The most recent Poetry Slam was a huge success, with students from Jewish schools all over Bergen County coming together to share their poetry. The Slam took place on April 15 at The Frisch School; it included an introductory round followed by a final round and award presentations.
Poets arrived at Frisch early in the morning and heard from guest speaker Baruch November, a poet and professor at Touro College.
November read excerpts from his newly published book Bar Mitzvah Dreams. The poems were very interesting; they discussed a Jewish boy’s transition into adulthood. November included a bit of comedy in the poems for everyone to enjoy as well.
After November’s presentation, the poets were separated into two rooms. I was in the second room with most of the TABC kids; however, two or three of our classmates were in the first room.
Room two held about 25 poets in total, along with two or three judges and numerous faculty members from different schools who popped in and out.
In preparation for the slam, students had been asked to write two poems: a tanka (a Japanese type of poem similar to a haiku) about slavery, and a poem about freedom in free verse.
The judges then asked the poets to recite their poems, which many did to great effect. The audience was very good about staying quiet and respectful while poets performed, really giving them the spotlight they rightfully deserved. The audience snapped after exciting lines to help create the full “poetry slam” experience.
The first poet to recite in our room was TABC’s own Netzach Schuman, who set a great tone for all future poets to follow. Schuman was very energetic and enthusiastic, truly bringing his poem to life.
Schuman’s poem, titled “Swingset,” swung you back and forth through youth. Schuman was later named a finalist for his tremendous efforts.
Following Schuman, Ruthie Yudelson from SAR presented her poems and stole the show. Yudelson’s poem was about her mother getting her degree and it was really inspiring to see how invested she was in her poem and how strongly she really felt about it.
When presenting her poem, Yudelson just closed her eyes and recited it from the heart. She was later recognized by the judges for her “truly incredible” performance, as Junior Sam Weinberg put it.
There were many very strong performances as people poured their heart and souls into these poems. My personal favorite was Senior Avrumi Davis’s poem, where he discussed the discrimination he deals with as a redhead. I felt it was very creative and was very nice to bring some humor to contrast some of the very serious poems.
Davis commented on his efforts thusly:, “I just wanted to be creative and come up with something that would be fun for everyone to hear”. His creativity was on full display in his clever nicknames like “carrot-top” and “ketchup-face”.
One particular moment I found to be very amusing was when two people performed their poem on slavery together; it turned out their poem spoke about literal slavery. Not understanding that the prompt referred to metaphorical slavery, their poem included mentions of things like the ⅗ Compromise.
After all the contestants had performed their poems, everyone broke for lunch. The students enjoyed pizza and chips and got to socialize with their fellow poets. Judge Aaron Roller cited this as an important component to Poetry Slam, saying that it’s “very important for kids to meet each other in a creative forum”.
Roller mentioned that he always chooses a theme connected to Jewish spirituality, though sometimes that connection is more apparent than other times.
In previous slams, poets had to write an actual prayer; another time, the poetry slam collaborated with the Jewish Art Salon and had poets write about art they enjoyed.
Junior Yoni Bierig said he really liked the theme of slavery, stating that he appreciated the connection to the upcoming holiday of Passover and its reminder of slavery.
After the lunch break, the judges announced the finalists. Those poets then recited their poems again, but this time in front of everyone (no more breaking off into separate rooms).
Each of the poets performed without having any previous knowledge that they would be finalists. Not knowing who would be finalists added a extra level of excitement. Each time a finalist was announced, friends and classmates greeted the call of their name with cheers and applause.
All of the finalists eventually read their poems and a great time was had by all. I felt very inspired by how invested the poets were in their stories, and truly felt each of the finalists was painting a picture for me.
Roller later explained to me how and why he first started Poetry Slam. Roller explained that he had always been interested in the arts, and when he went to Yeshiva University, he wrote for Mima’amakim, the school’s Jewish Arts Journal.
After graduating, Roller became heavily involved in the journal by serving as a Board Member.
Then, after the journal folded after a couple of years, Roller worked with principals from DRS and Rambam High Schools to set up the poetry slam. It has now been going on for nine years.
Roller said he wanted to give high schoolers the opportunity to express their interest in the arts because “writing and being creative is something you can carry with you your whole life.”
He felt that for kids interested in the arts, “it’s really important...to have something.” Before Poetry Slam, “there was no outlet for them”.
Since then, there have been four or five slams a year, giving kids many chances to express their thoughts on different themes and ideas.
When asked what makes a great poem, TABC English teacher (and faculty advisor at the slam) Mrs. Chana Shavelson said, “A great poem marks a vivid moment in time, and connects your passion to that of the writer.” Shavelson then added, “ A good poem changes you for a moment.”
When asked the same question, Roller defined a poem thusly: “Using rhyme but also metaphor and references to paint a picture and tell a story."
This definition certainly applied to one of the winning poems, which used a black sweatshirt as a metaphor for Jews who didn’t make it out during the plague of darkness. A black sweatshirt is comfortable, like a crutch, but the metaphor of the poem was to show that you can do better than the comfort of a black sweatshirt.
Shavelson said the importance of having TABC participate in the slam was “to allow boys to express their inner selves verbally -- without a hockey stick.” Like Roller, Shavelson discussed the importance of kids being able to express themselves in whatever way they wanted.
When asked about his experience at his first slam, Junior Yoni Herschmann said, “it was a really fun time and a great way to express myself. I look forward to many more slams.”
Overall, I’d say my poetry slam experience was an intriguing one. I was surprised to see the passion in which students read their poems, which was really cool. I had a great time and look forward to going to more slams in the future, perhaps even reciting a poem at one.