Superb Showing at Son of Slam

The 5 annual Son of Slam poetry and spoken word competition was held Tuesday, April 27, at Biederman’s Deli on Main St, and following suit with past showcases, this well-attended event was another resounding success.The 2004 Son of Slam showcase, a Plymouth State University Poets & Writers sponsored event, featured a diverse and wide-ranging potpourri of some of the most talented and recognized performers on campus. For those of you not familiar with the event, the rules are simple: Each performer pays one dollar to enter the showcase, and the first eight people to sign up are chosen to participate. The students perform their original spoken word and/or poetic material individually and the audience votes to determine the winner.This year’s winner, and recipient of the coveted Golden Ham, was Paris Landry. Her quick, powerful prose in For the Love of Audra, and humor, unique use of language and colorful voice in On Meeting Robert Bly, captured the universal appeal of the crowd. She joins past winners that include Jason McKenzie, Nicky Ross, Jon Link and Dan Singer.The Silver Ham runner-up prize went to Crystal Lavoie, whose oddly creative and funny works covered everything from a guy who looks like a softball to her grandmother fighting over a rusty bike at the dump. Third place performer Robby Binette, the Bronze Ham recipient, had the crowd engaged at every second with his distinctive voices and brutally honest work. Alyssa Digiulio, Cara Losier, Rob Masse and Tyler Musty also performed at the event, and each poet was brilliant as the voting was the closest it has ever been in the history of the event.Poets & Writers would like to thank everyone who has helped make this another fun and successful year. The final Open Mic of the year, the release party for the PSU literary magazine, Centripetal, will be held on Tuesday, May 11 at 7 p.m. at Beiderman’s. Come down early to reserve a seat, because this not an event you will want to miss!