Slam Poetry Club: Poetry With Gusto

Skyline has many clubs this year, adding on to a roster of fun and interesting types of extracurricular activities. It can be very difficult to choose a club that you really enjoy, but there are quite a few to choose from, and one that may be worth trying out is Slam Poetry. However, very few people understand what slam poetry is.

Some people might think that Slam Poetry involves insulting opponents with poetry; this isn’t exactly the case, because, even though there are competitions, there isn’t as much of a competitive element, at least not to the point of opponents insulting each other. Despite this, Slam Poetry is one of Skyline’s most unique clubs and is definitely worth checking out.

So what is Slam Poetry exactly? Well, it is similar to the poetry reading, but what usually comes to mind when someone hears “poetry reading” is a group of bohemians and grandmas high on caffeine expressing themselves through words. Slam Poetry is a little more extreme than that. Slam Poetry is first and foremost about delivery.

Poems in slam poetry are meant to be performance pieces, meaning the poet has to put on a “show” for their audience. You can tell a Slam poet apart from the rest purely based on their energy and passion they put into their delivery. The entire goal of a slam poetry poem is to invoke an emotional response from the audience.

A second important characteristic of Slam Poetry is its subject matter. Poems in Slam Poetry often have to do with political or social topics, which can lead to serious topics being used in poems, which can help the poet sell their performance. Choosing political and social issues the poet feels conscious about, can make it easy for the delivery of the poem to be full of energy and emotion.

Many poets tackle issues discussed within society in their poetry, but for Slam Poetry, it’s part of the mission statement. All poems are also original works, which can make the reader feel more involved in what they’re reciting, leading to a stronger performance.

Slam Poetry at Skyline is best characterized by its weekly meetings. Every Tuesday, the slam poetry club meets in the black box here at Skyline and have participating poets recite their poems, as well as help one another, improve their poems, as well as their writing and delivery skills.

The club is assisted by Dottie McGinnis, a poet who has toured the country and is a Skyline alum. McGinnis and the Slam Poetry club hold labs for those who are interested in learning the intricacies of Slam Poetry, or just want to experience the club for what it is.

Skyline’s Slam Poetry club meets every Tuesday in the black box at 6:00 pm. Anyone who is interested may come and witness the great talent that Skyline’s Slam Poetry Program has to offer.