An Unforgettable Evening- Reflecting on the National Poetry SLAM!

On April 19, 2010, an audience of 300 supporters joined us in celebrating the accomplishments of our poet-athletes from around the country at our Fourth Annual National Poetry SLAM! Out of more than 4,500 elementary school students across the country, two poet-athletes from each of our fifteen affiliate cities were chosen to come to New York City with their families and perform their poetry at the New York Stock Exchange. The culmination of our fall Power of Poetry curriculum, the National Poetry SLAM! gives our poet-athletes a chance to share their voices, emotions, and experiences onstage.

As an Americorps* VISTA volunteer with the America SCORES National Office, I was involved in planning the event. It was my first year being involved in the organization, and I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect as the event neared. My vision of the performances became clearer as we got closer to the event, but I was completely unprepared for the amazing performances by our talented poet-athletes.

At the National Poetry SLAM! , I was repeatedly blown away by the energy, resilience, and creativity of our poet-athletes as they bravely stood onstage to share their poems with the audience. Each poem was unique, ranging from moving expressions of personal struggles to silly to inspirational and hopeful. I loved too many of the poems to pick just one favorite, but here are some of the many highlights. Silly poems included one boy’s thoughts about turning into a pencil and Gonzalo’s hysterical overview of the balloon boy incident (“The story was AMAAAZING. A boy? In a balloon?”). More serious poems spoke of crime and conflict, and one boy shared a story of his own family’s struggle with poverty and homelessness. Several poems discussed lost love, crushes, and four –year relationships between 11 year olds. Another great moment was Alec’s poem, “What big means to me,” where the poet shared that being big means having a big heart and having big dreams.

By far, the most moving event of the night was a moment that could have just as easily been a disaster. One of the girls was so nervous that she ended up having an “accident” onstage as she performed her poem. The audience was silent as she ran off stage, feeling our hearts drop with empathy and embarrassment for the little poet. We wondered what would happen—and hoped that she would be okay. Her mother and the program staff ran after her and later encouraged her to try again.

After the final group of poets finished performing, the girl came back to give a show-stopping performance. Her poem, “Hypnotize” was incredibly powerful—and her delivery was twice as strong and confident the second time around. Not only did she deliver an absolutely beautiful performance—she displayed a level of courage well beyond her years.

The entire audience rewarded her amazing performance with a standing ovation. I felt incredibly privileged and honored to share this life-changing moment for this student and so many others. It was certainly an evening that I will never forget.