A tried and true staple of the Wesleyan art and performance world reemerged this weekend with the first preliminary slam, sponsored by WeSlam, this past Friday at 8 p.m. in WestCo.

For those who are unfamiliar with the format, this smack down of poetry occurs in three-minute intervals. Each poet performs hir own original content with hypnotic voices, rampant emotions, and crazy hand gestures in two lively rounds.

Judges from the audience are then tasked with the impossible: assigning a score to the poetry. Why? Because the ten competing poets are all battling to get a spot in the top three, which will guarantee them a spot in the semester’s final slam. Slammers who place in the top five in the final slam will comprise the Wesleyan slam team and represent the University at national college slam competitions such as CUPSI (College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational) and WLPSI (Wade-Lewis Poetry Slam Invitational).

As cool as the competition is, hosts Jason Reitman ’15 and Marissa Castrigno ’15 reminded us throughout the night to “Fuck the scores! Give it up for the poetry!” which brings us back to the heart of a slam: poets sharing themselves and their art through performance.

The night featured many new faces in both the crowd and the line-up of performers. The basement of WestCo was so packed with excited freshmen you could barely see any of those circular, haunting white graffiti faces around the perimeter. The energy in the room was palpable. Competing poet Emily Weitzman ’14 commented on her surprising comfort in sharing a particularly personal piece because of the audience’s attitude.

“I felt very supported by the room and the environment there,” Weitzman said. “I felt a relief; it felt cathartic to share that poem with the audience, especially because it was so new to even me. It didn’t feel like I was performing something; it felt like I was sharing something and really being vulnerable, just expressing this poem and expressing my thoughts to the audience.”

While the performers may not have been as seasoned as they would typically be in a slam, onlookers were enticed by the new voices.

“I thought everyone put up stuff that they really believe in, which was cool to see because it doesn’t always happen, and it was also great to see a lot of new faces,” Reitman said.

Weitzman agreed that having new voices on stage made the night even more special.

“It was really cool to see a lot of younger poets, a lot of inexperienced poets, many people who that was maybe their first time up there on that stage and they should really be proud of themselves for having the guts to go and try it out in the first slam of the year,” Weitzman said.

With all this craziness happening, WeSlam also brought a professional poet to feature, the killer Megan Falley. She talked about how she comes to every slam with a “standard set” and a “safe set” and thanked the audience for making her feel safe. Her awe-inspiring poetry made the difference in sets crystal clear. Falley performed a wide range of poetry that cleverly intertwined the comic and the serious, while the power of her writing and voice came through magnificently.

“I was excited that she [Falley] could come, and she brings a really positive energy,” Weitzman said. “She has a lot to say, and I think she does the spectrum well: she has funny poems and serious poems. She’s really willing to share a lot about herself which is definitely an inspiration for people who are looking to do poetry but may be nervous about getting up there and sharing their life in front of an audience of strangers.”

Others also felt this dynamic shared energy between the crowd and Falley.

“I liked the fact that the feature poet loved Wesleyan, liked the vibe of Wesleyan so much,” said competing poet Torii Johnson ’17. “I just enjoy the fact that everyone gets into it, and it’s also a point of conversation outside the slam, and everyone’s so excited for everyone else.”

Ultimately, only three poets could qualify, with 4th place being entered into a lottery to compete in finals. Hazem Fahmy ’17 earned the lottery spot, while Chando Mapoma ’16, Rick Manayan ’17, and Weitzman qualified. Weitzman earned the title of Slam Champion.

With one slam ending, my thoughts are already racing to the next big WeSlam event. Anis Mojgani, a two-time national poetry slam champion  known for his electrifying energy and mesmerizing words, who headlined WeSlam’s first ever slam event, is returning to the chapel to perform on October 11th at 8 p.m.

“There’s still a lot of people sort of waiting in line to get into prelims and going for the team,” said the somewhat giddy Reitman. “I know that there are a lot of poets coming back from previous years. I know there are a bunch of freshmen who want to get in on this. I’m really just excited to see who goes.”