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Dim lights, rhyming words, and snaps filled with emotion were all apart of Grand View’s first Slam Poetry night hosted by the poetry club.

On October 11, the Speed Lyceum welcomed eight Grand View staff and students ready to showcase their own pieces of poetry in front of an audience of their peers.

First to approach the stage with her original pieces was Lauren Krause, a freshman biology major. Krause was excited to introduce a different side of her personality through this performance.

“I really wanted to break out of my shell, because I’m very much an introvert and really shy so this was really an opportunity to get up in front of people and face my fears,” said Krause.

As Krause took the stage, she introduced herself to the audience in a rather timid voice but then commanded the attention of everyone in the audience as the words of her first poem flowed like lyrics to a song.

While Krause recited her poem, the audience responded with snaps and cheers.

This was Krause’s first time ever expressing herself through a slam poetry event and all her preparation lead to this night. Krause admits that she felt like she could have been more thorough with that process.

“I actually hadn’t prepared like I should,” Krause said. “I wish I would have practiced more so I could have had more eye contact with the audience, rather than staring down at my papers the whole time.”

Krause performed 2 original pieces. One that she hoped would shine a light on some issues in society and then a more personal piece about her.

Despite her nerves, Krause enjoyed her experience performing overall.

“I was very nervous but, as nerve-wracking as it was, it was a ton of fun too! Introverted as I am, I still enjoyed sharing my work with people.” Krause said.

Following Krause, other students shared poetry about love, social issues and pumpkin spice lattes. The coordinator of the Slam Poetry night, Carlos Rodriguez even graced the stage to share three original pieces.

“Poetry has been something that has helped me put into words everything I feel and put into words my personal experiences in ways that I never could just having a conversation. I wanted to bring that art to campus,” Rodriguez said.

Although eight people performed at the slam poetry night, Rodriguez says that finding participants outside of the poetry club was pretty difficult. Each day Rodriguez sent out mass emails to the school, informing about the Slam Poetry night and also looking for any and every one to come out and participate.

This was the first slam poetry event put on by the poetry club, and they hope to hold the event once every semester.