A crowd of about 60 people piled into Smither Co. Building to check out the poetry slam on Monday night.
A poetry slam is an event where poets perform their own work and are judged by their content and performance.
Twelve poets tried out for positions on the Sam Houston Slam Team.
The judges included local poets, as well as poets from Houston, Austin and SHSU Psychology Professor, Dr. Rowland Miller.
They rated each poet on a scale of 1-10. The first round featured all 12 poets. Four were eliminated during round two. The judges then narrowed it down to five finalists who competed for the four team positions and the one alternate spot.
Poet and event organizer, Evan Carpenter said, “We’re just trying to get a group of slam poets together to complete in slam competitions and the top four people who win tonight will compete on the twenty-fifth of February at the University of Houston.”
After three rounds of emotionally-charged poetry, the judges narrowed the poets down to the four: Chris G. Bailey a.k.a “Champ,” Sarah Darden, Grace Ekeke and Brooklyn Brewer. Sean Anderson a.k.a “Breezy” received the alternate spot.
Bailey said, “I’ve been a participant in the Poet’s Lounge, but this was my first slam. The talent level was high, and it gave me a rush.”
Brewer said, “Sometimes I get nervous because you are putting your personal feelings out there and you just hope people will understand. Everyone might not get it but someone out there will.”
The team will be traveling to Houston for the regional poetry competition and then on to San Marcos for the national competition. The $2 charge at the door was to raise money for the trip to San Marcos.
Judge Kristie Stevens, who used to slam in Corpus Christi, said, “I think there is a lot of talent in this team. They have a really good chance of winning the regional competition.”
Anyone interested in the slam team should visit LSC room 321 at 4 p.m. on Tuesdays or attend The Poet’s Lounge, an open mic session, at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays in the LSC room 320.