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WEST PALM BEACH — There’s nothing fancy about the stage at RJ’s Lounge, just some mood lighting and a DJ tucked into the corner. But soon, this stage will transform into a happening, powered not by watts, but words.

“I spit fire like I was born to do this,” proclaims Therese “Chunky” Hill, striding to the mic, “I been baptized in lyrical diction.”

Hill is more than a poet. She’s a verbal athlete in training for the 20th annual National Poetry Slam, the so-called “Super Bowl of Poetry,” which is expected to draw up to 500 people and 67 poetry teams to West Palm Beach beginning Tuesday.

Hill’s group, The Stage, will battle teams from the U.S. and Canada in clubs and venues along Clematis Street, culminating in a finale Saturday at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

It’s a weeklong war of wits and rhyme as teams vie for a $2,000 prize, bragging rights and the chance to change the world, one word at a time.

“People who perform poetry need to paint a picture to hear,” says Hill, a 10-year veteran of the local scene and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy.

Poetry slams, where competitors are judged on their spoken verse and performance skills by a panel of audience members, were created in Chicago by poet Marc Smith in 1990. Normally, a city’s “slam master” presents a bid to Chicago-based Poetry Slam Inc. to host the event, and West Palm was preparing one for 2010.

But it was courted this year after Madison, Wis., the 2008 host, wasn’t able to repeat, says local volunteer coordinator Casandra Tanenbaum.

Poetry slams aren’t new here — there have been successful regular events at RJ’s, which is on 45th Street, and at Delray Beach’s Dada. The Stage’s members include an actress, a teacher in prisons, an African drum teacher and a paralegal — and topics can vary from the human condition to sexual and cultural identity to whatever moves the poet, meaning the language can be honest and very raw.

The Stage, for instance, hosts a monthly erotic poetry night, says member Desiree Karnis, for the purposes of expression (her poetry centers on female empowerment) and to draw an audience unaware “that there’s even a scene here,” she says. “We’ve been working really hard to create one.”

If poetry slam is considered a sport — and given its mix of verbal dexterity, athletic energy and theatrical skills, it should be — the defending two-time champion team from Charlotte, N.C., would be, say, the 1980 Soviet Olympic hockey team. “If I were a team going up against them, you wouldn’t be able to print my response in a family newspaper,” says Poetry Slam Inc. spokesman Eirick Ott.

Henry Sampson, vice president of PSI, says the national slam usually gets about 85 or 90 teams, but expects fewer than 70 this year because of the economy.

“Poets are not on the upper economic levels to start with, so we’re used to it,” Sampson says.

Steve Crist, vice president of destination sales for the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau, says West Palm Beach has high hopes for the event “because it does more than just bring in new room night revenue, which is important, but because it has the potential to introduce the Palm Beaches to people who might be visiting the area for the first time, and will be inspired to return.”

The National Poetry Slam has been in such cities as Chicago, San Francisco and Austin, Texas, which has hosted it three times. Beth Krauss, media manager for Austin’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, says it’s been well attended not only by visitors but by members of Austin’s “young and creative local scene. It brings new life into the city when it’s here.”

The members of The Stage say they’re hoping West Palm Beach will embrace the event, and the local scene, as much as they have been embraced — team members have performed in local churches and events, and staged a benefit in West Palm’s notorious Dunbar Village housing complex.

“I’ve had poets call from all around the country, wanting to know what’s going on with this team and trying to figure us out,” Karnis says. “But you know, in the movies, it’s the underdog that wins.”

National Poetry Slam

Beginning Tuesday and culminating in a finale Saturday at the Palm Beach Convention Center. Bouts are nightly at 7 and 9 at Clematis Street clubs Roxy’s, Respectable Street, O’Shea’s, Dr. Feelgoods, The Lounge and Monarchy.

For information and tickets, go to poetryslam.com