On Tuesday May 5th, six of Colonia High School’s Poetry Club members competed against each other in the school’s 2nd Annual Poetry Slam.
The students each wrote two poems for the Slam, each having to be 3 minutes or under in duration. The students’ poems varied in topics, but each had one common goal: to attempt to make it to the top three.
Performers each had three weeks to write and practice their poems leading up to the day of the school slam. In order to participate in Woodbridge’s Poetry Slam on May 28th, schools have to choose three participants after hosting their own school slams. Each high school in Woodbridge Township will compete, each having three students represent their school. From Colonia there will be sophomore Micaela Camacho, as well as juniors Rabeya Hussani and Devon Savage performing. Comacho earned first place in Colonia’s slam, with 55 points, Hussani in second with 50, and Savage in third with 47 points. The judges at Colonia’s Slam had to listen to each of the performers’ two poems and rate them on a scale from one to ten, so an individuals’ score could only go up to 60 points after the two rounds.
“I was really impressed with the quality of the writing and was extremely moved by several of the performers,” commented Stephanie Platko, who was one of the judge’s during the first and second rounds of competition.
Other performers at Colonia’s Slam included seniors Matthew Cowan, Samantha Girod, and Nigel Douglas. Savage earned his third place spot after winning a tie breaker against Cowan after each earning 47 points. The tie breaker took place on May 7th with three different judges from the first two rounds, including Cynthia DiChiara. Savage and Cowan were each asked to perform one new poem to be judged out of 10 points, which means that they could earn up to thirty points each. Savage ended up winning by 1 point with 25 points and Cowan earning 24 points. There were six judges overall, three during the first two rounds and three different judges during Cowan and Savage’s tie breaker.
Last year at the Barron Arts Center competition, Woodbridge High Schools’s Sarah Raicers won by a tenth of a point against Colonia’s own Tenomewah “Lynette” Murray. With outstanding performers this year, will Colonia be able to obtain victory against its cross-town rivals? Savage even competed last year in the event, but didn’t make it past the first round. In order to move onto the second round students must obtain the highest score amongst the students competing from their school.
“I think that competing in the Poetry Slam is a great way to hear other performers’ work and see how Poetry Club can really perform,” stated Savage, who has been a member of Poetry Club since it began.
Poetry Club provides students with a place to create and perform works of poetry they’ve written and allows them to grow as people and writers. The club meets on Tuesdays after school in room 207 with Mrs. Danielle Allen.
