Edmonton Story Slam Society leaves the Haven Social Club buzzing

By Mathew White

EDMONTON – Eleven writing warriors competed in a literary battle at the jam-packed Haven Social Club Wednesday night.

The Edmonton Story Slam Society held their annual Slam Off at the Haven Social Club on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011. Photograph by Mathew White.

During the show, the audience was tossed in every direction imaginable.

They were taken into a cruel elementary classroom, shown what it’s like to write a screenplay with a suspected terrorist, and given a first-hand account of catching an international flight with a drunk and doped-up father.

“It’s an electric evening, even more so than the regular shows,” said Susan Hagan, executive director of the Edmonton Story Slam Society.  “The intensity of competition is about 100 times greater.”

In a nutshell, the Edmonton Story Slam Society is a group that provides local writers with a chance to share their work. The society meets on the third Wednesday of each month, and 10 writers compete to tell the best story.  At the end of the night, a winner is chosen and given the cash donations of the evening.  This Wednesday night, however, was the club’s annual Slam Off, an event where all the year’s winners compete for the season’s championship.

The rules are simple:

• Each writer has five minutes
• For every five seconds over the limit, 0.5 points are deducted
• Story must be original and unpublished
• Five judges each give a score out of 10 and an average is taken from the middle three scores
• Contestants must be present when their name is called or they’re disqualified

“We get some great quality during the regular season, but these are all the monthly winners,” said Hagan. “They’re the favorites from each month.”

This competition took place in the dimly-lit Haven Club on Stony Plain Road.  The club has an obvious artsy feel to it.  Large, brightly coloured abstract pictures hang on the walls, there are two ukuleles behind the bar, and a pink lava lamp glows in the corner.

The audience is diverse, with young couples, lone writers, groups of friends and everything in between.  The show officially kicks off at 7:30 p.m.

“Good evening everyone and welcome to Slam Off,” said Hagan.  “We are so thrilled to be able to bring you this event tonight.”

“This stage feels good.  It feels ready.”

The competition is fierce, but after two hours of intense literary action, Margaret Macpherson was able to squeeze out a win with a classic opposites attract love story.

“I think this is a wonderful place and I really appreciate it,” said Macpherson during her victory speech.  “And I really appreciate this money.”

Macpherson is a novelist, poet, and painter from the Northwest Territories.  She has six books published with a seventh expected sometime in the spring.  Although she’s a professional, she acknowledges just how much talent this competition saw.

“I really applaud my competitors, ’cause that was tough,” said Macpherson.

Terence Harding took second place, while Omar Mouallem came in a close third.

In addition to their cut of the audience donations, each winner took home prizes such as CDs, concert tickets, one on ones with distinguished writers, and the first-place story will be published on the New West Press website.

The next story slam is scheduled for March 16.