Sarah Carracher
News Editor
In recent years, more and more students have found their creative outlet in slam poetry, and Wooster is no exception. In addition to Word of Mouth, Wooster’s spoken word club, the College now has its very first slam poetry team, Know Eye Slam, founded last year by Caira Lee ’16.
In its first year, the team consisted of Lee, former Word of Mouth president Ashley Jones ’14, former Word of Mouth vice president and current president Jestin Kusch ’15, Jahqwahn Watson ’17 and Cassandra Huye ’17. In light of Jones’s recent graduation, the team is hoping for at least one new member.
Although it was a new group in its first year, the members of KnowEye Slam quickly proved their skills. The members competed at the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI) and were nominated for several awards, including Best Persona Piece, Best Writing By a Team, Pushing the Art Forward and Spirit of the Slam.
Now that the group has a year under its belt, it hopes to hold more events for the general public, including slams, to practice in front of an audience. Additionally, the plan to hold a slam for new members in October to determine who will take the last spot on the team.
“Though awards are given at slams, poets shouldn’t be discouraged by the slightly competitive nature,” said Watson.
“Know Eye Slam gave me the opportunity to compete in a poetry slam competition, which is less like a competition and more like a family gathering,” Watson continued. “It helped me to advance in my writing and learn new tools, whether to raise social consciousness, as a tool of healing, or to speak for underrepresented voices.”
Word of Mouth similarly hopes to host even more events on campus this year. “We are trying to have more poetry workshops that work on elements of craft and poetry devices,” Kusch said. “We plan to have more open mikes with themes that celebrate culture and things at the school, more collaborations with other organizations and to expand to include music.”
Kusch hopes for Word of Mouth and Know Eye Slam to be safe spaces and outlets for students to express themselves. “Poetry, to me, is a survival mechanism, healing and freedom. It is a purge of extreme emotions and an opportunity to express topics, stories and ideas that might not be accessible or acceptable through other means of expression,” said Kusch.
“Performance poetry makes these messages available to others. When performing, a poet takes words and paints pictures. It is a connection of people to a space and moment that cannot be reprogrammed or experienced otherwise. We all have that favorite poem. We all have that moment when we fell in love with poetry.”
“Our stories are valid and necessary. They are catalysts in creating new dialogues around uncomfortable issues and an understanding of various perspectives within those unsettling themes. It is important to allow people to produce and spread their message,” Kusch said. “Know Eye [Slam] and Word of Mouth allow for these opportunities to happen. It is a chance to share yourself with community and a reactionary prospect of community to then share themselves with each other. In an environment where you are constantly being confronted and attacked and celebrated, Word of Mouth and Know Eye are sanctuaries, where you may be vulnerable and human as much as you want or need.”
Students who are interested can attend Word of Mouth’s first meeting at 6 p.m. on Sept. 8 in Douglass basement. Their first open mike night will be at 7 p.m. on Sept. 19 in Kauke Tower.