Jan. 14, 2022
By Adriana Rodriguez
Editor-in-Chief
After a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19, LHS’ in-person poetry slam tradition resumed on Dec. 23. The day before the holiday break, 21 students gathered in the media center for the 12th Annual Winter Poetry Slam.
Sophomore Rola Mustafa took home first place for her poem “Girls of Society,” which is about the beauty standards young girls face.
“Growing up, I was told to change everything about myself. I was told to straighten my curly hair, told to cut and trim my thick eyebrows,” Mustafa said. “I was criticized and pushed into society’s beauty standard that is unachievable.”
Mustafa said participating in the slam was an emotional and fulfilling experience.
“It was really beautiful just being able to listen to everyone’s poetry because it’s not just words off of paper that they are reading, it’s words that they wrote and poured their soul into,” Mustafa said.
A first-time poetry slam participant, Mustafa said waiting to present her poem was nerve-racking. “As soon as I got up on the podium, I felt so nauseous,” Mustafa said. “As soon as I started speaking, however, it was so, so awesome. Just being able to express yourself in that manner is really wonderful.”
Mustafa said she felt comforted because all of the poets were there for the same reason, so she did not feel judged by her peers.
Sophomore Maya Wachlaczenko placed second with her poem “Weakest Tree,” which is about her personal struggles with body dysmorphia, a mental health disorder in which one cannot stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in one’s appearance.
In her poem, Wachlaczenko used the metaphor of a tree to communicate her self-doubt.
“Nature is something I’ve always felt connected to, and finding those similarities between the human body and trees helps a lot,” Wachlaczenko said. “I wanted to let people with body image issues know that they aren’t alone and that it’s natural to feel bad about yourself.”
Wachlaczenko said during the pandemic, she turned to writing to ease her anxiety and better understand her feelings.
“It’s so difficult to find that connection with yourself, and poetry really helped me with that,” Wachlaczenko said. “Knowing how much poetry has helped me, I wanted to share something about myself [with] people who feel a similar way.”
Sophomore Ava Bruzzio earned a third place award for her poem “Chalk Man.”
“The poem is about having an idealized version of a person in your head. It may seem beautiful and perfect. However, when you actually experience [that] person, it can go really bad,” Bruzzio said.
She said the chalk man in her poem was beautiful at first, but over time, he transformed into a monster.
“It is very hard to get rid of the thought of that perfect person,” Bruzzio said.
Even though she received an award, Bruzzio said competition was not the most important part of the poetry slam.
“It’s just the prospect of having a good time that counts,” Bruzzio said. “If you are thinking about joining the slam, go for it.”
The poetry slam was judged by a team of faculty members consisting of English teachers Mr. Belmont, Ms. Burns and Mrs. Falco as well as Business and Technology teacher Mrs. Jankowski. In addition to selecting the top three poets, the judges also recognized seniors Kirsten Faye de Jesus and Joseph Morelli with honorable mention awards.
“It’s so difficult to find that connection with yourself, and poetry really helped me with that.”
Belmont, who also teaches public speaking, said the poetry performances were excellent.
“With it being a very unique year, [there was] a lot of content to have very passionate, personal poems, which I think makes the quality of the delivery a lot more engaging and personal,” Belmont said. “I think that many of the presenters this year brought that to the table.”
He said the three virtual poetry slams during the pandemic were a great way to connect students, but it is not the same as being in person to hear the emotion in a student’s voice as they read what they have written.
“It’s just a different feeling you get when everybody who’s presenting is all in the same room. It just feels a lot more like a community,” Belmont said. He said he appreciates being regularly included in LHS’ poetry slams as part of the judging panel. “It’s always rewarding just to be here to listen to all the poems,” Belmont said. “The judging part is an extra privilege I have, but just the fact that we get to be involved at all is the best part of it.”
