Venice Slam Poetry Team Gets To Semifinals After A Loss In Quarters Last Year
May 1, 2023
Venice High’s Slam Poetry Team performed in the quarterfinals and semifinals in the 12th annual Get Lit Classic Slam on April 20. The team placed 2nd in the quarters and were knocked out in the semis.
Team members this year included seniors Summer Hamzeh and Camila Pensamiento; juniors Amy Carranza and Jaylen Germani; and sophomore Zara Seldon. Junior Jonathan Smith was their captain.
Prior to competing in the slam, each poet was assigned to choose a classic poem as well as write original, spoken word responses. Months and months of hard work were put into the performances.
To prepare for their competition, the team hosted a poetry showcase in the auditorium on April 13. They wowed audiences from third to sixth period, and their performances were emotional and powerful; they conveyed their opinions on life and the world.Â
Junior Jaylen Germani performed âDreams of My Fatherâ by HonorĂ©e Fanonne Jeffers and responded with an original response titled, âWhoâs There.â
She started the poem in a more comedic tone then switched to a more serious tone when she addresses struggles sheâs had without her father. She talked about her father left and how her mother was the only parent there for her.
âI wanted the audience to laugh in the beginning before I got to the deeper meaning in the poem,â she said after the performance. âItâs about something a lot of people can relate to, sadly.â
Senior Summer Hamzeh showcased the classic âFatima :: Solsticeâ by Hala Alyan and responded with âAll The Arab Women I Know Are Exhausted.âÂ
âI thought I would talk about the solidarity we have between Palestine and Syria,â she said. âThe reason why I chose that classic was the walk, which was the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palistinians in 1948.â
âI made that kind of connection to her [a friend from Syria] stories about her grandfather and her grandmother during that era, and I brought it over to the current experiences and conflicts we have now,â Hamzeh said.
The vulnerability one puts on the page is one small act of bravery itself, but to perform it in front of a bunch of high school students who wonât necessarily get what the art form of poetry is something else.
âYou need to really put yourself into a poem for other people to really relate to it because humanity reaches humanity,â Germani said.
Co-Managing Editor Amy Carranza contributed to this story.