College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational

The College Union Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI) is an annual Poetry Slam tournament put on by the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) in which teams of four or five college students from different colleges and universities compete against each other. Its location changes every year.

The competitive element is not the primary focus of the event; it is an opportunity for student poets to showcase their art and to develop their writing and presentation skills so as to take advantage of future opportunities in poetry.[1] The event is inclusive, and all students are welcome.[2]

History

The first CUPSI tournament was organized in 2001 by Robb Thibault. It was held at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Seven teams competed in the first tournament. The number of teams participating in CUPSI has grown since then with 53 teams competing in 2014.[3] The 2016 competition will take place at the University of Texas at Austin on April 6–9.[4]

The increase in attendance coincides with the growth of slam poetry itself. Poets such as Individual World Poetry Slam champion Rudy Francisco have noted a general trend in the prevalence of poetry slam in everyday life.[5]

Several videos of poems performed at CUPSI having gone viral on the internet, including Lily Myers's poem "Shrinking Women", which was viewed by over three million people within a year of its posting,[6] and Patrick Roche's "21," which gained over three million views in its first two weeks after publishing.[7] Poems from CUPSI have been featured on several popular political blogs and news sites, including The Huffington Post,[8] Upworthy,[9] and Jezebel.[10] Many of these videos were filmed and published by Button Poetry.

Format

Teams compete against each other in bouts consisting of four rounds of poetry in which each team sends one poem. The first two days of the tournament are preliminary bouts, and the rankings from these determine which teams advance onto semi-finals. The scores in semi-finals determine who makes Final Stage. Judges are chosen at random from the audience.[11]

CUPSI Poetry Slam Winners By Year

Year	Winner	Number of Teams	Host School
2019	Pennsylvania State University	58	University of Houston
2018	New York University	65	Temple University
2017	Pennsylvania State University, Montclair State University, Temple University, & New York University (Shared Title)	72	University of Illinois-Chicago
2016	Temple University	67	University of Texas-Austin
2015	New York University	68	Virginia Commonwealth University
2014	University of Texas-Austin	53	University of Colorado-Boulder
2013	New York University	59	Barnard College
2012	New York University	48	University of La Verne
2011	Macalester College	37	University of Michigan
2010	University of Wisconsin-Madison	35	Emerson College
2009	University of Pennsylvania	32	University of Pennsylvania
2008	University of New Mexico	22	University of New Mexico
2007	University of Pennsylvania	18	Eastern Michigan University
2006	University of New Mexico	22	Texas State University-San Marco
2005	University of California-Santa Cruz	20	West Chester University
2004	University of California-Berkeley	20	University of California-Berkeley
2003	University of Arkansas	8	University of Arkansas
2002	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	10	Case Western Reserve University
2001	University of California-Berkeley	7	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

See also

• Individual World Poetry Slam
• List of performance poets
• National Poetry Slam
• Women of the World Poetry Slam
• Oral poetry
• Performance poetry
• Poetry Slam
• Poetry Slam, Inc.
• Spoken word

References

1. Caserta, Lauren. "University welcomes back College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational". www.michigandaily.com. The Michigan Daily. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
2. "ACUI Poetry Slam". acui.org. ACUI. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
3. "History of the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational". acui.org. ACUI. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
4. "2016 College Union Poetry Slam Invitational".
5. Mogesq, "Fish". "Slam Champ: Interview with IWPS 2010 Champion Rudy Fransisco". snn.poetryslam.com. Slam National Newsletter. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
6. Young, Robin. "Young Poet's 'Shrinking Women' Goes Viral". hereandnow.wbur.org. Here & Now with Robin Young and Jeremy Hanson. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
7. Silbermann, Matthew. "Speaking Frankly: A Heartfelt Poem Goes Viral, Putting Roche '14 in the Spotlight". paw.princeton.edu. Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
8. "Button Poetry". Huffington Post. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
9. "I Normally Wouldn't Tell Other Dudes To Check Out A Group Of Women, But Here's An Exception". upworthy.com. UpWorthy.
10. "J.K. Rowling Taken to Task for Fetishizing Asian Women in Harry Potter". jezebel.com. Jezebel.
11. "Official Rules of the 2015 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational". acui.org. ACUI. Retrieved December 10, 2014.

External links

College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational

Association of College Unions International

Button Poetry