Poets from around the country will gather with nearly 1,000 fans from July 9 to 11 at the Greenway Court Theatre on the Fairfax High School campus to perform and compete at the 7th annual InkSlam Poetry Festival.

Shihan Van Clief has been hosting Da Poetry Lounge since 2000 at the Greenway Court Theatre. 9photo by Alfred Collar)

The festival will offer workshops and panels, as well as team and individual (“indie”) performance-based poetry competitions, known as slam poetry or slam, on Friday and Saturday.

The festival officially kicks off tonight at 8 p.m. with “Founders Day”, a presentation of the story of Da Poetry Lounge and its four founders, Dante Basco, Poetri Smith, Shihan Van Clief and DJ Brutha Gimel Hooper.

Da Poetry Lounge is a weekly Tuesday night open mic session that has been hosted at the Greenway Court Theatre for 15 years. InkSlam Poetry Festival producer, Ty Donaldson, said slam poets and slam teams are coming from different parts of the country and state to compete.

“We have a team from San Diego, Palo Alto and Oakland. I believe people are coming from Austin, and our indie winner from two years ago, Ed Mabrey, is coming from Charlotte, North Carolina,” Donaldson said.

Da Poetry Lounge brings approximately 200 to 300 poets and fans regularly. Seats are first-come, first-serve inside the 99-seat theatre. Many guests sit on stage behind the poets as they perform, or sit on the floor between the first row of seats and the stage.

The Greenway Court Theatre is a program of the Greenway Arts Alliance, a nonprofit that partners with artists and community organizations to promote art education and creativity.

Pierson Blaetz, co-founder and co-artistic director of the Greenway Arts Alliance, said InkSlam could not happen without Da Poetry Lounge, as well as the Greenway Court Theatre.

“It’s never dipped in attendance,” Blaetz said. “It’s just been an unbelievable gathering for a long period of time. It’s been a steady, great thing.”

Da Poetry Lounge first started in Basco’s living room. After it grew in popularity, attracting more than 70 people, they decided to move to the now-closed Cabaret Café in Hollywood.

After the café closed in 2000, Blaetz asked Smith if he would like to use the newly-renovated Greenway Court Theatre.

“For me, [going to Da Poetry Lounge] is always a chance to hear what young people are thinking. It’s an honest, direct channel to the stories of young people in L.A. So if I’m starting to feel out of touch, and not sure what’s going on, I go to Da Poetry Lounge,” Blaetz said.

Life-long poet Van Clief has been hosting Da Poetry Lounge since it began in Basco’s living room. Van Clief, who will serve as festival director, said people may be surprised at the InkSlam Poetry Festival.

“People should expect a lot of truth, a wide range of stories being told, from high school students to veterans of 20-plus years. You’ll have a lot of fun,” Van Clief said.

Van Clief said he is looking forward to seeing Mabrey compete with other slam poets in the indie competition.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how he does against a new crop of people this year,” he said. “I’m also interested to see the Bay [Area] teams, to see what they bring.”

Mabrey has attended InkSlam for the past three years. He is a professional touring poet.

Mabrey said slam poetry, unlike written poetry, makes the poet live in the moment.

“You only have one opportunity to make your point. You can’t go back. If someone misses a line or a metaphor, you can’t go back and explain it,” Mabrey said. “You have to craft your poem to make your point concisely because people can’t hear it again.”

He said the highlights of InkSlam are the workshops, the poet camaraderie and of course, the competitions.

“The big thing right now is reality TV. Slam poetry is the best reality TV you’ve ever seen. Every poem is its own channel, and you’re not in control of the remote,” Mabrey said.

The Greenway Court Theatre is located at 544 N. Fairfax Ave. A festival pass, which allows access to all events, including workshops and competitions, is $50. For a complete schedule, visit www.inkslam.org.