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| Ben Aegerter performs at the SJHS Poetry Slam | 170.58 KB |
| Robert Tulley performs at the SJHS Poetry Slam | 151.12 KB |
You probably know that people write poems, but did you know that people also perform them? Springville Junior High School had a Poetry Slam competition on Wednesday, April 30th at 2:00PM in the school auditorium. All students who wanted to participate signed up and performed, and the contestants with the top ten scores advanced to the district competition, which took place at Salem High School.
A poetry slam is different than just going up on a stage and reciting a poem out loud. The contestants are supposed to actually perform, using different hand gestures, voice tones, and other dramatic factors to express the poem. Three of the SJHS English teachers, Ms. McBride, Ms. Dunn, and Ms. Neeley, were the judges of the competition. The contestants were judged on memorization and their performance skills. “Most students had their poems completely memorized, so what we focused on was energy, expression, and clarity,” Ms. McBride said.
There were three different categories for poems that could be used in the competition: dramatic, humorous, and original (which means that the student wrote their own). The poem had to have at least twelve lines and the performance had to be less than three minutes long.
A lot of students signed up for the Slam; much more than the teachers had originally expected. The Slam lasted about an hour, with more than 70 kids taking the stage to perform. “Everybody did a great job at the Poetry Slam!” said Brittany Burton, an eighth grade contestant.
It was a difficult decision, but in the end the judges narrowed down the students to ten finalists. “It was tough to decide who went on to the finals,” said Ms. McBride. “I was really impressed with the quality of the performances. Also, many students recited original poems that were very well written. A lot of talent and hard work went into these performances.” The top ten students were Olivia Brown, Zoe Dalley, Chloe Potter, Elizabeth Setzer, Robert Tulley, Abby Kawai, Sara King, Sarah Ohman, Connor Widtfeldt, and Jackie Durfy. They were selected to move on to the final competition at Salem.