Yes! Yes! Yes! Whoever said that poetry is boring had never attended a U-Club Poetry Slam! These students are amazing writers and performers. They had such imagery, detail, and emotion in poems written during hours of pain and happiness.
I arrived incredibly early with some family and friends and played hangman until the show started. We waited anxiously for the first poets to start reading in open mc.
They started the music that signaled the beginning of the show. The host got up on stage and explained the process of open mc and slamming for people who had never come before. It’s all rather simple. When a poet is performing, if you want to show appreciation for a certain statement or description, you snap quietly instead of applauding. After they finish you clap loudly and cheer enthusiastically. The open mc poets get up and perform poems they’ve written without being judged. After a few great performances by these skilled artist, the slam began!
The slam is an exhilarating experience. These poets take the stage and pour their hearts out to five volunteer judges from the audience. Each judge has a white board and gives a rating between 1 and 10, 10 being the best. The judges as this event were a lot meaner than normal slams. I had never seen a score below a 7, but at this slam they were giving scores below a 3. It was very strange and very rude. These poets are pouring their hearts and souls to this audience and these judges, and the low scores tell the poets that they suck. It is so rude and these judges should never be allowed to score again. In fact, they were scolded for it at the end of the show. When the scores are announced the audience can boo or cheer for the score. Our job was to make the judges feel bad about themselves for giving bad scores.
It is quite an experience hearing the poetry performed as opposed to reading it quietly. It is so much easier and so much more vivid to hear the passion in person.
The club advertises well, so you should see their signs everywhere. The next slam is November 19.
These slams are also famous for having great poets from around the country visiting to perform. This slam’s guest was Adam Falkner and Jon Sands. Both were amazing writers and performers with deep emotions and passion. Both were incredible and brought amazing works to the table. And both have Facebook pages with more info and videos of their performances. Feel free and encouraged to friend them. Also, don’t forget to come to the next U-Club Poetry Slam!
