News

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

San Marcos High School is Hosting a Poetry Slam in the Library at Lunch Through April 3

A poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry. It puts dual emphasis on writing and performance, encouraging poets to focus on what they're saying and how they're saying it. A poetry slam is an event in which poets perform their original work alone or in teams before an audience and are judged using “Olympics” style scores from a group of judges. The work is judged as much on the manner and enthusiasm of its performance as its content or style, and many slam poems are not intended to be read silently from the page.

The San Marcos poetry slam began at lunchtime on April 28 and continues with semifinals on April 29 and April 30, as scheduled below:

• Wednesday (12:07 to 12:40) semi-finalists perform a piece they have written based on words the teacher librarian gives them just prior to the competition
• Thursday (12:23 to 12:54) the final three contestants will perform a piece they write on a theme assigned to them that day.

There will be three judges each day (teachers, local poets, and local personalities from the media).

Poetry slam poems are often highly politicized, drawing on racial, economic, and gender injustices as well as current events for subject matter. They feature a broad range of voices, styles, cultural traditions, and approaches to writing and performance. Some use traditional theatric devices including shifting voices and tones, while others recite an entire poem in ironic monotone. Some poets use nothing but their words to deliver a poem, while others stretch the boundaries of the format, tap-dancing or beat boxing or using highly choreographed movements. Poems cover a range of emotions, experiences, and topics.