HAIKU SLAM RECIPE
What you need, at a minimum, in terms of ingredients for a good haiku slam are the following:

• 8 competitors
• 3 judges
• 1 host

 
But obviously the recipe will vary depending on the ingredients. So let’s look at them individually...
First, the competitors. Everyone who has been exposed to poetry in public schools has learned at one point or another what a haiku in its basic westernized format is. Very simply, it is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables. How the person chooses to manipulate those syllables, or three lines, is where their own flavor comes into play. Ideally, for a good flavorful haiku slam, competitors with differing backgrounds and styles of word play make for a more interesting haiku slam. Additionally, there’s no need to stop at 8, because the format is easily adjusted to accommodate more. For 8 competitors, the basic tournament match-up is best-of-3 rounds of haiku for the first round, best-of-5 rounds for semifinals, and best-of-7 for the finals. So at a maximum, a person would need 15 haiku. I generally tell people to bring 20 to 25, so they can pick out their best, and also if we have more than 8 people (which is ideal), you can accommodate everybody by adding an extra round or two.
Secondly, the judges. You’ve accumulated the diverse flavorful voices to take part in the haiku slam, but the judges are who sets the simmer to everything. The judges decide which flavors are working the best in the particular environment of the haiku slam, and there being three makes it so that no one judge is absolutely responsible as a solo entity. There are two different flags on each side of the stage for the two competitors, and each judge has both flags in hand. One competitor reads a single haiku, then the other one does, and the three judges hold up whichever flag they deem the winner of the round. There is no right or wrong way to judge, whether you are basing it off of true haiku spirit, poetics, hilarity, tricky linguistics, or really any reason whatsoever. A majority of flags from judges decides who wins the round. The loser goes first next round, and this process is repeated until the match-up (whether best-of-3 or -of-5 or whatever) is complete.
Finally, the host. Anybody who is able to hold the stage, and keep it a safe place for the competitors to engage in friendly competitive poetry combat, can host or emcee a haiku slam. Haiku slams were popularized in the poetry slam scene by Tazuo Yamaguchi at the turn of the century, and have become an competitive entity all their own in that time. People love the brevity and ease of access haiku brings. Plus, the words move fast, keeping the crowd engaged and entertained.
I, Raven Mack, have been hosting haiku slams for a number of years, in art galleries and jails, urban coffee houses and rural compounds, and do so with the basic philosophy that art (and words, and poetry) help heal people, and that we are all broken to one extent or another, and could use some healing in a community environment where we find kinship with others we may or may not have already known. I believe in the human family, especially among heart-thinking creative types who fall through the cracks of the business-like system we all live under. I believe in the haiku slam stage as a safe space for all to express who we truly are, free of bias or threats related to a person’s race, gender, class, age, or orientation, and with the full and loving respect we ideally should have for each other as fellow humans on our Earthly paths. But I also hold the haiku slam stage as a space to get wild, to let loose that expression of who we are, without fear. And it remains a beautiful experience to see people to at first find a place to have a voice, and then to find their own voice, strongly and personally, once they’ve found a safe place to express it. I’ve made many wonderful friends in holding these events over the years, and while anyone who is able to hold that space could do so, I have a lot of experience dealing with a multitude of personalities and venues in doing so.
Additionally, in venues I’ve held these events regularly, we have other related haiku events (a battle royal for those eliminated from the regular slam early or for those motivated in the moment to join in, and a best-of-19 longer form “death match” with me against a local favorite), and beyond being a space to share, it is also a spectacle to witness. I involve the crowd as a host, and make sure nobody anybody taking the bold step to compete in public will feel comfortable. I keep the mood light when necessary, and serious when needed. I usually speak briefly before the event, and the best way to describe my speaking style is extemporaneous non-secular spirituality.
Depending on the number of people signed up to be involved, the event can go anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours, and the length as well as the content of what I’m speaking upon can be tailored to your group or venue. If you’re interested in having a haiku slam with me as host, please contact me at ravenmack at gmail.com.
So that is how you cook up a haiku slam. Anybody can do it, but to be honest, with my experience in the form and with this event, few can help cook it up quite like I do. I’d love to come make new friends and cook one up with you.