The fourth annual Poetry Slam was held April 27 during fifth block in the library. It was divided into three sessions, coinciding with each of the lunches during fifth block.

During those sessions, different classes and students on their lunch breaks could come into the library as spectators during the competition. Emcees, seniors Archie Wilson and Ramon Ramirez, introduced each of the contestants and briefed the audience on the rules of the competition.

“[Instead of selecting every entry received,] we thought we might have to have try-outs this year so that we would not have more performers than we had time for,” Poetry Slam Coordinator and librarian Sherri Crawford said. “But it actually worked out well, because we had 16 entries.”

Each of the 16 contestants had a maximum of three minutes to perform original poetry without the aid of props or music. They were judged by five members of the audience, randomly selected by Crawford, and given scores by each judge within the range of 1-10.

“April is National Poetry Month, and a lot of times it’s when English classes do their poetry units,” Crawford said. “[The Poetry Slam] also gives students who work really hard in forensics, and students who might not even be involved in anything but are good writers a chance to showcase their talents.”

Senior Sergio Sanchez was the top scorer. The remaining three finalists consisted of senior Casha Mills, senior Nolan Horine, and junior Jordan Contreras. These four students will compete in the Shawnee Mission School District Poetry Slam, which will be at Horizons May 6 at 6 p.m.