Yawpisti

Eleonora Fisco started her experience in the poetry slam movement in 2017 as co-founder of the poetry collective Yawpisti in Pisa together with Marco Gorgoglione. They animated the poetry slam scene in Pisa, Sicily and Basilicata and performed all over Italy until 2021.

Yawpisti’s poetics fused Walt Whitman’s liberating, visceral “yawp” with a collective identity, creating poetry that thrives on overflowing voices, styles, and sources without hierarchy. Performance transforms their poetry into a tangible, present act: understanding emerges empathetically, like listening to a song in a foreign language, where presence and energy matter more than authorship.

What is a poetry slam?

Poetry slam is a show that consists of a competition of performance poetry. It is a poetic practice that originated in Chicago in the 1980s, which aims to bring poetry back to the streets by breaking down the barriers between poets and audiences. Anyone can be a poet for an evening and anyone can judge.

Poetry slam is a cultural phenomenon that attracts large audiences, who are encouraged to actively participate in the show. It has now spread globally: more than 104 countries are involved in a world championship of performance poetry. It was imported to Italy in 2001, and in 2013, the Italian Poetry Slam League (LIPS) was founded, which organises more than 500 competitions a year and promotes performance poetry in Italian and various dialects throughout the country.

The competition is based on a few simple rules:

• Own texts
• Only body and voice
• 3 minutes of time
• The public votes

Would you like to find out more and organise a poetry slam in your town? Contact me.