Ah April... it's the time of perfect Austin weather, springtime renewal, and oh yeah... best of all, FINALS SEASON at the Austin Poetry Slam!  That's right folks, every April, we bring you some of the best poetry APS has to offer as poets battle to earn spots on the Austin Poetry Slam Nationals Team and B-Sides Team.  Tuesdays in April are gonna be super sweet.

Doors open at 7:30pm for all shows and we try to start the show as close to 8pm as possible.  Get there early if you would like to sign up to slam or judge!

April 3 - Last Chance Slam 

All poets who sign-up will get a chance to read tonight!  The slam format will be one giant round (with a break in the middle), and then a head-to-head-to-head-to-head between the top four poets for the final.  This is the absolute last chance for poets to earn participation or top finisher points that will count towards their eligibility for Quarter Finals #4 and Semi-Finals.  You can be sure folks will be bringing their A game!  Tickets are just $5.

April 10 - Quarter Finals #4

Quarter Finals #4 features the top poets of the fourth quarter who will get to compete for a spot in the Final Slam-Off on Tuesday, April 24th.  Folks who have already qualified from previous Quarter Finals competitions are Kevin Burke, Mal, and Lacey Roop.  Christopher Michael, our IWPS qualifier winner, will also be in Finals.  Who will join them after this night?  Tickets are just $5.

April 17 - Semi-Finals ft. Luka Lesson, Australian National Champ

Here is the rumble from down under... well, not really. We just couldn't resist a bad joke about featuring the AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPION at our Semi-Finals slam!  The top poets (who have not already qualified for Finals) from throughout the year get to compete for the last five spots in Finals the following week.  You will not want to miss this one!  Tickets are $8 in advance and go up to $10 at the door, so get 'em early!

April 24 - Finals Slam-Off ft. Derrick Brown

As we like to say at the Austin Poetry Slam, this is the money round!  The top five poets from this evening will get to represent Austin at the 2012 National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, NC.  These folks win an all-expense paid trip (we cover registration, flight, hotel and usually a per diem for food) to perform poetry - how awesome is that?  The bottom five poets from this night are invited to become part of the Austin B-Sides, who we support in sending to Southern Fried Poetry Slam, the largest regional competiton in the country.  No other poetry slam in the country gives this many opportunities to this many poets and none of it would be possible without your support - so thank you for coming to our shows every week and bring part of our community!

And HOLY ARMADILLOS, our feature for Finals Slam-Off 2012 is none other than the innumerably awesome, Derrick Brown, founder of Write Bloody Publishing.  Mascara will ramble black ropes of tears down your face if you miss this one!  Tickets are $9 in advance and $12 at the door, so get 'em early! :)