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Verse to voice: Fir Ridge’s Slam Jam IV

HEATHER HILL
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO

Spectators, performers and judges cheer and jeer Fir Ridge junior Keturah Cody’s “My Big Head,” one of many poems offered at the biannual Slam Jam IV poetry competition held in February at Fir Ridge Campus in the David Douglas School District. Cody was the winner of the contest.
COURTESY AUGGIE FORD
Slam Jam III winner and recent Fir Ridge graduate David Finney acted as both ‘slammaster’ (Master of Ceremonies) and guest poet at Slam Jam IV.
MEMO PHOTO: TIM CURRAN
At the close of Fir Ridge Campus’ Slam Jam IV, English teacher and poetry slam organizer Bobi Blue acclaimed the fourth installment of the biannual poetry competition as the best yet. “When we started the slam last year there were four poets, maybe 18 people in the audience,” she said. This year, nine competitors, four guest poets, two musical acts and Fir Ridge’s own hip-hop dance team performed before a crowd that swelled the main hall.

Blue introduced the spoken word revolution in Fir Ridge to “provide an open venue for our eclectic population to express themselves.” Students shared two original poems in two rounds of competition, which randomly selected judges then rated from 0.0 to 10.0, to the cheers or heckles of the audience. Slam Jam IV also incorporated other rhythm-driven art forms in what Blue referred to as an “interactive art event.” Spectators assembled to music by volunteer guitarist and singer Jon Witczak. Intermission featured Fir Ridge’s dance team Step Souljaz, bringing body to the beat, and Fir Ridge senior and slam poet Jeff Handley covered a Bee Gees song on the guitar.

Fir Ridge Campus, at 11215 S.E. Market St., is an alternative high school working to improve the education of David Douglas District students who have struggled in the traditional program. Alternative in structure and instruction, Fir Ridge’s reduced class sizes enable teachers to tailor lessons to the needs of each student in an effort to rekindle the vision of a prosperous future in those who otherwise may have considered dropping out.

At the slam, Fir Ridge staff also contributed as guest poets, offering original or adapted compositions to warm up the crowd. First, Math teacher Sean Gillespie shared a heartfelt birthday poem, which guest performer and school counselor Catherine Nyhan contrasted with her anti-love poem “Triggered.” Nyhan also read an adaptation of Ani DiFranco’s “Fuel,” and slam scorekeeper/Special Education teacher John Erickson recited “The Slime” by Frank Zappa.

Slam Jam III winner and recent Fir Ridge graduate David Finney acted as both ‘slammaster’ and guest poet, sharing two short poems of his own before announcing the rounds.

At Slam Jam IV, a biannual poetry contest held in February at Fir Ridge Campus in the David Douglas School District, school dance team Step Souljaz demonstrates poetry in motion through a dance routine. Musical performances preceded and divided the two rounds of poetry competition. Step Souljaz members are, from left, Juniors Elly Holburt, Amanda Potter, Senior Shawen Tanae, Junior Lynessa Cross, Sophomores Da’ Shaylia Dew and Ny ‘Keima Johnson.
COURTESY AUGGIE FORD
Slate scoreboard for Slam Jam IV says it all. Congratulations to winner Keturah Cody. Next slam is slated for the fall. For information about the Slam Jam V poetry event call Fir Ridge English teacher Bobi Blue at 503-256-6530.
COURTESY AUGGIE FORD
Elaborating on what attracted her to slam poetry, Blue said, “There is a sense of primal urgency as you sit and listen to a poetry reading, as if the poets are molding their sentences out of clay; you, the audience, have no idea what the sculpture will look like, but you watch and listen just the same.”

Though many poets that evening spoke of familiar subjects such as love and loss, each chose a different lens. Tenth grader Da’Shaylia Dew’s poem of pursuing an equivocating love interest denoted the spoken word as capturing “memories of moments lost in time.” Such longing also featured prominently in Senior Anna Konstantinova’s first-round poem with the line, “In your arms you keep me safe and warm ... open my eyes and then you are gone.” Sophomore Sam Mayfield and Ron Russell Middle School student Sean Kealiher also posed poems on the pain of heartbreak, but Handley and Junior Logan Webb presented optimistic poems of love found.

Some poets spoke of school, or the society within. Kealiher’s first poem, “Secrets,” described divided loyalties and social pressures. Webb’s “In My Shoes” questioned the phrase’s paradox, a sentiment Mayfield’s second-round poem echoed with her words: “As I sit here in class I see so many faces that I don’t know. But I will never know them. I only see them through the mask they wear. Because I wear one myself and it reflects.”

Some students found inspiration in the school itself, as in Dew’s “The Person I Used to Be and the Person I Am Now.” The poem welcomes the positive self-image Fir Ridge hopes to foster in students, exemplified in Dew’s finale: “I have changed a lot this year, and I am planning on staying focused, and that is the person I choose to be.”

The poem about Fir Ridge earning the greatest response from judges and audience members alike was Keturah Cody’s “My Big Head,” dedicated to Fir Ridge security guard Rob Harris. Both jesting and fair, Cody’s poem started out teasing: “Every time I try on a hat, I’m taking a risk. It might slip, rip or tear, and then I have to make an excuse like, ‘It fits; it’s just my hair.’ “ But she later empathized: “Big heads come with big headaches,” and ended with respect: “I have a big head, and I wear it in style.”

Some poems waxed philosophical. Fir Ridge Senior Jesse Piercey’s poems, one of flying and falling, and the other a denunciation of hate, painted figurative pictures in the abstract. Hanley’s “The Old Preacher” used the repetition of the words, “Old preacher here, tell me what you are fighting for. I have been searching for my faith but my feet have grown sore. I’m 1,000 miles away from hell and from heaven, 1,000 more. So will the incense save my soul?” to pose an open question.

Some poets chose to sketch stories in verse. Junior Kevin Krismer’s “16 Years Later” described, through the eyes of his father, the hospital scene on the day of his own birth, while Konstantinova composed a poem in the third person, shifting perspective from both sides of a torn couple.

The specter of loss weighed heavy over many poems. “April Showers,” the ode that earned Cody the top honors at Slam Jam IV, was dedicated to her grandmother. She “left the day of my birth, April 29. The day that was supposed to be filled with joy was filled with pain. My dad’s last words to you, ‘What should be her name?’ “ But Cody transcended mourning to find fortification there, noting, “Growing up without you, I had to stay strong. I know I will meet you one day, but I wonder how long. A day, a year, maybe 25, but until that day I am no longer alive, you will be in my heart and in my mind.”

Cody’s poems resonated by first casting a wide net of universal empathy, which she then personalized, not by narrowing the perspective, but by expanding it to include different points of view. She used her congratulatory speech to thank fellow competitor Dew for her encouragement to join the slam.

Blue closed with a few words of thanks for the record number in attendance, which may demand a larger venue for Slam Jam V in the fall. “My ultimate dream would be an inter-district competition where poets from all over Portland — or even the northwest — come to compete and hear the works of other students.” Blue elaborated later, “Of course, this a dream, but if Fir Ridge has taught me anything, it is that dreams can come true.” The next slam jam is in the fall, open to the public, no admission necessary.

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