The everyday routine of the average person drags on unnoticed and unquestioned. Until it doesn’t. Until the words of poetry are spoken into the wide open space, the breath of fresh air, the burst of colour that is a poetry slam. You can’t help but leave a slam uplifted and electrified. If you’ve ever been to a poetry slam (in person or virtually), you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, I hope I can show you even just a taste of what it feels like to be at a poetry slam.
I can only speak to the virtual experience of a poetry slam (i.e. a poetry competition), which, if you can believe it, hits just as hard as in person. On the evening of March 27th, 2021, four poetry clubs from four universities came together to host the ultimate virtual poetry slam and late-night open mic. McMaster Unspoken, McGill’s mcsway poetry collective, UBC’s Slam Poetry, and Western’s Spoken Word Society created a beautiful safe space for poets all over Canada to gather virtually and pour our souls into one another. What made this situation unique was that we couldn’t replicate it in person even if we tried. We were all connected across provinces by invisible strings and yet somehow it felt like we were gathered in the same room.
The slam begins with an introduction of the hosts, the judges, and the competitors. The judges are audience members, all from different schools. Each judge scores each competitor’s performance based on a scale from 1-10 with one decimal place allowed. What I find so endearing about slams is that most often all scores end up being between 9 and 10, with only decimal places to set competitors apart. The scores are pretty meaningless anyways, since a poem’s greatness can’t be measured by mere decimal places. Although it’s a competition, everyone leaves feeling like a winner at the end of the night, competitor or not. Every poet is so beautiful and brave in their openness and vulnerability to perform that we just want to shower every poet with infinite love. And that’s what we do! From the poet’s voice and rhythm to their use of metaphors and imagery, the audience makes sure each poet knows how incredible their performance was. And for that, there are a multitude of snaps. When a poet says something that resonates with you, you snap. When a line hits you like a slap in the face, you snap. Of course, snapping doesn’t come across if your camera is turned off on Zoom. And so, the Zoom chat becomes explosive with each competitor’s performance, the audience showering each poet with praise, support and *snaps*. What the Zoom camera doesn’t pick up though, is how my body literally shakes with life energy for the duration of the event. Or how my heart starts to melt with warmth from the glowing fire that is the poetry community. It may sound dramatic to some, but if you were there, you would know that I’m not being dramatic at all! After all, we’re a bunch of poets – what else do you expect?
Usually, a slam is broken up by having a feature poet perform a set in between rounds of competitor performances. The featured poet at this evening’s slam was yeg poet laureate, Canadian poetry slam champion and disabled fangirl Nisha Patel (@anothernisha). She graced us with her vibrant presence and vulnerable poetry. She has a new book out called Coconut, which you can buy from Indigo or Glass Bookshop. The feature poet is always the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae that is a poetry slam. You didn’t think it could get any better, and then an established, professional poet steps up and amazes us with their talent and we’re just left in awe.
After 2 rounds of performances, the winners are determined and the prizes are awarded, and then the late-night open mic night begins. No judges, no competition – just sharing. The real ones stay late into the evening listening to each poet pour their heart out, raw and unpolished. It’s pura vida, catharsis and connection. There’s nothing better. I hope this article has let you peek into the window of poetry events, and perhaps even inspire you to attend a poetry slam soon! Poetry, above all, embraces the beautiful mess that is being human. Get out there and experience it.