Poetry event a slam dunk

The marginalized will be the majority — well, at least for one night.
The OUTSpoken Queer Poetry Slam started in October as a quarterly event, and in June it will culminate in the PrideFest championships.

Organizer Erin Northern said the Albuquerque slam poetry scene probably hasn’t heard all the queer voices because some are reluctant to put themselves in vulnerable situations.

“We were noticing in the Albuquerque slam poetry community, although it’s really supportive and welcoming and loving, there aren’t a lot of queer voices,” she said. “For several years, I felt like one of the only queer voices in the community.”

All poets are encouraged to sign up for open mic and the slam. As the featured poet, Northern will perform a 15-20 minute set that illustrates the spectrum of her writing.

The evening-capping slam is open to only queer-identified poets who have three minutes to recite a poem that will be scored by five randomly chosen judges in the audience. The judges will use whiteboards to score the poems on a scale of 1-10.

Slam host Richard Sylvestre said the first time he tried slam poetry was “abjectly terrifying.” But he was hooked immediately and found the experience rewarding.

“It can be really controversial sometimes, or really personal topics — people willing to just put themselves out there like that,” he said. ‘It’s cathartic. It’s really interesting, and that’s what got me into it, just seeing people put so much emotion and wordplay into what they’re doing.”

Northern said the slam focuses on artists’ work rather than how the work is scored.

“It’s always emphasized in slam poetry that the point is not the points. It’s always the poetry,” she said.

The OUTSpoken community is loving and nurturing, Northern said, and that makes it easier for poets to freely express their innermost feelings.

“I think in the long run and afterward, it’s certainly very empowering to be able to share your story and your voice in a safe space,” she said. “They have something to say, and that’s what drives people to get behind a microphone. They have something to say, and they need to express that.”

Kenn Rodriguez, co-organizer and slam master at ABQSlams, said the event gives those who feel disenfranchised a platform to share and connect with others who feel similarly.
“The rap group Public Enemy said that they were CNN for black people,” he said. “Poetry slam now is kind of CNN for people who are not accepted or who are a little bit outside of the mainstream.”

*OUTSpoken Queer Poetry Slam and Open-Mic
Saturday
6-9:30 p.m.
Winning Coffee Co, 111 Harvard Dr. S.E.
Sign-up at 5:30 p.m.
Open mic and slam at 6 p.m.
Free*