WU-Slam’s atmospheric performance brought in-person slam poetry back to campus.

Though the foray into written poetry isn’t unique in the club’s history, 2021 marks the club’s first zine in the last decade. The reason? The coronavirus pandemic.

From goth culture to police brutality, spousal abuse, anxiety and saving the planet by falling in love, WU-SLam poets immortalized experiences and circumstance in spoken word this past Friday; the lighthearted and the severe, the mundane and the momentous. This event was the first scored slam of the year put on by WU-SLam.

Since the open mic night is being hosted by ALAS, it also functions as a way to boost visibility for Wash. U.’s Latinx students.

Washington University’s Asian American Association (AAA) will showcase student talent at its annual Open Mic Night on Saturday, Nov. 3 from 2-4 p.m. in Ursa’s.

Ruth Durrell, Casey Mason, Hannah Beilenson, Rosie Wallach and Savannah Bustillo make up the contingent WU-SLam is sending to CUPSI, hosted at the Univeristy of Illinois at Chicago this year. It’s these differences in each member’s style—concrete imagery versus head in the clouds metaphor—that make the team a cohesive unit as a whole despite it being the first time any of the six have competed in the event.

In response to pressure from the First Year Center to eliminate smaller pre-orientation programs, Raise Your Voice—an improv comedy and slam poetry program—became available to freshmen for the first time this year.

“Just because you hold the door for us doesn’t mean we’ll hold your d—,” reads a sign propped on the ledge behind the Tisch Commons stage.

It may sound daunting to put yourself out there and audition, practice or simply share your work with a new group of people. But I promise, it’s worth it—there is nothing quite like this community, and your college experience will be all the better for getting involved. But where do you start?

Eleven student poets took the stage. Four—seniors Sam Lai, Ben Tolkin and Chris Nguyen as well as sophomore Andie Berry—left as Washington University’s nominees to advance to the National Slam Poetry Competition in August after winning this year’s Grand Slam.