors at 7:00PM | Show at 7:30PM

Advance Price: $10 + fees

Day Of Show Price: $12 + fees

21+

Ghost Poetry Show Poetry Slam

April 8, 2026 | The Rebel Lounge

15 poets compete in a poetry slam for cash prizes judged by 5 randomly selected audience members.

Through the competitive, high-energy environment of a “slam,” poets are encouraged to build both writing skills and confidence. Forget the old school idea of poetry open mics and academia. This event will make a ghost out of your grandfather’s poetry readings.

The Rebel Lounge is a live music venue located in Phoenix, Arizona. Housed in what used to be the home of The Mason Jar, Stephen Chilton of Psyko Steve Presents took over the building in 2015 to turn it into The Rebel Lounge.

To sign up to perform email us at GhostPoetryShow@gmail.com

Doors at 7:00PM | Show at 7:30PM

Advance Price: $10 + fees

Day Of Show Price: $12 + fees

21+

Prescott Poetry Slam

Prescott Poetry Slam | Every Third Sunday of the Month at 208 N Marina Prescott, AZ.

Prescott Poetry Slam is a three round friendly competition judged by five randomly selected audience members. Poets will showcase the art of poetry in performance. Cash prizes awarded for first, second, and third place.

$10 cover

Ghost Poetry Show Poetry Slam

March 23, 2026 | The Rebel Lounge

15 poets compete in a poetry slam for cash prizes judged by 5 randomly selected audience members.

Through the competitive, high-energy environment of a “slam,” poets are encouraged to build both writing skills and confidence. Forget the old school idea of poetry open mics and academia. This event will make a ghost out of your grandfather’s poetry readings.

The Rebel Lounge is a live music venue located in Phoenix, Arizona. Housed in what used to be the home of The Mason Jar, Stephen Chilton of Psyko Steve Presents took over the building in 2015 to turn it into The Rebel Lounge.

To sign up to perform email us at GhostPoetryShow@gmail.com

Doors at 7:00PM | Show at 7:30PM

Advance Price: $10 + fees

Day Of Show Price: $12 + fees

21+

Ghost Poetry Show Poetry Slam

March 10, 2026 | The Rebel Lounge

15 poets compete in a poetry slam for cash prizes judged by 5 randomly selected audience members.

Through the competitive, high-energy environment of a “slam,” poets are encouraged to build both writing skills and confidence. Forget the old school idea of poetry open mics and academia. This event will make a ghost out of your grandfather’s poetry readings.

The Rebel Lounge is a live music venue located in Phoenix, Arizona. Housed in what used to be the home of The Mason Jar, Stephen Chilton of Psyko Steve Presents took over the building in 2015 to turn it into The Rebel Lounge.

To sign up to perform email us at GhostPoetryShow@gmail.com

Doors at 7:00PM | Show at 7:30PM

Advance Price: $10 + fees

Day Of Show Price: $12 + fees

21+

Sedona Poetry Slam

March 7, 2026 | Mary D Fisher Theater

The Sedona Poetry Slam’s 17th season continues as performance poets bring high-energy, competitive spoken word to the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, March 7th, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Audience members can expect everything from heartfelt confessions to biting political satire, as poets compete for cash prizes and a chance to represent Sedona at statewide competitions.

A poetry slam is like a series of high-energy, three-minute one-person plays, judged by the audience. Slam poetry is an art form that allows written page poets to share their work alongside theatrical performers, hip-hop artists and lyricists.

Poets come from as far away as Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott and Flagstaff, competing against local poets from Sedona and Cottonwood, college poets from Northern Arizona University and youth poets from Verde Valley high schools. All types of poetry are welcome on the stage, from street-wise hip-hop and narrative performance poems, to political rants and introspective confessionals. Any poem is a “slam” poem if performed in a competition. All poets get three minutes per round to entertain and inspire the audience with their creativity.

Anyone can sign up to compete in the slam for the $75 grand prize and $25 second-place prize. To compete in the slam, poets will need three original poems, each lasting no longer than three minutes. No props, costumes nor musical accompaniment are permitted. The poets are judged Olympics-style by five members of the audience selected at random at the beginning of the slam.

Email foxthepoet@yahoo.com to sign up early to compete or by the Friday before the slam, or sign up at the door the day of the slam. Poets who want to compete should purchase a ticket in case the roster is filled before they arrive.

Tickets and Venue

The Mary D. Fisher Theatre is located at 2030 W. SR 89A, Suite A-3, in West Sedona. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door. For tickets, call 928-282-1177 or visit SedonaFilmFestival.org.

The prize money is funded in part by a donation from Verde Valley poetry supporters Jeanne and Jim Freeland.

For more information, visit sedonafilmfestival.com or foxthepoet.blogspot.com.

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Erotica Flagslam

Flagslam | Flagstaff Bi-weekly Poetry Slam

February 11, 2026 | Firecreek Coffee

Things heat up in chilly Flagstaff with this spicy Erotica Slam!

$5 Cover | All-ages, Adult themes

The FlagSlam this volunteer-run endeavor serves as a community space to cherish transformative writing and performance. One of the oldest and most acclaimed poetry slam venues in the nation, FlagSlam hosts the longest-running poetry slam in Arizona.

Over 30 years later, the FlagSlam stage continues to convene a diversity of voices committed to exposing silenced narratives, courageous engagement with language and truth, and supporting one another along the way.

FlagSlam currently offers multi-genre open mics, competitive poetry slams, feature performances by traveling artists, and community writing workshops.

Tucson Poetry Slam

February 22, 2026 | The Coalition

The Tucson Poetry Slam returns to The Coalition for a poetry slam featuring Joshua Wiss on February 22, 2026.

Joshua Wiss shows up and shows OUT ! They’ve represented AZ at 5 nationals, 2 individual world poetry slams, AND numerous regional slams.

Slam is a form of poetry competition that was founded by Marc Smith in Chicago in 1984. Whether performing or cheering from the audience, your soul will be touched by some amazing artists.

The rules to compete are simple:

*All poems must be original and written by the poet competing

*Poems will be judged by 3-5 randomly selected judges in the audience

*Poets will compete in 1 to 3 rounds (be prepared with 3 poems) with scoring to determine round 2 and 3 competitors

*No props or other materials not available to all posts are allowed

*No hate speech, disruptive behavior or nudity (respect each other)

*3 minute maximum with a 10 second grace period (.5 deducted for every 10 seconds over)

Signups to compete should be sent to tucsonslampoetry@gmail.com

Doors open at 6:30 PM

Competition is 7:00-9:00 PM

Cost to attend is “pay what you can” between $1 and $10

(Please note that topics often include sensitive, adult content or language, so suggested audience is 13 or older)

Feel free to bring your own non-alcoholic beverage.

Prescott Poetry Slam

Prescott Poetry Slam | Every Third Sunday of the Month at 208 N Marina Prescott, AZ.

Prescott Poetry Slam is a three round friendly competition judged by five randomly selected audience members. Poets will showcase the art of poetry in performance. Cash prizes awarded for first, second, and third place.

$10 cover