About this Event
DC Horror Book Club presents our first poetry slam as a fundraiser for our scholarship program. All ticket sales for this event will be donated to DC Horror Book Club's events and scholarships sending horror writers of the DMV to a writing convention in Pittsburgh, PA (StokerCon 2026).
Join us on January 20 at Lost Generation Brewing to watch some amazing spoken word poetry by artists in the DC area, featuring local artist Javon Rustin (@javonrustin). Hosted by Addy Lugo.
Doors will open at 7, signup by 7:30pm, Show starts at 8.
Tickets will be $15 at the door (no cash) and $12 in advance through Eventbrite. All ages will be admittable but a parent/guardian is recommended for ages 16 and below. There may be adult themes to poems and while the host issues a content warning at the beginning, poets will not be expected to provide individual trigger/content warnings.
FEATURING JAVON RUSTIN
Javon Rustin is a poet, performer, and computer programmer; a writer of stories, stanzas, and software. He is a 2x HBCU graduate, receiving his Bachelors and Masters from North Carolina A&T. In the realm of poetry competitions, Javon has since been a 3x national poetry slam finalist as well as a regional slam champion and regional team finalist. He has worked as a teaching artist for youth in D.C., Texas, and North Carolina. His hobbies include reading and turning trauma into halfway decent jokes. Javon has performed and spoken for organizations such as Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Hyena’s Comedy Nightclub, Coppin State University, Morgan State Alumni Group, Envision Health, and DFW Airport. His most recent additions to his performance catalog include theatrical shows held at Black Rock Theater in Germantown, MD and The Epic Theaters in Dallas, TX. Javon has been published in six anthologies and his performances can be found on Button Poetry, Write About Now, and All Def Poetry.
SLAM RULES
The Winter Slam will consist of three rounds of original poetry. All competitors will be required to sign up by 7:30pm with the draw at 7:45pm. We will be taking up to 12 competitors in the first round, 7 in the second round, 3 in the final round. $200 dollars will be awarded for first place.
We will take 6 advanced sign ups with free entry (reach out to [email protected] for more details), otherwise it is first come, first serve.
All competitors will have 3 minutes for their piece in every round with a 10 second grace period, after which time penalties will take place. Once you reach 4:20 in time, you will be asked to leave the stage.
All scores will be rated from 0-10 with the highest and lowest scores dropped. EACH ROUND WILL BE CLEAN SLATE. In the event of a tie, a one minute round will be added as a tie breaker for the top 2.
All pieces must be original to the poet, there are no props, costumes, group pieces, or animal acts. Leadership also reserves the right to censor/disqualify poets who engage in any bigotted, racist, transphobic, homophobic, or prejudicial speak.
If you have questions about these rules, please email us at [email protected].
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Lost Generation Brewing Company, 327 S Street Northeast, Washington, United States
USD 0.00 to USD 15.00
