There was once upon a time an episode of “The Proud Family,” an old and long-forgotten Disney cartoon, where Penny read her poem, loaded with emotion, in front of a crowd inside a poetry club. They snapped for her. At EGHS, they don’t snap, they clap. They also eat cookies and drink soda, showing that the true nature of a ‘Poetry Slam’ is not at all competition; rather, it is auditory entertainment. Slam attendees get told a story without the big screen or the black and white, page by page literary drag.
Yesterday, Oct. 30,10 poets read their masterpieces aloud to a full crowd and a crammed library filled with students who either really loved poetry or really needed extra credit. English teachers John Bottiglieri and Kristen Guth, science teacher Jim Wills and alumni Kerry Butz judged this slam’s poems. Their consensus was that seniors Eddie Ishaya would be in first place, Yasmin Mitchell would come in second and Stefani Stamboliyska would take third overall.
Ishaya scored 58 total points at yesterday’s slam, in which two of his poems titled “Fatherless” and “S.A.M.” received perfect scores. This would be Ishaya’s sixth win since he started reading his work. Well known throughout the school for his poetic, lyrical and freeverse talent, Ishaya’s inspiration is none other than Eminem.
“I’ve listened to everything he’s produced, since before he became famous. I mean, everything,” Ishaya said. “He’s my hero. He inspired me to do what I do.”
Ishaya has been threading together rhymes and rhythms ever since he was six years old. Since he has been tuning into Eminem for what he can only describe as his entire life, his earliest calling came to him while listening to “As the World Turns.”
“I had no idea what he was saying, but I loved the flow and I love the rhythm,” Ishaya said.
As of now, Ishaya is operating with his and two others’ verse group, titled “Wasted Youth.” They are currently working on approaching projects and are planning concerts in the future, all the while building up their own studio. “Wasted Youth” is currently working with the up and coming rapper Brice White.
Music is Ishaya’s Holy Grail. As evidence, he started out with a single Eminem song and turned it into a passion, a rode to the future and his very own group, “Wasted Youth.”
“It took me awhile to begin rhyming at a faster pace,” Ishaya said, “but I try to read as much [as I can] and I try to get inspiration from other artists and other genres of music… all the fun stuff music gives us. All the joy.”
By Morgan Loxley