Free State Slam Poetry Team plans to compete at Louder than a Bomb
Reading from his phone, junior Khaury El-Amin shares his poem, “What’s Up Dad?” at the talent show.
The point isn’t the points—the point is the poetry.
This is the motto at the “Louder Than a Bomb” slam poetry festival, considered the “Super Bowl” of all slam poetry events. Students from all over the Midwest prepare for this competition by writing various types of poetry. This year, the Kansas City competition will take place March 23-28.
The style of writing at “Louder Than a Bomb” will challenge Free State students because slam poets usually write about subjects that stray from what is normally covered in English classes.
“Now, this type of poetry is more than just writing about flowers and relationships,” club sponsor Brandon Wolak said.“This is a more urban type of poetry, so it’s a little bit more gritty. It’s got a lot of roots in hip-hop; it’s a more urban thing. So that’s been a real challenge for some of our poets.”
Free State will compete for the first time in the “Louder Than a Bomb” festival with a team of six poets and two alternates. To prepare for the “gritty” slam poetry, Free State will attend various mic nights around Topeka and Kansas City where they will share their poetry with an audience.
“We’re excited to be a part of it here in Lawrence,” Wolak said. “They’re trying to grow from Kansas City to Lawrence, to Topeka. It also goes across the border to the Missouri side of Kansas City, so it’s the whole metro.”
Originating in Chicago, Louder than a Bomb has expanded to other major cities in the last couple years, including Kansas City.
Sophomore Rowan Plinsky is excited to be part of the team.
“I’m really interested in being able to kind of perform it, just being part of the [team] because I’ve never been in a poetry slam before, [and] I’ve never been able to really share my writing, other than posting it on Instagram,” Plinsky said. “I think it would be kind of cool to hear feedback from people other than just my friends or my family.”
We usually write for about 30 to 45 minutes, and we each share a piece, so that’s the one catch. The rule is if you show up, you have to write something, and you have to slam.
— Club sponsor Brandon Wolak
To develop the pieces they will use in competition, students will spend a couple days a week writing whatever comes to mind.
“We usually write for about 30 to 45 minutes, and we each share a piece, so that’s the one catch,” Wolak said. “The rule is if you show up, you have to write something, and you have to slam.”
Junior Khaury El-Amin will also be a part of the team. He plans to write about his past, specifically before he moved to Lawrence.
To get involved, students can simply attend the meetings, which will usually be held on block days after school.
“It just sounded like a really fun activity to take part in,” Plinsky said. “It was kind of right up my alley.”
