Last night marked the Fifth Annual Heavyword Poetry Slam, held at the Appalachian Brewing Company. I didn’t take notes or anything so I can’t give you a lot of detail, but there were some good performances, and even a couple of great performances. Chris August won the competition, as well as the People’s Choice award, with his theatrical narrative rants, a stylistic departure from most of the other performances. It was clear that he is a seasoned slammer while many of the staples of the Harrisburg poetry scene are more accustomed to non-competitive lower-key readings. I can’t complain too much since I didn’t enter the slam, but I would really love to see some Harrisburg poets work on improving their slam style so we can compete with the amazing performers from York and Baltimore.
Kudos, though, to the Heavyword Society for putting on yet another fun and successful event!