Poetry 'slamming' at Rachael's Cafe

“They called you Perfecta, and what did they say when the disease ate at you?” resident Ashley Bayer said to a captivated audience. “God’s eyes turned from you, and as they do, I must leave you, because your burden breaks me in two.”

So spoke one of five “slam poets,” who competed Wednesday in Rachael’s Café for first place in a slam poetry contest.

The competition was hosted by MATRIX, a Bloomington organization, which provides public forum opportunities for local literary and visual artists.

“I write a lot, generally, about very personal things,” Bayer said. “Childhood, family — trying to related those things to larger things.”

Although her poems were well received, it was Erin Livingston, another Bloomington resident, who walked away the winner for her performance of poems titled; “Cissy’s Strut,” “Vine Street” and “Sunday Afternoon at the Apartment Complex.”

Three judges awarded points, on a scale from one to ten based on the content and presentation of the pieces.

Slam poetry, unlike poetry read on the page, is expected to be dramatized and interactive.

Each of the artists’ three poems had to be less than three minutes in length and an original work.

“Your words, your voice,” said Toney Brewer, the senior editor of MATRIX and the director of the poetry slam, otherwise known as the “slam master.”

Livingston, who said she has been performing slam poetry for about four years, is drawn to it for its immediacy.

“A printed poem you can go through a hundred times and find new stuff every time,” she said.  “This, you’ve got three minutes and you’ve only got one shot. And I love the intensity of it.”