Jinny Choi, Writer and Nichole Pulgar, Entertainment Editor
Interested in a different way to express your inner thoughts and feelings? Slam Poetry Club has recently formed Walnut Grove Secondary as a new club mainly led by Joe Wall. Meetings will be every Wednesday after school in Ms.Hoodikoff’s room (room 246). So what is this club all about? GNN interviewed club leader and WGSS student, Joe Wall to find out more.
Q: What is slam poetry?
Joe Wall: Slam poetry is like a different take on poetry and it’s not the way they teach it in school so it’s not poetry with a set rhyme scheme and a beat to it. It can have a beat, it can have rhyme, but it’s not centered around that. It’s like… a different way of telling a story. It can be spoken, it can just be on paper!
Q: What will occur during these meetings?
Joe Wall: We’re planning on looking at other people performing like, YouTube has so much slam! And then, hopefully getting people who join the club to try and write their own stuff down and write about their experiences and touch on their own emotions. We’re also hoping to talk about poetry and like, sort of like… mentor them so that they can get their stories down on paper the way they want them to be and to be powerful with their words.
Q: How is it performing slam poetry on stage?
Joe Wall: Before I go up [on stage], I’m always super nervous and like super nervous like “ahhh, poetry word things!” but when I’m up there its like “I’m good. I’m up here. I’ve already started and I can’t back down now.” It’s like… it’s sort of like calming to be up there? And then you get off stage and you see your scores and you’re like “boo yah!” So yeah, it’s fun.
I want to say that it’s going to be a really chill space. Like, there’s no pressure to write but, if you want to write, then we’re there, we got your back, we can help you write. You can also just be there to listen to other people cause sometimes people will try and perform their own work to a smaller audience and just see how it goes over. It’s just going to be super chill.
If you are interested in this club, make sure to stop by for the first meeting after school on December 9th!
