The streets of Oceanside are narrow and bright. It’s eight o clock on Thursday night; students and nine to fivers are exiting bars and cafes as happy hours are coming to an end. But the night had only begun; there is poetry happening. Not far from the intended destination, an illuminate festival leads directly to the quiet ocean. The scenery alone is poetic. A few yards from the fair, Glassless Minds is hosting their weekly open mic event featuring the San Diego Slam Team.
Coached by Elevated’s Christopher Wilson, the San Diego Slam Team is in attendance to give one final performance and to acquire their last team member before their anticipated competition in Boston. After a full show of comics, poets and singers, a slam took place between two spoken word artists, Sherwin Ginez and Viet Mai, for the final spot on the team.. Both gave phenomenal performances, however Viet Mai was the victor.
Mai will now join the rest of the San Diego Slam Team for the 2013 National Poetry Slam in Boston. The team features Ant Black (Anthony Blacksher), Joe Limer, Karla Cordero, and Ronal Preston Clark.
San Diego is one of three California based teams competing in a line up total of 71 teams from all over the country. “No one is really looking at us, so that works in our favor,” say’s Limer. “We feel like we’re peaking, so we’re starting to feel satisfaction and confident in our pieces.
Five random volunteers are selected judge poetry slams. Competitors are never sure of what to expect when they enter the stage. All they can do is perform their best within a three-minute frame in hopes of getting a high score. “When you’re on stage you have to become the words, become the poem,” says Cordero. “If you’re acting, the audience can tell”.
Jordan Hamilton, also a poet, is an avid fan of and supporter of the San Diego team. “Separately they are all really strong poets. I actually look up to them, especially Viet Mai, he’s kind of legend here.” After their fifth member left the slam team for an abroad career opportunity, the team was in need of a replacement. Luckily, Mai is no rookie to poetry competitions. “I’m comfortable with many of my pieces and I feel like some of my pieces are unique enough to stand out,” said Mai.
With the addition of a last minute experienced member, the team has high hopes that the Mai will be a good fit to the group. As poetry slams are highly competitive, preparation can be a challenging process. San Diego has been rehearsing and prepping for months. “Slam is very intense in terms of developing a creative and artistic way of developing poetry that most great writers can be challenged by,” said Black. “It’s not a natural thing, its very entertainment based.
Black, who is also a veteran slammer, has served as a mentor to the other team members. As the team is composed of members who all have different slam experience, it was necessary to bring all of the poets to the same uniformity. “One of the first things you learn in slam is how to be vulnerable in front of total strangers. We’re learning how to be vulnerable with each other,” said Limer. “We’ve grown in terms of building chemistry, as writers, performers and as individuals,” said Cordero. The team has quite a reputation to carry on their shoulders. San Diego has been ranked in the top 15 slam teams in the country multiple occasions.
“The San Diego team is a legend in Boston, so if San Diego is slamming you’re scared,” said Hamilton.
The team will be in Boston for a week for the competition and a poetry conference featuring open mics, panels, group discussions and more. It’s an opportunity to network and observe some of their competition.
However, hopefully the San Diego Slam Team proves to be the ultimate competitor.
They are scheduled for “bouts” on Tuesday the 13th and Thursday the 15th . If victorious, they move on to the Semi Finals on Friday the 16th and hopefully on to finals that Saturday.
“When people see our name on bout list they know they’re in for a fight,” said Clark. “That is the legacy we’re trying to continue”.
As the night ended the poets and audience conversed amongst each other; giving congrats, good lucks and best wishes. Best wishes to the Elevated San Diego Slam Team.
