NHS Poets Hit A Grand Slam

By John Voket

Moving to the front of Newtown High School’s lecture hall, slight-framed Zach Richter projected an image of urban chic in his oversized leather jacket, droopy pants and thick-soled sneakers. One might make the mistake of classifying him as the kind of student that you pass by in the hall without really noticing.

But the moment he launched into his encore performance at Newtown High School’s Third Annual Poetry Slam Extravaganza last Friday night, you knew immediately that this young poet was a force to be reckoned with. He jumped and dipped and spun from left to right as he recited his piece, gesturing to the packed room like he just stepped out of a Beastie Boys video.

And when he was finished, he returned to his seat taking in the howling appreciation and backslapping support of the crowd with a humble shrug and a quick smile.

Mr Richter was only one of a dozen Newtown High Students who competed in the unique fundraiser for the school’s 2005 literary magazine.

According to the FAQ page at poetryslam.com, the activity of poetry slamming sprang from the streets of Chicago as a kind of competitive open mic night, where normally placid poets would grab their material by the throat and perform it as though their very creative souls depended on it. Then their reading is judged on an Olympic-like scale with judges holding up scorecards from their seats sprinkled throughout the audience.

Before each round of performances, master of ceremonies Lee Keyloch chose a new group of judges, and then sat back in the corner to enjoy the ride. One by one, each of the participating students headed up to the front of the room, enjoying ovations as they came and went.

Some of the pieces were extremely personal and touching, others were peppered with political or social commentary that rivaled the best punch lines from The Daily Show or Weekend Update.

According to faculty advisor Cari Strand, this second annual event was not only a great way to raise funds for the school’s literary magazine, but a fertile venue to capture the performances which would be edited for an audio CD which would eventually accompany the finished magazine publication.

Besides Mr Richter, other NHS students participating Friday included Drew Adamek, Evan Barbour, Robin Collins, David Creaturo, Andrew Giannettino, Alex Hart, Shanna Kormanik, Kayla Koschel, Emma McHugh, Emily Oliver, and Brian Tenney.