My name is Claudia Schoenfeld and after a long weekend with pool fun and lots of sports I’m happy to tend our 46th OpenLinkNight.

On sunday evening, I went to a Poetry Slam in Basle– 6 poets, each one performs a text of max. 6 minutes, a randomly chosen 6 people in the audience vote (this can be poetry experts or someone who hasn’t read a single poem in their life)– the three poets with the most points perform a second piece and then the whole audience votes by applauding loudest for their champion.

Of course the text counts, also rhyme, rhythm but also personality. Does the Poet interact, connect with the people? Some Poets ignore their listeners or, if you copy it to the blogworld, their readers by throwing poetry upon them and then walk away without listening to their reply and without taking the chance to talk to the people by returning comments for example.

If a poet in a Slam doesn’t manage to interact with the audience, he will get bad votes because the people will feel it, if the text isn’t written for the audience, people will feel it as well and won’t listen. In a Slam, you can’t hide but look the people right in the eye and see in their reflection what works and what doesn’t work.

You can’t really have eye contact in blogworld you say? I think in a way you can, and this is by commenting and visiting back those that took the time to read your poem. We really want to encourage this type of interaction and conversation.

This is also one of the reasons why we allow just one poem per person on an OpenLinkNight– don’t just throw your poems out there but go and listen to others as well, take the time to write them a few lines, listen with an open ear and open mind, even if you’re writing poetry for years already, we all continually learn from each other and this is why we gather in a pub in a relaxed atmosphere. We talk and listen, drink a beer and then change tables and talk and listen to someone else.. this is where the life and the fun comes in– and this is why I love to be here so much…

and if you’re new, here’s how it works..

• Post a poem to your blog,
• Link your poem to dVerse (1 per blog, please) by clicking on the Mr. Linky button below.
• This opens a new screen where you’ll enter your information, and where you also choose links to read. Once you have pasted your poem’s blog URL and entered your name, click Submit. Don’t worry if you don’t see your name right away.
• Don’t forget to let your readers know where you’re linking up and encourage them to participate by including a link to dVerse in your blog post.
• Visit as many other poems as you like or can, commenting as you like or can, as well.
• Spread the word on the poems you enjoy if you’d like. Feel free to tweet and share on the social media of your choice.