Last month, students across the nation rhymed, alliterated, and rapped to share their creative sides at high school Poetry Slam events in order to celebrate April’s national poetry month.
On May 25th, the National English Honor Society will team up with the library to put on Palos Verdes High School’s very own third annual Poetry Slam. With all that was going on in April, it was too difficult to find a day for the event. It is such a phenomenal and important event, though, that the Poetry Slam is scheduled for later this May.
At PVHS, “The first [Poetry Slam] was very small, but it seems to be growing bigger and bigger,” says Aileen Willoughby, head librarian. Last year, the event had about fifteen performances, which ranged from free verse poems to limericks to song lyrics. Each performance was meaningful and captivating. “Last year, a boy wrote a poem to his girlfriend who was in the audience,” said Willoughby. So, what better way to express oneself than attending this year’s poetry slam?
“PVHS has a lot of very creative people, so it’d be nice to allow kids to express their creativity [through poetry],” said Willoughby. In contrast to art such as drawing and painting, photography, and music, poetry lacks some well-deserved attention. Poetry is one of the oldest, most beautiful art forms, but it has lost significance for teens against social media and technology. The Poetry Slam will allow PVHS to really appreciate all that poetry has to offer. “Even song lyrics are very poetic. Some students might want to perform their poetry with an instrument,” said Willoughby. No matter what form, every student’s work is expected to be respected and appreciated.
Students should sign up for the event in the library with the name of their poem. Prizes such as gift cards are expected to be given out. Spectator tickets are three dollars in advance and five dollars at the door.
At Torrance High School, the Poetry Slams are so popular that the events fill the auditorium. The school even invites famous slam artists to come perform. With a bit of enthusiasm from PVHS students, our Poetry Slams will grow to be just as elevated and popular.