Poetry Slam Brings Original Artistry, Creative Freedom
Poets at Saturday night's event perform. Photo by Derek Piotrowski

Poetry Slam Brings Original Artistry, Creative Freedom

Fifteen poets took the stage Sept. 19 at the Poetry Slam, hosted by Centertainment Productions.

Every poet had three minutes and thirty seconds to perform, with 10 audience members, who were randomly selected, judging the performances.

“It’s all about just people sharing their souls with us and having friends come and support them,” said Allison Kelley, public relations coordinator for Centertainment and host of the slam.

Kelley began the event by sharing some poetry of her own for the first time.

The slam gave students the opportunity to share their original writing in a safe and supportive environment, she said. Poets were given complete freedom with their performance, and any topic was fair game for the to share with the audience.

“I think that students are always looking for opportunities to perform. They are looking to share what they have created behind closed doors and they’re really just looking for recognition for what they are doing,” said Emily Wisniewski, late night coordinator for Centertainment and the organizer of the event.

The top five scorers performed a second time, and the top three participants received prizes. An open mic portion at the end of the event allowed members of the audience to take the stage and share their artistry as well.

“Stories unite people. I think this is a beautiful way to show that and to stand up in front of somebody and say, ‘this is what I went through or this is what I’m excited about’ and being vulnerable,” Kelley said.

 

Mary Knight

Reporter

mknig512@uwsp.edu

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