Make Noise

n a cold, crowded van full of nausea and dirty jokes, a year and five and a half hours later, all eight of us finally arrived in San Jose to attend the 10th annual Brave New Voices International Poetry Slam Festival. Feeling sweaty and tired, I was delighted to see our beautiful hotel which housed 450 other national/international young poets. Being that our hotel only comfortably bedded two per room, there were three of us so I chose to sleep on the floor. On day two, I had the luxury of attending one of many workshops that enlightened me in the realm of Hip- Hop. This class bridged the gap between spoken word and Hip-Hop by referring to Rakim, who stated that Rap is simply Rhythm And Poetry. The next few days would be nothing but competitions. So we stayed up that night being inspired by the original poetry written by ourselves and many others.

Our first slam performance was filled with a combo of nervousness and anticipation. As each one of us took the stage we did our best to let our words pierce the souls of the audience and judges. Although we placed 3rd and 4th for both rounds, and although we weren't able to compete in the rest of the competition, we were still supported and amazed by all the other poets who competed during the festival. Between slams we partied, ate, and danced with new friends, and were blessed to be in the presence of adult poets whose art is their very livelihood. I congratulate Philly, New York, Providence, and Cleveland who took first, second, third, and fourth in the competition. All in all I would have to say San Jose was one of the most amazing times in my life and I'm excited about ripping up the stage next year in Washington DC.

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