An epic battle was witnessed on Wednesday evening at 3rd Place on Appalachian Street. The poetry gods called for blood to be shed. The room shook with their thunder of displeasure, stomping feet and foul moods. And so a sacrifice was put upon the stage.
Lyric Spoken Word Poetry Club held three slams last semester. The top three poets from each of these slams were invited to return for the ultimate showdown and a chance to win one of the five spots available on Appalachian State’s 2019 slam team. This year the team will be travelling to the University of Houston to compete in the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI).
Nine poets shared the stage. Nine poets put their hearts into every word they spoke and were rewarded with judgement by three, who would attempt to pin a number to their expression. The audience snapped and cheered for the poet and when low scores were presented they booed the judges.
In the end five poets were revealed. In fourth place was Brandon Schwartz. Coming in with a tie for third was Ellie Wright and Charles Clarke. In second place was Liv Winnicki, and finally, the Grand Slam Champion of the 2018-2019 school year was Nadia Woyee.
These five poets will represent Appalachian State University at CUPSI.