Props to our class for placing 3/4 places at the Poetry Slam!!! I honestly wasn't expecting to see any of our class participating but I was pleasantly surprised when Craig Kevin and Jess all had the guts to show up there and read their work. I really loved all three of Jess' poems about the bathroom. When I read them in class I thought they were witty and fun and very well written and apparently so did the audience and judges. Kevin got a laugh out of the audience just like he did out of our workshop group when he read the poem about his sweetheart. Another really fun poem. And finally, Craig... Well, I've always been impressed with the way he writes his poems, and for someone in an intro level class I think he writes poems very well. It was my first time hearing the poem about the Beatles and I really enjoyed that one, and I also enjoyed it in the full class work shop. Poems like that where I have to think and don't really get it at first usually frustrate me, but this time I just liked hearing how he read his own work, it made me think about the poem in the way he wanted people to think about it, so I understood it a lot better.
Besides our class, I was impressed with some of the work from the other students. I'm not sure if they were all in a class together where they were assigned to write poems, or just did it as a hobby, but I found that they were all somewhat similar. I was really impressed with Chelsea. She was the one that wrote the poem about Stainglass Eyes. I know Chelsea because she is on the volleyball team here with my roommate. Everyone describes her as quiet and I've always known her to keep to herself, so you can imagine my surprise as she got up there and read her poem with such intensity. She also had a lot of attitude when reading, kind of like, "you don't know me, fuck off" and it was a side of her I never saw. I guess the saying, "Never judge a book by it's cover" is true here, because I would have never expected that out of her. I also really enjoyed that one guy who's poem was kind of like a rap. I really felt like that poem came from the heart, that he was writing from personal experience, about something that really hurts and bothers him. I was SO impressed that he was able to recite the whole thing by memory. The poem sounded more like a song, but I think that's what songs are; poetry with a beat. I heard him say after that he has put a beat to it so I think that's really cool that on his free time he likes to write and make poetry and music. I'd be really interested to hear the full version of the song. I was surprised that both people did not place, because I thought their work was very original and thought provoking.
And as for the winner, Mwelwa...she has always impressed me as a student. She's a very involved young woman and is also very kind and outgoing. Her performance was very impressive although it was unclear to me whether or not she was reading her own work, or reading work BY someone who inspires her. If she wasn't reading her own work it's a little frustrating that she got first place because I thought the contestants were supposed to be reading work they've produced. But still, her performance was impressive and moving and gave me chills at many times. I thought it was brave of her to read a piece of work on race, something that still is uncomfortable for some people. I am taking a class on the Civil Rights Movement right now as I've mentioned before so I feel so much more empowered after taking that class when I hear of people overcoming the struggles of race so I really enjoyed listening to her read.
Now I kind of wish that I had the guts to perform. I still am uncomfortable with a lot of my work, even in class work shops so I got really nervous at the opportunity to perform in front of people I didn't know. But the whole atmosphere was very warm and inviting so I am considering doing it next year!!
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