Author: Lauren Rewers
On a warm fall evening, the unexpected sound of laughter drifts through the open doors of Occidental’s largest chemistry classroom. Clapping, cheering, snapping and shouting ring out at almost constant intervals. What is most striking, though, are the singular voices reciting poetry ranging from eulogies to tongue-in-cheek odes to past lovers.
One such voice is visiting poet Michael Lee.
“Our job is that of shipbuilders, to create something bigger than we are and set it free into the dark,” he said in his poem about artists. “A crowd is an endless ocean, teeming and built for the transmuting.”
Lee was one of two nationally award-winning guest poets who performed at the Beginner’s Poetry Slam on Oct. 11. The event, organized by the Spoken Word Club, was intended for students who have never previously been involved in slam poetry.
“Slam poetry is a combination of poetry and performance. Writers will write their own original works and then spend hours perfecting their performance,” President of Spoken Word Club and music major Brandon Green (junior) said.
In addition to an opportunity to display art, poetry slams are also competitions. Slams at Occidental generally consist of two rounds, with each artist reciting one poem per round. A set of judges comprised of spectators randomly chosen from the audience rates each work and assigns it a number from one through 10. The highest and lowest scores are thrown out, and the remaining numbers are then rounded up and added for a final score.
“It’s the most democratic way to do it,” Green said.
In addition to the unorthodox judging style, poetry slams are unusual in that the emcees encourage the audience to be active participants. They normally snap, clap and comment during the performances, which in turn can influence the judges’ scores.
“Real slam communities are very accepting of people’s stories because you just take for granted that when people get up on stage they’re being really vulnerable,” Program Director and English and Comparative Literary Studies (ECLS) major Daphne Auza (junior) said. “It’s an expectation of the audience to respect that.”
For this year’s Beginner’s Poetry Slam, five students performed their work. ECLS major Maggie Mather (first-year) and Critical Theory and Social Justice major (CTSJ) Magda Wittig (sophomore) were the first and second-place winners respectively.
Wittig described performing as a nerve-wracking experience.
“I was so scared. I was shaking. The first [poem] I did, I couldn’t keep my hands still,” she said. “It was something I was doing on the DL for such a long time that it’s so weird to put it out there in front of people. I had never done that before. I didn’t know it was a possibility, really.”
The Spoken Word club’s next poetry slam will be in November. The five top-scoring artists will be part of the team that Occidental will send to the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational in Boulder, Colo. this spring. In addition to the tournament, the competition includes writing workshops and performances by famous spoken word poets.
Along with slams, the club hosts open mic nights and writing workshops throughout the year. It also has a KOXY radio show “Say That” at 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday nights.
Ultimately, Spoken Word aims to give poets open spaces in which to express their art and opinions.
“It’s a gospel, in its own sense. It provides a platform for people to say things and do things that they just couldn’t say in a normal conversation,” Mather said. “I love poetry because it dissolves barriers for everyone.”
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