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After a brief winter hiatus, the Flagstaff Poetry Slam is back in action. The weekly event takes place on Wednesday evenings at Firecreek Coffee Co. in downtown Flagstaff and rounds up local poets and enthusiasts alike for an evening of friendly competition.

Joshua Weiss, one of the organizers of the Flagstaff Poetry Slam, described the event� also known as FlagSlam� as a space for the community to gather and share spoken word poetry in a competitive, yet encouraging, setting.

“The competitive element is very minor in this particular poetry slam, which is something that I really like about it,� Weiss said.

Participants are welcomed into a setting that can be less intimidating than other poetry slams, especially to folks new to the activity, Weiss explained. Poets share their poetry to an audience cozied up in the coffee shop and random audience members are selected to judge. The winning poet walks away with a $20 cash prize. However, there are some ground rules to FlagSlam.

“The only rules are a three-minute performance time limit and no props, no musical accompaniment, and no nudity,� a Flagstaff Poetry Slam Facebook post advertising the event read.

The selected judges score the poets from zero to ten in an Olympic-style slam. In this new season of slams, Weiss said they may test out a tournament-style, in which no numbers are involved and two poets go head-to-head until achieving the top spot. Though, the scoring tends to feel less important than the sharing of the work in general with a Flagstaff Poetry Slam, Weiss said. 

“The points are not the point, the point is the poetry, and the numbers really are a silly element at the end of the day,� Weiss said. “I feel like it’s really just about trying to inspire people and, you know, if you feel like you did your poem well, that can be the win of the night itself regardless of your scores or anything like that.�

While open mic nights around town provide an opportunity for community members to let their talents shine, Weiss said that poetry slams have an inherent vulnerability to them. They provide a safe space for poets to share what's in their hearts together, Weiss explained.

“I didn't realize I could be so comfortable in front of people sharing personal details about my life or stories and anecdotes and that kind of stuff, but I think it's the beauty of something so personal being so universally received by people, it's something you don't always get at other events or types of literary-focused events in general,� Weiss said.

Poets interested in participating in the Flagstaff Poetry Slam can simply sign up at the venue 30 minutes before it starts each week. Weiss said that it's worth trying out for anyone interested in performing who has spare time on a Wednesday, as the organizers work to ensure it's a comfortable space for participants. Poets can even reach out to set up a non-judged spot in the event for those wanting to share their work without the competitive element, Weiss said.

“The draw of it is to be heard,� Weiss said. “I think as soon as I got involved in it, I felt a sense of community that I never really had anywhere else � and that's kind of what really kept me coming back to it."

Weiss said the Flagstaff Poetry Slam has been around since 2002. While it has passed through several organizers' hands and has seen venues ranging from taco shops to coffeehouse hangouts, FlagSlam has been kept alive by a community of poets and enthusiasts.

While the community at the FlagSlam events changes year-to-year, as to be expected in a college town like Flagstaff, Weiss said that a core group of familiar faces make up the heart of the local poetry slam community.

“The cool thing is also that I see new faces every time, and we’re kind of slowly adding to that core group as we go along, which is nice, it’s good to have new voices,� Weiss said.

FlagSlam is back at Firecreek Coffee Co. with a real stage for poets to compete on and a goal of getting people interested in poetry to participate.

“I'm really glad to be back at Firecreek, where it was in its heyday probably about six or seven years ago, like pre-COVID,� Weiss said. “It was a really big event where we'd pack out that room.�

After the pandemic, Weiss said it was difficult to gather audiences to any venue or performance because people were more inclined to stay at home than ever before. As audiences build again, Weiss said the community building aspect of FlagSlam is stronger than ever.

FlagSlam's are back in session for 2025 as of Jan. 15, and Weiss described the vibe of the events as a generally cozy time.

“Everybody gets their teas and their coffees and their little drinks and settles in and kind of knows that they're in for an emotional ride, even if they don't know every twist and turn that's going to come their way," Weiss said. "I think there is a level of excitement, but I would say it's more of a calm and subdued excitement than an edge-of-your-seat type of thing."

As the FlagSlam events continue, Weiss said attendees can look forward to performances by featured poets from Arizona and out of state, selected by FlagSlam organizers.

“We send teams usually once or twice a year to different regional poetry slams,� Weiss said. “So, we've been out to Portland, Oregon and Albuquerque, New Mexico in the past year and met poets from all over the place. So, we kind of just reach out to people that we think are interesting for whatever reason � we like their poems or think they would be a good voice to showcase in our community.�

Weiss also said that the FlagSlam occasionally puts on workshops for poets in the community as well as themed-slams. More information and news from Flagstaff Poetry Slam can be found on , "Flagstaff Poetry Slam, and , @flagslam.