The OM Center Poetry Slam

Home of the 2003 and 2006 National Poetry Slam semi-finalist Omaha team and 2007 iWPS Finalist Dan Leamen

Join our Facebook group at Facebook.com.


(image © Omaha Healing Arts Center)

2nd Saturday of every month

7:30pm at 1216 Howard in the Old Market

more great events at the Healing Arts Center

The OM Center has been a place for great poetry and performance since January of 2002. Doors open at 7, with an open mic (you have up to 3 minutes to read whatever you'd like) starting at 7:30pm and the poetry slam (competition poetry (see below) 3 rounds (meaning you need 3 poems, none longer than 3 minutes)) beginning afterward. Emceed by Matt Mason and Zedeka and featuring many of the nation's finest poets, it's guaranteed better than a night at the movies for only a $7 suggested donation.

Sign up is limited, so to read you must sign up before 7:30. Sign ups will only be allowed after 7:30 if there are less than 6 on the open mic list or 8 on the slam list.

Oh my God what a great audience and slam community in Omaha. A reunion with old friends and many new friends. It was one of the most perfect nights of my life as slam papa. Matt & Sarah and their group nurtured one the best slam family tribes to date... The old man was holding back tears of joy all night. I'll be back, Omaha!
–Marc Smith (from his March, 2010 Facebook status (used with Slam Papi permission))

See some video from Marc's show in Omaha at: www.youtube.com/omcenterevents#p/u/31/ov5cc_DJmpE.


Upcoming Schedule:

  • The January poetry slam will be ONE NIGHT EARLY! So that's Friday, January 13th instead of Saturday the 14th!

  • March 10 features 2011 iWPS champ Chris August!

  • Slam Team Finals will be in April, 2012. The top 3 in December, January, February, and March qualify. If somebody in the top 3 earned a slot already or declines their slot then it goes down the line (4th, 5th, etc.) as long as the poet taking a slot made it past the first round. In the 3-round April Team Finals, 2 of the poems each poet used to qualify are not useable (thus it takes 5 total poems to make the team, 2 to qualify, 3 in the Finals).

  • May's poetry slam features the return of Dan Leamen!

The OM Slam thanks The Nebraska Writers Collective for help booking our features.


Stay Updated:

If you'd like to receive monthly show updates, send email to mtmason at novia.net asking for the Poetry Slam emailings.

Qualify for National Events:

To qualify for the OM Center Poetry Slam Team, Individual World Poetry Slam, or World of Women Poetry Slam (the 3 annual Poetry Slam, Inc. events) see the Omaha Tournament Page.

Get Disqualified:

The OM Center Poetry Slam encourages creative disqualifications (especially in the 3rd round where last place in this round gets you Ted & Wally's Place, earning you a free Ted & Wally's ice cream). The current record-holder for most reasons being DQed is Sean Patrick Mulroy with six (December, 2011). For all the known ways you can be DQed, Click Here.

Help us out!

Help the OM Center Poetry Slam bring in great features and send poets to events like the National Poetry Slam by donating: click here to donate.


2012 Slam Season Champions

January 13, 2012
April Team Finals Qualifiers:
1st: Jarvis
2nd: Zedeka Poindexter
3rd: Ben Wenzl

2011 Slam Season Champions

January 8, 2011
April Team Finals Qualifiers:
1st: Gage Wallace
2nd: Steven Evans
3rd: Spero
4th: Cameron Logsdon		 February 12, 2011
April Team Finals Qualifiers:
1st: Sam Stecher
2nd: Ben Wenzl
3rd: Steven Evans (already qualified)
4th: Marissa Gill (Declined spot)
5th: Deirdre Evans
6th: Jarvis (Declined spot)
7th:Jacob Narofsky 		March 12, 2011
April Team Finals Qualifiers:
1st: Gage Wallace (already qualified)
2nd: Patrick Sather
3rd: Katie F-S (Declined spot)
4th: Pat McEvoy
5th: Tessie Stednitz
6th: Jake Narofsky (already qualified)
7th: Candace Freilich

April 9, 2011
Omaha Team Finals:

1st: Gage Wallace (declined spot)
2nd: Steven Evans
3rd: Patrick Sather
4th: Ben Wenzl
5th: Ose Okoruwa (declined spot)
6th: Tessi Stednitz
7th: Pat McEvoy (declined spot)
8th: Jake Narofsky		 May 14, 2011
1st: Ben Wenzl
2nd: Cameron
3rd: Gage Wallace		 June 11, 2011
1st: Gage Wallace
2nd: Candace Freilich
3rd: Jake Narofsky
July 9, 2011
1st: Sam Stecher
2nd: Charles Nutter Peck
3rd: Luc Murphree		August 13, 2011
1st: Ose Okoruwa
2nd: Charles Nutter Peck
3rd: Candace 		September 10, 2011
1st: Gage Wallace
2nd: Gina Keplinger
3rd: Dan Leamen
October 8, 2011
1st: Gage Wallace
2nd: (Tie) Ben Wenzl
2nd: (Tie) Jarvis		 November 12, 2011
1st: Gage Wallace
2nd: Fernando
3rd: Ben Wenzl		 December 9, 2011
April Team Finals Qualifiers:
1st: Greg Smith
2nd: Candace
3rd: Sean Patrick Mulroy




Click for the 2002-10 Slam Season Champions




What's a poetry slam? It's competition poetry; meaning humor, politics, sex, entertainment masquerading as literature, literature masquerading as entertainment. Poets will read, then judges will flash Olympic-style scoring (ranging from 1 to 10) based on the poet's poem as well as performance of the poem to determine who goes on to the next round until there's just one poet left standing as the champion, and only the champion can leave with the Golden Monkey.

The OM Center Poetry Slam uses the rules listed at PoetrySlam.com

We're proud to have hosted slam founder Marc Smith, Marty McConnell, Rachel McKibbens, Roger Bonair-Agard, Buddy Wakefield, Anis Mojgani, Yusef Komunyakaa, Big Poppa E, Ken Arkind, Panama Soweto, Mike McGee, Shane Koyczan, Mindy Nettifee, Sam Cook, Sean Conlon, Andrea Gibson, Gary Mex Glazner, Dessa Darling, Jonathan Bryant, Craig Arnold, Luke Warmwater, Charlie Rossiter; slam teams from Denver Merc, Denver Nuba, Normal, Albuquerque, Des Moines, Milwaukee, and more.

For more information or to receive monthly updates on the show, send an email to mtmason at novia.net asking for the Poetry Slam emailings, or go to poetrymenu.com for other info.



the Poetry Menu
Omaha Healing Arts Center
PoetrySlam.com
PoetrySlam.net		 SlamNation on DVD

Links: MidVerse.com: Matt Mason and Sarah McKinstry-Brown

Last update: January 14, 2012