Wasilla High’s Crist wins districtwide poetry slam

WASILLA — Slam poetry is something of a mix between a traditional poetry reading and a melodrama where the audience is encouraged to boo the villain and cheer the hero. In this case, the poets are the heroes and the judges are cast as villains.

Brave New Alaskan Voices coach and mentor Kima Hamilton told the crowd at Burchell High School Wednesday night the time limit, judges and scoring rubric are all devices to keep the audience engaged and cheering for the poets through the two-hour contest.

Participating student poets were: Alissa Brotherwood, Katie Van Velzor, Kit Winter, Darla VelaDor, Ellen Crist, Auto Garrett, Damian Cloud and Sierra Clark.

The districtwide poetry slam March 5 was a regional qualifying event for a state final competition in Anchorage. The winner at Regions becomes part of the six-member Team Alaska that will compete in the 17th annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam in Philadelphia, Pa., July 16 to 19, Hamilton said. He said more than 500 poets ages 13 to 19 from around the world are expected at the five-day event.

He said where poetry readings are designed to provide a supportive network for poets, audience participation becomes an element of the performance at slam events.

Burchell graduate Ashlee Twiford was home from Montana State University in Billings, Billings Mont., and was master of ceremonies for the Wednesday slam. She introduced each poet and shared some of her experiences traveling with the Brave New Alaskan Voices team.

“It’s all about meeting new artists,” Twiford said. “The competition is secondary.”

Helping with hosting duties was Burchell student Maryssa Van Dyke. Her role was to pick up the scorecard from judges, read the scores to the audience and lead them in cheers or jeers for the scores received.

Before poets began their performances, the Burchell audience welcomed each to the stage, saying in unison, “three, two, one — speak poet.”

At the end of the first round of competition, Twiford told the crowd that there were so many ties, judges decided not to eliminate anyone in that round. Celebrity judges included Wasilla Mayor Verne E. Rupright and the school’s founder, Peter Burchell and his wife, Stephanie.

During each round of the slam, poets had three minutes to read an original poem. Rules prohibited the use of any props during the delivery. And the highest and lowest score from each competitor were automatically eliminated, Hamilton said.

After a second round of performances, judges narrowed the field to three — Garrett, Winter and Crist.

Although the slam was open to all high school students in the Mat-Su Borough School District, competitors were all from Burchell — except Crist, who is a student at Wasilla High School.

The final three performed a third poem for judges and the audience before results were tallied and a winner was announced.

Wasilla High’s Crist took home top honors at the slam and earned the chance to compete in the regional competition March 24 at OutNorth Art House in Anchorage.

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Contact Heather A. Resz at 352-2268 or heather.resz@frontiersman.com.