Poetry Slam [r e f l e c t i o n]
Over 40 people attended the poetry slam, with over 20 poets - including anonymous submissions. We experienced poetry surrounding all kinds of topics - friendship, feminism, suicide, anxiety, addiction. The amount of people and feeling that filled the small classroom in the small amount of time recess provided was absolutely breathtaking. The amount of courage the poets had was evident as they stood in the front of the class, emotion dripping from their voice. In any other situation, many students, myself included, would be incredibly nervous presenting to the audience we were presented with. Maybe it was the passion they felt regarding the topics, or maybe it was the thought of finally being able to remove the weight from their shoulders, but, despite having only 3 days to prepare, these students shared the confidence of a presenter who had done this 100 times before. The audience, patiently listened to and empathized with the poets. There was absolutely no conversation during the slam, and utmost respect was given to the presenters. Standing on the side, watching the audience as well as the poet, I wish I could’ve found a way to record the reactions of the students listening. Tears were shed as often as grins were cracked. You could see the passion on their faces as they seemed to relate with the poem in a way that was completely different from any other person in the room. We were cut off by the bell, unfortunately, but had we had more time, I am sure that some of the audience members who had no preparation beforehand, would have gotten up to the front of the class and just talked - about their feelings, issues they’re passionate about, how they felt listening to other poetry. I hope, in the future, that I can host more poetry slams on bigger scales - expanding to the entire school, then possibly public places such as the library.















