St. Michael's Students "Slam" First Annual Poetry Contest

Middle school student poets competed against their classmates at first annual poetry slam on Thursday morning. The difference between a reading and a slam is that poetry slam is a competition, explained Headmaster Whitney Slade. The first poetry slam was in 1985 at a Chicago jazz club, he told the students.

“Art plays a huge role at our school,” said St. Michael's Division Head Bob Tavares. “We do not consider these events to be co-circular, [they are] part of the education.”

The Poetry Slam is part of the school’s annual art week, which began with a band concert on Wednesday and will close with an arts festival this Friday.

“At St. Michael's, we have a very gifted group of young poets. It was not hard to get a group of kids together to participate,” said sixth grade teacher Megan Schlichting, who organized the event.

The students had an option to select published or original poems. Poetry slams traditionally only accept original poems, but Tavares said there is educational value for the students to memorize and recite published poets.

The recitations were judged by a panel of teachers on four categories: Best Recitation of a Published Poem Solo, Best Recitation of a Published Poem Pair, Best Recitation of an Original Poem Solo, and Best Recitation of an Original Poem Pair.

“It was a pleasure to judge the poetry slam, to hear the written words come alive, through rhythm, vocal inflection, and attitude,”  Arthur Manchester, the school’s music teacher and band director, said.

Both Tavares and Schlichting anticipate the event will grow in the upcoming years.  As a first time event, a poetry slam was “nebulous and vague” to the students, Tavares said.

“Now the kids have seen poetry can be cool,” he said.

The school will add the winner’s names to a plaque that displays the winners of the geography and spelling bee.

Winners: 

Best recitation of Published poem (solo): Witt Tarantino
Best recitation. (pair): Amelia McConnell and Merrill Scura
Best recitation of original poem (solo): Amanda Barker
Best recitation (pair): Conner and Emmet Shaw, Heather Lind and Sawyer Bartlett-Dunn.