The Fourth Annual Galileo Poetry Slam was filled with heartwarming poems told by experienced poets. The “Oratorical Arena” was held by peer resources to showcase the gifted poets of Galileo and allow them to express the artistic freedom that the poets possess. The poets’ previous experience in other competitions, such as the Youth Speaks poetry slam, allowed them to create poems that came from the heart and allowed the audience to connect with the poets.
Those who participated in the poetry slam enjoyed being able to express their feelings on stage. Senior Tray Biggins said, “I liked being on stage because the audience might see where we are coming from and it shows we have a voice.” Doing the event for some people took a lot of courage, but the poets had their friends to support them. Senior Michael Nyguen said, “It was my first time performing, I was very nervous, but I had support from Tray and the others and I was able to get through it.”
To many people The Galileo poetry slam was a success. According to Ms. Alarcon, she states, “In my opinion, it is the one assembly that I notice that there is absolute silence. We have everyone’s undivided attention.” The poets connect with the audience because the poets are like the audience; they like the same music and have similar experiences. The students can relate to the participants on stage and the freedom that the poets express has a heartwarming effect on all. There no adults, this event was student-led, the students organized everything and generally, students don’t like to be talked down by adults, this event gave no restrictions on the students. This gave the students the power to be able to follow and join with the poets on a journey.”
The Galileo Poetry Slam was started four years ago by, Ms. Alarcon. “I started the Galileo Poetry Slam because we would go to the Youth Speak District Poetry Slam and I decided that we should have our own because I copied the district, I saw what they did and it was easy to repeat and I held it ever since.” The poetry slam gives the participants freedom on what to say; this form gives them the choice on what to write and how to express their thoughts.
All of the performers wrote their own poems and tried to express their personal feelings through their poetry. Notable poems were Junior Johnny Sin’s poem, “Can we say Hi”, which talked about how we should not stereotype women physically and not objectify women in our society, along with Senior Michael Nyguen’s poem, “Mother”, which showed Michael expressing his appreciation and love for his mother. Poetry Slam Coordinator Ms. Jackie Alarcon said, “This year, there were more sophisticated poems told by experience poets. Poetry has become an outlet for teenagers and people practice poetry in their spare time and that what made it better than before.”