FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4/18/18
CONTACT:
Alison Courchesne
FHS Librarian
(508) 620-4963 x 27588
acourchesne@framingham.k12.ma.us
Will Cook
FHS English Department Head
(508) 620-4963 x 27700
ccook@framingham.k12.ma.us
Framingham High School Seniors Will Battle It Out At The 15th Annual Poetry Slam
Framingham, MA – April 18, 2018 - On Wednesday, April 25th at 7:30pm, Framingham High School will hold the final round of its 15th annual senior class poetry slam. A “slam” is a competition between teams of poets who perform their own original work, bringing poetry off the page and onto the stage in a gloves-off, no-holds-barred verbal boxing match with judges chosen randomly from the audience. This FHS slam began as a class project in 2004, and has since turned into a school-wide, and community-wide event.
“When I began teaching poetry slam to my students in senior English classes 15 years ago, I never imagined that it would grow to become an FHS tradition. Now, the senior poetry slam feels like a rite of passage to the students and teachers of FHS,” said Framingham High School Librarian, Alison Courchesne. “The underclassmen watch the graduating seniors up on stage, and they often say, 'I would never have the guts to do that,' but by the time they are the seniors, the students really rise to the occasion and seize that opportunity to speak their truth. I'm proud that our community really values our students' voices.”
Preliminary and semi-final rounds, consisting of 317 members of the class of 2018, were held at FHS from April 9th- 12th to determine which teams would move on to the finals. The top three teams at the final round on April 25th will take home cash prizes and, more importantly, bragging rights. The 15th Annual Poetry Slam is open to the public and will be held at Amazing Things Arts Center, 160 Hollis St, Framingham, MA 01702.
This event is generously sponsored by the Framingham Education Foundation and the FHS PTBO. Admission is $5 per person, or free with a Framingham High School ID.
Class of 2018 Poetry Slam Finalists
Hannah³ and Aaron
Hannah Levine
Hannah Gelman
Hannah Wade
Aaron Shapiro
Be Tenacious
Agnes Kyei
Baby Lenga Kalemba
Khayel Francois
We’ll Figure That Out Later
Mateus Chaves
Thierry Silva
Will Ramos
C³
Cleopatra Mavhunga
Cassidy Slamin
Catherine Giorgetti
Tax Free Tampons
Alex Magee
Jerry MacDonald
Kyle Stamm
Symphony Shea
Birds of the Crow's nest
Chad Douty
Nicholas Salerno
Matthew Martino
Brendan Wilcox
A Stack of Slam Cakes
Aira Erguiza
Megan Romine
Nancy Chammas
Leah Estes
Also, at the finals on 4/25, we'll have a special guest performance by FHS's "varsity" poetry slam team, "Framingslam," who competed last weekend at the Louder Than a Bomb Massachusetts High School Poetry Slam competition in Boston.
Framingslam
Aira Erguiza
Hannah Levine
Lauren Walker
Rose Bailey
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