nnual Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc., Poetry Slam brought lyrical rhymes into West Hall Auditorium.
Alternating between a three-round competition and an open mic session, words of love, freedom, money, race, politics, and religion, echoed from the voices of the poets, into the ears of each audience member. With every poem, new questions were raised, and the audience was left to contemplate.
There were three rounds to the competition, entitled Terrorism, Tsunami, and “My 82 Cents.” In every round, two poets competed against each other. The loser did not return in the next round, and the winner became closer to winning the grand prizes, which were an iPod and having their name included on a plaque to be kept in the Office of Minority Student Affairs.
Each competitor had a color associated with them: gold or brown. The audience voted on their favorite in each round by raising the color corresponding to that performer.
In the first round of the competition, the poets expressed their views on politics, war, and religion. As one poet stated, “Peace is an illusion broken in pieces.” There were seven competitors, and each took their own approach.
The competition was heated by the second round. Many of the poets read with passion and confidence. Only a few performers fumbled on their words. The audience, attentive throughout the competition, encouraged their favorites by applauding or shouting out when unique lyrics were read.
In the second round, Mark Chase, one of the competing poets and the ultimate winner of the competition, created a piece that gave an example of what the world would be like if a tsunami hit America. This was a unique piece because it referenced and interchanged many public figures to illustrate how drastically our world would be turned upside side.
The open mic event provided some relief from the heated competition. Many of these pieces spoke of relationships, love, and lust. One poet presented a piece on lost love and close friendships. Another piece, titled “I’ve got an issue with lateral stiffness,” related architecture to the physique of humans. Humor was used in many of these open mic pieces.
For example, one poem, which started out being one of the best love poems I had ever heard, turned out to be one big pick-up line by the end of the poem. This is an event that I highly recommend to anyone interested in poetry and lyrics. The talent displayed was astounding and the energy of the crowd never wavered.
