1st Annual Poetry Slam

The Sayreville Public Library’s first annual Poetry Slam took on Wednesday night, January 31st – a memorable event to say the least, with talent coming forward that was anything but disappointing. With the room filled to the brim, the event hosted by librarian Hannah Lee and the judges, 6th-grade English teacher  Mrs. Testa and Middle School Librarian Mrs. Dobrzynski, the first judged Poetry Slam to ever take place in Sayreville was ready to go.

The rules were simple: the work must be kept PG-13, the poets had 5 minutes to read their poems out loud, the judges would rank you on a scale of one to ten and if necessary, the points could make their way into the decimals, and of course, there can only be one winner.

The first participant of the Slam was senior Diana Rodriguez, whose poem was named “Oh Green Earth”. Speaking eloquently, she spoke about growing up and the environment in which she spent most of her childhood.

After a series of so-called “Dad jokes” told by Hannah Lee during the Intermission, the next poet would be sophomore Sierra Farrell. Her poem was called “Mailing Address” and through her confident, passionate and theatrical performance, Sierra spoke about her seemingly normal home, which in actuality was much more complex than any outsider would guess.

The third participant was a sophomore as well, and while she was a slight bit nervous, Casy Korman delivered her poem with courage, after her making her way to the front of the room.

The next poet was sophomore Enweani Okaro, whose poem was called “When God paints outside the lines”. A memorable piece, Enweani spoke about diversity in the modern world.

Near the end of the night, the guest poet who wrote for Sayreville locally was asked to read her poem, in which she spoke about her sister.

The event was drawn to a close after the winner was announced: Sierra Farrell. This first poetry slam was an unforgettable one, where many students were given the opportunity to show off their work to the public – getting audiences excited for future slams to come.