USU student takes third in national slam poetry competition
Jordon Roberts, a senior majoring in creative writing at Utah State University, took third place in a national slam poetry contest a few weeks ago.
Roberts is from Star Valley, Wyoming and has enjoyed writing since she was a kid. A poetry slam is a competition where people perform their original work, but the content of these poems have a rhythmic beat without music or props. These poems tend to address personal or social issues.
“I like when people come up to me and say I really liked your poem because I can relate to it. That’s my favorite feeling,” Roberts said.
Enthusiasm and style are a few things that stand out at a poetry slam. Performance is key.
Roberts was approached by a teacher who encouraged her to submit one of her poems into the Wild Women of Poetry Slam. The organization accepted hundreds of video submissions of women performing their poems. They narrowed the selection down to the top twelve, and the public (via online voting) were able to choose the top four winners.
USU had not one, but two women make it into the top four. In addition to Roberts, Jeannie Woller, who is in her senior year and playing soccer, made it as well. Jeannie had prior engagements and was unable to attend the event.
Roberts was invited to attend the Kentucky Women Writers Conference in Lexington, Kentucky on Sept. 11 and 12. This is the longest-running annual seminar for women writers in the nation. This conference allowed Roberts to meet with authors, attend conferences and perform.
She performed two of her slam poems in front of a public audience of 100 to 150 people.
“I love performing. I love the adrenaline rush,” Roberts said.
Slam poetry is a way for Roberts to incorporate two of the things she loves doing.
“Slam poetry is a beautiful balance between writing and performing,” she said.
Slam poetry has started to carve a small scene in Logan, with people able to perform their poems at events like PoBev and WhySlam. Spoken word poetry is gaining speed and leaving its mark at USU.
“Take Cymbalta” was the poem that won Roberts a spot at the Wild Women of Poetry Slam.
“Take Cymbalta, and view reality through hope stained glasses. The fear of testing the waters of another hour with my pinkie toe, molded into swans diving into every second of breath flooding into my chest, isolation turned into breaking from the bars built by my own inhibitions. Life became happy. I became happy. For five years I’ve swallowed a pill that swallows me.”
— lilywachtor3@hotmail.com