Three minutes and ten seconds. That’s how long poets were given to bare their heart and soul in front of a sold-out audience at Megaphone PHX in uptown Phoenix.
The diverse group of poets consisted of individuals of all ages, backgrounds and shared a wide variety of experiences through their poetry, performed in slam style. The prize? Bragging rights and $50 in cash.
Throughout three rounds, the participants were rated on a scale of 1-10 based on the quality, delivery and ability to stay within the allotted time-frame.
Attendees clapped, and snapped their fingers in response to the performers, and sometimes booed at ratings from the judges, but all remained friendly.
First time performer Cymelle Edwards kept advancing through the rounds with poems that touched on subjects like identity and infidelity.
Many other performers delivered verses that ranged from satirical hypothetical situations, like Kris Jacomet’s poem about being married to the government, and Carmen Noyola who spoke about growing up a Latina woman.
And through, what some may call beginner’s luck, Edwards, who had never performed her own words live, took home the $50 prize.
“I’m surprised. I didn’t think I’d get that far, which is why I didn’t memorize my last poem.” she said, laughing.
Edwards, who is an English major, cited Edgar Allan Poe and T.S. Elliot as sources of inspiration.
The monthly poetry slam event is a collaboration between Megaphone PHX and Lawn Gnome Publishing.
Aaron Hopkins-Johnson, owner of Lawn Gnome Publishing said he is seeking to build a community for poets, and eventually prep a team to attend a national competition.
“For me, running these events, is really to see the new voices and to build a scene again.”
Hopkins-Johnson hopes to help nurture the poetry scene in Phoenix to develop into a unified voice.
The venue has been consistently filling u and selling out for poetry slams. This event was no exception, with tickets selling out Wednesday.
Hopkins-Johnson said he plans to make the shows bimonthly starting in October to meet increasing demand.
“To get to this point where we’re selling out events and everyone’s excited about poetry, it’s like the best it could be. It’s the happiest I’ve ever been.” he said.
The next poetry slam will be held October 12th.
Contact the reporter at Lmarque7@asu.edu.
