Contrary to the popular saying, words sometimes speak louder than actions — even louder than a bomb. On March 7, members of the Slam Poetry Club competed in the Louder than a Bomb preliminary rounds hosted at LHS.

Louder than a Bomb is a competition originating in Chicago aimed at allowing students to share stories and express themselves through slam poetry.

Louder than a Bomb KC is usually hosted in Kansas City, but the preliminary round was held in Lawrence due to the convenience of accommodating both Lawrence schools. The majority of LHS’s Slam Poetry Club participated in this competition, including junior Satori Good, who joined the club this year.

“I’m a really big fan of poetry,” Good said. “A lot of teachers suggested I do it, and my friends suggested I do it, Emily Lepine especially, [so] I decided, why not come?”

The LHS team scored first place by 0.3 points overall, performing both solo and group poems.

Each group is scored on four separate bouts, with each team choosing the types and structure of the poems to perform in a specified time period. Each bout is then scored on a scale between 0.0 and 10.0, with points being docked for going over the time limit, language and other small infractions. The group cites Free State as a major obstacle for doing well.

“I’m just really happy that we got first. It was a miracle,” Good said. “Free State is so good.”

The Slam Poetry club spent weeks preparing for the preliminary rounds, meeting three times a week to rehearse and critique ideas. Although facilitated by club sponsor Jeannie Merritt, the practices are a group effort by the students.
“It’s very student led,” Merritt said. “They are the poets, and they know what they need.”

The team competed in the semi-final round on March 29 at the Gem Theater in Kansas City, receiving a score that put LHS in fourth place.

“We have an amazing crew, and I’m very proud of them” Merritt said.