The brave, bright poets of JP Stevens voiced their creative expression in the 9th annual Poetry Slam. On April 25, the Poetry Performance Club represented their students in their Slam Poetry Event, co-hosted by the emcees, junior Bill Tang and senior Mursala Wali. From 5 PM to 7 PM, many parents and students came to the JPS library to cheer on their children and fellow classmates as they emphasized the value of spoken poetry.

Once the audience was seated in the back section of the library, with the organization facilitated by the onstaff custodians, Bill and Mursala provided a warm welcome to the guests. The audience was humorously reminded to adhere to proper poetry etiquette, to silence any cellular devices and snap their fingers instead of clapping as appropriate applause. An introduction to the contest summarized its theme as “Change”. The members emphasized that with poetry, one can supplement a platform to change society and have unconfined expression. With this in mind, the night started off with a friendly opening performance by sophomore Kriti Agrawal. This shook off the initial anxiousness, leading to the first contestant, junior Tanishka Dhake silencing the crowd as she voiced an intense and emphatic poem titled “Still.”

 One after another, students demonstrated their own adaptations of what change meant to them in front of the attentive audience, speaking figuratively as their bodies moved with their voices’ amplification. Between each expression, the emcees enthusiastically encouraged the performers and entertained the audience. 

“I really enjoyed how cozy and friendly the environment was,” stated sophomore Kriti Agrawal. “There were so many gorgeous performances, their deliveries were really good. It actually made me shiver!” 

During the intermission, the audience and performers were allowed to mingle and encourage the other contestants, while getting refreshments. The friendly and intimate atmosphere was an effective boost of morale for many of the performers. With the audience stimulated from the performers’ depictions of change, six more students got ready to present their pieces. 

Junior Ruvanthika Sivaprakasini Veerasikku, took the stage to voice a vulnerable and eye opening poem titled “Mother Reminds me I am Only Fourteen,” expressing the connection between the contrasting points of view of a mother and a daughter. As the last couple performances winded up, there was a slight change in plan with one of the contenders falling sick and being unable to perform. Even through this minor mishap, one of the emcees, Bill Tang, was able to step up and perform junior Vai Patil’s hauntingly touching poem “Scar of the Soul.” 

Preceding the winners announcement, the club advisor, Mr. Ricky Kuczynski, presented a lively poem “Paper People” by slam poetry champion Harry Baker to occupy the audience’s attention and express a different feature to how many competitions around the world occur. Soon after, the judges’ points were tallied and the votes were in. In 3rd place, junior Kashvi Gera won a $50 prize for her passionate and powerful work, “Partition.” The 2nd place winner of $100 was freshman Kanisha Shiv with a narrative poem titled “Bike Rides.” The golden prize winner of JP’s 9th annual poetry slam, winning $150, was two-time 1st place winner senior Edith Zhao. She performed a relatable and thought provoking piece titled “A Poem on Wheels.” 

“The poems were incredibly moving! All the performers at the slam were impressive,” sophomore Xander Mokrauer stated. “I would always love to hear more poetry from this club.”

By the end of the evening filled with performances by talented poets, the hosts invited everybody into the cafe annex, located in a subsection of the library. The JPS FCCLA club and some poetry performance club members brought in various spreads and an assortment of cupcakes, chips, and other snacks to share with the delightful crowd. The engaging night ignited people’s voices and got everybody’s creativity flowing.