Behind The Eyes of A Poet

By: Daija Russell (Oneonta, NY)

Photo Via - Marissa Grace (PSA PR)

The Poetry Slam Association is a Student Association funded club at SUNY Oneonta. This student club was founded on October 24, 2001 by Alicia Francis, Jamie Manning, Robert Haggerty, George Castle and Robb Thibault. Every Wednesday at 5:00pm the Poetry Slam Association meets in Hunt Union, Union Square. All of the meetings are open to all of the students at SUNY Oneonta. This is a safe space, where students can come and share their personal work. Whether one knows how to write poetry or not, this is a place and time for all poetry lovers. If students just enjoy being around spoken word artist(s) and poet(s) they are welcome, if they want to learn how to write pieces or enhance their writing skills they are welcome as well. Not only is the Poetry Slam Association composed of that, they also host performance workshops and give students tips and tricks on how to improve their stage presence.

Photo Via - Marissa Grace (PSA PR)

Photo Via - Marissa Grace (PSA PR)

 When people attend the poetry slams they have no idea about what goes in to producing such a heartfelt slam. Each artist goes through their own struggles when it comes to performing/reading their own pieces on stage. The art of slam poetry is a full process. First, the individual has to figure out what subject they want to write about. Then, they have to write down the story that they want to tell and think of a creative way on how to present it. Once, the piece is written, the individual has to review the piece for “writing edits”, and then finalize it with “performing edits”. The final step is to practice, practice and practice. No matter how much an individual practices, every performance will be different depending on the audience and how that individual releases their energy on the stage.

Photo Via - Marissa Grace (PSA PR)

The President of the Poetry Slam Association, Stefan Mirvil, describe performing slam poetry to be a, “Mix of wild energy, a lot of anxiety, a lot of fire rushed up, like a lot of fire and pressure building up against you and you just expel it.” If the performer feels this way, can you imagine how the audience is receiving the fire and pressure being expelled? A slam poetry event is a once in a life time opportunity, meaning that every poetry slam is unique in its own way. It’s extremely rare that everyone in attendance will attend every poetry slam with the same poets sharing the same pieces. That is why the Public Relations Coordinator of the Poetry Slam Association said, “Slam poem is a beautiful shared experience with yourself, your fellow poets and the audience.” It is a special moment that cannot recreated nor duplicated, and Marissa said it best.

Photo Via - Marissa Grace (PSA PR)

The atmosphere during a poetry slam is hard to describe in words. The best advice that I could give you is to attend one for yourself and experience what I did, first hand. Don’t worry, it’s not too late! The next poetry slams will be on Wednesday March 30^th in the CME (Lee Hall), and April 20^th in Union Square of Hunt Union. Come out and see what all of the snaps are all about!

 https://youtu.be/MGfgccNPzMo