Slam poetry is spoken word poetry full of expression and performance. Finding comfort through the sounds and rhythm of this art, the WCHS slam poetry club is ready for any verse to come their way.
Members of the slam poetry club here at WCHS are eager to perform the pieces that they have been drafting, some of which have been in the works for even a whole year. Members of the club will be attending the largest individual youth poetry slam and festival, Hyper Bole, Mar. 2 at George Mason University.

“I am looking forward to reading my poems in front on an audience because I have never really done that before,” junior Hana Bagheri said. “The three poems I am planning on reading have taken me almost a year to write. For the two weeks leading up to the event, we are all just going to be memorizing and perfecting our poems.”

Bagheri has been writing poetry for as long as she can remember, and this year decided to tryout for the team.

“I have been writing poetry all my life,” Bagheri said, “But I never really thought it was good enough to be on a team. My friends and teachers pushed me to write more and try slam; I am so grateful they did.”
Slam poetry allows students to fully express themselves, free of judgement. Poetry provides an outlet for poets like Bagheri to let out their emotions, coping with both the bad and good in their lives.
As the club begins to meet up more frequently once the competition nears, the slam poetry club members are eager to slam at Hyper Bole.

“I am really excited to be in that environment and experience what it is like to be at a slam competition,” sophomore Tanvi Navile said. “I have been preparing for the competition for about three weeks now.”
Hyper Bole attracts high school poets from all over the D.C. metropolitan area, offering open mic sessions, preliminary slams, workshops and the Grand Slam Finals, where one student will be awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

“I like to write about everything, but mostly I enjoy writing social justice and political poems, especially given how toxic the political scene is right now,” junior Leah Stein said. “My favorite thing about slam poetry is that it is a supportive environment where you are free to talk about anything you want to without fear of being judged.”

The majority of the WCHS slam poetry club will be attending Hyper Bole, where poets have three minutes to perform their piece each. No props, costumes or musical accompaniments are allowed.

“My absolute favorite thing about slam is that different people get to come together and do what we all love which is writing poems,” Bagheri said. “It is so amazing to be a part of such an inspiration group of kids. We are always motivating each other and helping each other grow from our writings. I am so glad to be part of the team.”