Wed Sept 10th at 6pm: Poetry Slam Finnish Championship Turku Preliminary at Bar Ö!
Note: the event starts at 6pm, the contest at 7pm. In between we’ll choose the jury and go though the rules etc. Last chance to sign up is at 6.30 (if there are free slots available).
Runoviikko is organizing the local preliminary for Finnish Poetry Slam Championship. The winner can then continue to the Finnish Poetry Slam Championship Finals in Kuopio in November.
The Finnish Poetry Slam Champion 2025 can further participate in the European Slam Final in 2026.
At least for now all contestants need to pay their own travelling costs, but there’s no entry fees.
The Turku preliminary winner will also get some small prize besides all the fame and glory.
You can sign up before Sept 5th by Runoviikko email: runoviikko.ry@gmail.com. Please remember to tell your stage name (if you use one) and to mention the Turku Slam. There’s room for max 15 contestants. If we’ll get more than 15 names we’ll draw lots and let you know the results. If there’s still free slots left after the Sept 5th you can sign up on the spot, half an hour before the slam starts. Please follow our updates on our website and social media.
We’ll also need five volunteer judges for the jury to rate each poem/performance from 1 to 10, to one decimal (further commenting on the poems is not needed). There will be a free drink for each judge.
It will be an exciting contest and a fun event also for the audience, so please sign up, join the jury or just come to enjoy the evening!
You’ll find all the Slam rules below. There’s an age limit (it’s in a bar) but no entry fee.
Welcome!
Poetry Slam Rules:
1. Each poet signs up to compete at the given event by messaging the organiser in advance or registering 30 minutes before the start of the slam. The maximum number of slammers is 15.
2. Each poet may only perform their own original material.
3. Slam slots can last a maximum of 3 minutes. Each poet’s running time is counted from the first word the poet speaks. The organiser informs the performer and the audience if the time limit is exceeded. For every ten seconds exceeded, the poet loses 0,5 points. The judges will give the score they want to give and the points are then reduced depending on the length of the overtime as follows:
3:00:01 – 3:10 -0.5 points
3:10:01 – 3:20 -1.0 points
3:20:01 – 3:30 -1.5 points
4. No props or music are allowed during the slam, excluding the microphone, mobile phone, pad, paper or book from which the poet may read.
5. The order that the poets compete is randomly drawn from the hat for the first round.
6. Five non-competing members of the slam audience make up the judging panel of the slam. The organiser picks the judges from among those impartial members of the audience who volunteer to serve as judges. The judges are chosen either beforehand or at the behest of the organiser or MC.
7. The judges give points to each performance on a scale of 1.0 to 10.0, with 10.0 being the highest score. The lowest and highest scores are ignored and the three remaining scores are added together. In the case of a tie during the first round, both poets continue onto the semi-finals. In the case of a tie during semi-finals, both poets continue onto the final. If there’s a tie during the final round, both poets will perform an extra poem to decide a winner.
8. Half of the poets continue to the second round. The poet with the lowest score performs their set first, the one with the second lowest performers second, and so on. In case there’s an uneven number of poets entering the first round, the number of poets carrying on to the semi-finals is rounded up. For example, if there are 11 poets competing in the first round, 6 of them will go through to the semi-finals. The scores of the previous rounds are not accumulated.
9. Three poets perform in the third, final round of the slam, with the winner being decided by the panel of judges.
Thu Aug 7th 2025, 7-10 pm: TkuÖpenMic (TÖM) club in Bar Ö, Linnankatu 7 Turku.
Our guest performer Yemi Butterman, also known as Butterman Breathes, is a performing poet, musician, and storyteller. He’s originally from Nigeria.
Fb: https://www.facebook.com/events/762173979618528
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. . . (some events 2024-25 only on the Finnish page …)
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Thu 15 August 2024, 7-10 pm: TkuÖpenMic (TÖM) club in Bar Ö, Linnankatu 7 Turku.
Special Guest Poets Katariina Vuorinen ja Ahmed Zaidan. After them there’s an open mic, you can sign up on the spot!
The August TÖM has for years now been a distinct, special and exceptional event, and so it is this year, too! Both the Guest Poets and the Open Mic -performers can use the house musicians who will improvise live music, either with the actual reading (you can wish for whatever you want, blues, noise, dewdrop chimes) or as their musical response to the poems right after each performance.
Note: Because of the music, there may not be so many slots in the open mic session as usually, so it’s best to arrive and sign up as soon as the event begins!
Fb: www.facebook.com/events/1928408280938769
Sat 10 August 2-10 pm: Littoisten riimijuhla
Fb: www.facebook.com/events/1019308873182480
Thu 9 May 7-10 pm: TkuÖpenMic (TÖM) club in Bar Ö, Linnankatu 7 Turku.
Special Guest Poets Pälvi Puro Rantala and Nóra Ugron. After them there’s an open mic, you can sign up on the spot!
The piece has to be written/created by the performer themself.
The piece does not contain hate speech or other discriminatory content.
Pälvi Puro Rantala: ”I’m a writer. I’m a thawer of frost. I am a snow clearer. I am a round ball of a reindeer wandering towards mystery. As darkness falls, I light up.”
Note: before TÖM, 6-6:45 pm, there is a poetic memorial event for the recently departed poet Kimmo Leijala (1984-2024). It’s also an open event. Welcome.
TÖM open mic clubs 2024:
Thu 6 June (in Villa Promenade in Ruissalo; more info coming later)
Thu 15 August in Bar Ö
Thu 12 September in Bar Ö
Thu 10 October in Bar Ö
Thu 14 November in Bar Ö
Thu 12 December in Bar Ö
(Dates and places may still change.)
Sat 11 May at 1-2 pm Hanami Poetry Workshop
Hanami Poetry Worskhop for you who like cherry blossoms and haiku poetry!
We will meet in front of the Turku Cathedral / Tuomiokirkko at 1 pm and sit by the river, where one of our poets will tell you about the history and technique of haiku, the history of cherry trees in Japanese poetry, and will give you guidance and support to write your own haiku for the occasion. Don’t forget to bring something to write in!
In case of bad weather, the event will be moved to Kirjan talo, Nunnankatu, 4.
Your guide to Hanami and haiku will be Pan Tomé Hamilton.
Please sign up here
or contact us at runoviikko.ry@gmail.com if you have any questions!
Poems may be shared with your consent on online material and social media.
This event will take place in English.