Student Poets Speak Out at Get Lit Poetry Slam
KENNY SITU JULIET ALAMAN Staff Writers
The Get Lit Classic Slam is an annual poetry competition in which students choose and memorize classic poems and then write their own poems in response. They then recite both poems at a poetry slam. According to their website GetLit.org, the nonprofit’s message is to use poetry to increase literacy, empower youth and to inspire communities. Most Get Lit competitions begin in the classroom. Top poets from each class go on to perform at a school competition where the poetry team is formed. That team goes on to perform at a district competition and then in downtown L.A.
AHS English teachers Kristen Keenan, Nicole Hamilton and Lori Naylor have their students participate in Get Lit every year. Keenan, the Alhambra Moors Poetry Society (AMPS) adviser, picks the members for the Alhambra team. She encourages people to get more involved in literature. “I mainly do Get Lit for the students; it gives kids connections to people who work in the film industry and allows them a chance to get scholarships,” Keenan said.
Alhambra was one of the first schools to participate in the Get Lit Competition, having continued for eight years. Keenan explained that the classroom participation has several benefits for the students. “Creating a poem provides an interesting, challenging curriculum; when students create their poem it creates a really close environment,” Keenan said. AMPS meets every Tuesday in C124 where they recite poems and prepare to speak on stage. They are coached by former club members along with the help of senior members.
This year’s Get Lit School Slam took place on Feb. 20 in the little theater. Out of about a dozen students who performed, the winner was sophomore Chinatsu Uyemura from Hamilton’s class. She performed the classic poem “Bullet Points” by Jericho Brown and her own response poem titled “Guns and Letters.” Second place also went to a student in Hamilton’s class, sophomore Sabrina Tang. She performed the poem “Mountain Dew Commercial Disguised as a Love Poem” by Matthew Olzmann and “The Morning” a response poem she wrote herself. “{The Competition] was stressful at first, but it became enjoyable when we arrived at the competition and experienced it firsthand,” AMPS President Daniel Flores said. Get Lit was founded in 2006 has now expanded to over 100 schools throughout California.