7 June 2013
POETRY: The second annual SLAM Poetry competition brought Poly’s poets to the Little Theater stage.
By Kira Roybal, Staff writer
Most students are only exposed to poetry at school, and more often than not, analyzing poetry is their least favorite part of the literature class curriculum. The beauty of poetry is often masked by its reputation as a complex, impenetrable monster. “Is it really necessary to read a poem about some road diverging in a forest?” is a question that has probably popped up in the minds of many students as their teacher discusses the writing style of Robert Frost.
However, while it is difficult for many young minds to grasp the full concept behind a poem, this does not mean that they cannot appreciate the emotions behind the words. This is where SLAM poetry comes in to give students a chance to take a crack at penning and performing a poem of their own; as one can infer, the “SLAM” in SLAM poetry indicates that this type of poem oftentimes addresses and denounces some sort of social ill or a problem in one’s personal life.
This year’s second annual SLAM poetry contest, which was held in the Little Theater on May 31, witnessed a broad array of topics from societal prejudices and the effects of drug use to the menu at McDonald’s. The first round of the contest began in the junior literature classrooms, where students voted on their favorite solo, duo and group performances from their class. These finalists moved onto the last stage of the competition in the theater.
The poems were judged on a 15 point scale in three focus areas: poem conventions, interpretation and performance. Poly’s poets were expected to present their ideas clearly while implementing figurative language, body motions, energy and rhythm. The poems were also, of course, expected to be memorized.
Kimberely Yeyna, a literature teacher at Poly and the head coordinator of the SLAM poetry contest, was inspired to introduce SLAM poetry to Poly’s students after following the Brave New World Youth Competition, a SLAM poetry competition, for a number of years. The poems began just as a final class project for the junior literature classes and have since progressed to become part of a competition fit for the Little Theater stage.
“The SLAM competition gives students an arena to demonstrate their voices outside of the normal “essay-style” writing. It also gives [them] the chance to use their creativity and to perform in front of a crowd. The entire process is a challenge that pushes many students beyond what they imagined,” Yeyna said.
Briana Wilson (11), a finalist in the competition, performed a solo piece about the feeling of anxiety. Ironically she entitled her poem “Don’t Panic.” She explained that it was inspired by an episode from the TV show The Twilight Zone in which five characters are trapped in a room with no windows and no doors. Her poem was not simply centered around this particular episode, however. She describes the anxiety that many high school students experience: a sealed room that most believe they cannot escape from because they do not look up to see that there is no ceiling above them.
“I think a lot of high school students experience way more anxiety than people give them credit for. A lot of burdens weigh down upon you, and you feel like you just can’t get out of it,” Wilson said.
Wilson credits author Shel Silverstein as her first exposure to poetry. Her early love of poetry prompted her to participate in Speech Meet, a poetry reading competition, from third to sixth grade. She stated that to this day she enjoys writing poetry in her spare time. “It’s a way to express myself and connect with my audience. I want to make an impact on all these people,” Wilson said.
The winning solo poem of the SLAM competition, written and performed by Gabriel Pereyra (11), addressed a topic that many teenagers can relate to: being identified and categorized in society. He slams the idea that people should be judged simply by how they look or by what their passions are: “That guy over there is a theater kid, he’s gay/ that girl over there has short hair, she’s a lesbian” are a couple of memorable lines from his poem.
Pereyra got the inspiration for his poem when he began to learn about the civil rights movements, which were geared to erase segregation and prejudices, of the 1950s and 1960s. He also drew emotion from personal experience; Pereyra explained that some people have often assumed that he is gay simply because he is in theater. For these reasons, he expressed in his SLAM the human need to not be pigeonholed by a closed-minded society. “My poem is meant to feel free, as if something is being lifted off of your chest,” Pereyra said.
Though the competition was reserved for only juniors this year, Yeyna stated that she has been receiving requests to expand it. Perhaps in upcoming years, the SLAM competition may include more rounds or may even extend to become a district-wide event.