“Everybody’s got something to say about poetry
because rhymes peak in meaning shedding light on our unspeakables”
-Adam Gottieib
from “Poet Breathe Now”
I’ve come to appreciate Slam Poetry as an art form over the past few years. I’d first come to discover it on the internet as passed on videos, and then came to notice it even more when I took a creative writing class during my senior year of high school. In the class, we explored a variety of genres in creative writing, poetry being among the few. My English teacher showed us a documentary called Louder than a Bomb, which followed groups of students competing in Chicago’s premiere young adult poetry competition. I found myself so engaged in this film I would look forward to this class—and that is saying something because it was right before lunch.
But what Louder than a Bomb really encompasses is the emotion and the power of spoken word in our society. Slam poetry comments on society, and the human experience in such powerful ways that really allow us to reflect upon our own lives and the state of the world today. They can make you angry, laugh, cry and smile in just one poem. Which is why a few weeks ago I convinced all my friends to go to Hestival with me.
What is Slam?
As much as I appreciate 22 Jump Street’s ode to slam poetry, actual slam is quite a bit different. Defining slam poetry is hard because it is an art form that is so fluid with possibility. At its most basic level, Slam poetry is expressive spoken word. It comes in all different cadences with emphasis on words and raw emotion. Poems can incorporate a bit of singing, or poems can have multiple performers speaking in unison; the possibilities are endless. Slam poetry is an engaging experience like no other and I recommend that everyone take a listen.
How I Ended up at The Hestival
I stumbled upon Hestival for the first time when I was a prospie back last year in April and to this day I’m so glad that I went. I had already committed to Kenyon when I was visiting but was scared that I made a mistake—spoiler alert: now I know for sure that indeed it was not—so I came mainly for some reassurance. Hestival was among the things that confirmed for me that Kenyon was for me. The other prospie girls I was staying with and I went towards the end of Hestival, but just early enough to listen to a couple of poems. I still remember that my favorite was actually a fairly simple yet hilarious one about the Kenyon Krud that had me laughing so hard that I felt pain in my stomach. I remember leaving that night with the thought in my head: OMG I get to go here.
Flash forward to a few weeks ago: I saw flyers for Hestival around and I turned to my friends and told them that we had to go. And I can tell you, it did not disappoint.
What is The Hestival?
Hosted by Kenyon Magnetic Voices, The Hestival is where performers of poetry from the club come to perform live for audiences. It’s a great way to come out and see Kenyon student-poets in action and is open to all students to come and listen. If you have never experienced spoken word poetry in this style, it’s a great way to ease into it. While Hestival usually features student poets on their stage, we had the pleasure of welcoming Dominique Christina, an award winning poet and writer who performed for the second hour while students performed for the first.
Dominique Christina
Dominique Christina has won many poetry titles, including 5 national poetry slam titles. After hearing her perform, there was no questioning why. During her set, she performed one of her most famous poems titled “The Period Poem” which made me laugh so hard I fell off my chair, alongside another poem about when she lost her virginity, which was so cleverly constructed and comical. She hit a few soft spots with her poems about women, including a poem about an enslaved black woman named Anarcha who was the subject of many cruel medical experiments. It was clear to me that Christina was someone who gave us a little piece of herself with every poem, and she had all the strength in the world to tell us her stories and stories of other women through her spoken word. She is powerful and impactful in her writing and I would love to watch her perform again.
I left the Hestival on Sunday night in awe of what I had experienced. It was a bundle of laughter and sorrow all demanding to be felt concurrently; it was the sound of snapping that you heard around the room when something powerful was spoken; it was the standing ovation and roaring claps that followed Christina’s performance; it was truly magic. I hope to attend another Hestival this semester and can truthfully say that it might be among my favorite things to experience at Kenyon.