Poetry Slam finds a home

The ArtHaus Poetry Slam moved from ArtHaus’ cozy confines to the Elks Lodge Friday, Oct. 23 due to the overwhelming support received in the previous three slams. Adorned with velvet thrones, elk heads and Christmas lights, this setting didn’t distract the 150-plus audience members or the poets.

Divided into three sections, the Poetry Slam began with featured artist George Shardlow (‘09). Shardlow won the previous slam and was given the first 15 minutes to recite three poems.

His first, “Watching Movies with Sex Scenes on First Dates,” warmed up the crowd with hilarious internal dialogue.

“Look disinterested, no, look interested only in the artistic merit. Where are your hands? Get them away from your crotch!” Shardlow read.

Following a poem recited in Spanish and one on his experiences in the Minnesota Iron Range, Shardlow gave the stage to poets performing in the “Original Voices” section.

Luther students, staff, faculty and area community members all contributed their voices in this section including four members of Amy Weldon’s Introduction to creative writing class, many of them performing for the first time.

“As always, I was amazed by how confident and funny both my current and my former students were, and by how good the poems themselves were as poems,” Weldon said. “I’m so proud of all of them. I’m not sure I could have done this as an undergraduate. It’s every teacher’s hope that her students will surpass her.”

After a short intermission, the Slam, a competition between eight poets, began, scored by four judges and the audience. Among the eight competitors were Weldon’s student Libby Dahms (‘11) and Professors Kate Narveson and Martin Klammer.

Narveson began by asking the audience “How do we define love?” and recited two Shakespearean sonnets, recognizing the 400th anniversary of their publication.

Dahms followed with a passionate performance describing “Sex Without Love” and “The Pope’s Penis,” which she introduced as a “short poem, no pun intended.” Klammer finished the Slam with a soulful recitation of Langston Hughes’ “The Weary Blues.”

After the scores were tallied, Dahms was crowned Slam champion shortly after 10 p.m.

In a full house, the audience was always encouraging and communal, and at times heckled in good spirit.

“I think that [the poetry slam] is a really supportive environment for people who want to share their own work,” audience member Rose Milligan (‘10) said. “It’s really great to see people you know and love doing the thing they care about most.”

The environment and willingness to share was also a testament to the Luther and Decorah community.

“I think it is a really great asset to an already very artistic and diverse community,” Weldon said. “It shows we value writing and art enough to make something like this a regular event and to keep supporting the wonderful organization, ArtHaus, that puts it on.”

“And everyone there is happy,” Milligan added. “So it’s a good place to be.”