April 2007

Poet takes top honors

Fourteen of the Upstate's hottest poets joined Sherman College students and other slam enthusiasts at the school's second "Spine Tingling Poetry Slam" held in February in the showroom at Hub‑Bub in Downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The event raised more than $1,500 for student scholarships at Sherman.

Poet CP Maze (Charles Perry, Jr.) won first place, taking home $300. Second‑place winner was Tavis Brunson, who earned $200, and third place winner was Mariangela Mihai, who took home $100. Kimberly Simms of Wits End Poetry and Greenville Slammaster hosted the event.

Simply put, a poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry as seen on television and in coffee houses across the nation. A slam puts a dual emphasis on writing and performance, which encourages poets to focus on what they're saying and how they're saying it.

Members of the audience and designated judges evaluated poets for their three‑minute, original constructions that did not include props, costumes or musical instruments. The numerical scores the poets received from the judges were tallied, and the top three poets were awarded cash prizes.