Slam poets to battle Wednesday for $100 prize

As part of the seventh annual Hip Hop Awareness Festival, the IU Hip Hop Congress is putting on a “Poetry Slam” at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Indiana Memorial Union Gallery. IU Hip Hop Congress President Tim Zawada said he is excited that the Starbucks in the IMU is sponsoring the event and offering a cash prize of $100 to the winner. \n“It’s good to see Starbucks helping out student groups,” Zawada said. “Hopefully, with them, we can bring in more people.”\nAccording to www.poetryslam.com, “a poetry slam is a competitive event in which poets perform their work and are judged by members of the audience. Typically, the host or another organizer selects the judges, who are instructed to give numerical scores based on the poets’ content and performance.” Zawada wouldn’t say who the judges are going to be but said the standard poetry slam format will be in place.\nLast year, senior Derrin Granger won the event and was invited to open for poet, activist and master of ceremonies Saul Williams when he came to campus. Granger said Williams took him out to lunch, too.\n“At lunch, I was nervous, but then Saul and I kicked poems back and forth to relax,” Granger said. “(Williams) also told me to read more and my poetry would develop more.”\nOne of the poems Granger performed last year was “Another One Bites the Dust.” \nAlthough Granger originally penned it as a rap song, he turned it into a poem just before the slam.\n“I used to rap,” Granger said. “A few months before last year’s ‘Poetry Slam,’ I started to focus on writing poetry.”\nGranger said there is not much of a gap between hip-hop and spoken word poetry.\n“Rapping and poetry are kind of the same thing,” Granger said. “Poetry has a broader perspective; you do not have to make yourself seem like a specific person or character. Poetry frees it up and you can just be yourself.”\nGranger will be competing again this year and thinks he will meet stiff competition.\n“I don’t know if I’ll win, but I definitely want to be involved,” Granger said.\nWhile last year’s contest boasted only nine competitors, Zawada and the Hip Hop Congress “Poetry Slam” coordinator, junior Braydon Thompson, are expecting a lot more this year.\n“This year is going to be big,” Thompson said. “There are lots of (student) groups attending and a lot more is going into it than previous years.”\n“Poetry Slam” is open to everyone in Bloomington. Anyone wishing to compete should e-mail IU Hip Hop Congress. Zawada said competitors can also arrive 30 minutes before the event to sign up.