*The Southern Fried Poetry Slam is set to take place this year in New Orleans. This annual regional competition pits teams from all over the southeast against each other in three days of competition. Dates have not yet been finalized.

*The Rust Belt Regional Poetry Slam is the big regional competition prior to Nationals for teams from all over the Midwest. This year’s edition will take place June 27-28 in Columbus, Ohio. For more information, go to: www.columbuspoetry.com

*West Coast Regionals are held every summer in Big Sur, California, and include some of the greatest panoramic views in the known universe.

*The Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF) will be rolling into Black Mountain, North Carolina again May 9-11. The three-day event features musical acts and storytellers from around the world. The slam, hosted by Jim Nave, is one of the featured events, and attracts slammers from across the country. www.theleaf.com

*The Slab City Slam, Arizona’s annual regional poetry slam, takes place in the early summer every year at Arcosanti, an experimental city known as a “Arcology”, 60 miles north of Phoenix.

*The Taos Poetry Circus, which is reported to be the largest annual gathering of poets in the country, takes place every June and features workshops and the World Heavyweight Championship Poetry Bout. The event also features an excellent slam, run by Jim Nave, and brings in slammers and academics from all parts of the world into the gorgeous scenery of the New Mexico high desert. www.poetrycircus.org/tpc.html

*Shouting Coyote is a big poetry and music festival, including a slam, held in Tujunga, California.
www.shoutingcoyote.com