All Star SLAM
Slam is a poetic competition in which the audience rates each poem with a score of 1-10, just like in the Olympics. In this case, the judges are the students! And the poets? Former Canadian SLAM champ Brendan McLeod, Second City alum Justin Carter, and 14-year Shaw Festival veteran Julia Course. They present a wide-range of poetic styles and subject matter: high-octane original poetry, classical dramatic monologue, silly stand-up and improv. All Star SLAM is a supportive forum that introduces students to some great poetry and performance in an accessible manner that is interactive, engaging, hilarious, and deeply poignant. As one student put it: “It was better than Beyoncé!” (which is a stretch, but it’s what we’re aiming for).