Poetry slams have found themelves at the center of attention on YouTube, with some videos gaining over one million views and the popular poetry channel, Button Poetry heralding almost 600,000 subscribers. And once a year, this performance competition finds itself in Pell City.

Thursday, Nov. 10, at 1:30 p.m., Jefferson State Community College (JSCC) will host their fourth annual poetry slam. Located in the library on the first floor, in room 105, the event is put on each fall semester by English instructor, Jacob Melvin, who started the event in the spring of 2014. The event was held again that fall and it’s grown each year. 

“The poetry slam has become somewhat of a college staple at our campus, and usually packs the library past capacity,” Melvin said. 

Originally, the idea of having a poetry slam grew out of Melvin wanting to provide an opportunity for English composition students to share some of their creative work in a public forum. 

“We’re constantly asking students to create scholarly analyses, but in English I’m also interested in students expressing themselves and sharing their experiences with the world,” Melvin explained. 

This year, Melvin is looking to expand the event to be more community based, allowing non-students to come perform or watch.

At each slam students perform original poetry, which ranges from short works they’ve written in class to longer works they’ve written on their own. As part of the rules, performers aren’t allowed to use props, forcing their work and presentation to stand on their own for judging. Judges are usually volunteer JSCC staff who rate pieces based on projection/performance, the judge’s personal rating of the piece/how much they were moved by it, and original content. 

No topic is off-limits, allowing for a variety of interesting and sometimes heart-wrenching poems. 

“I think students participating in the slam enjoy the release,” Melvin said, “there’s something freeing about having a supportive venue to share something you created.”

The audience is encouraged to provide feedback while the poet performs, either clapping or vocalizing their encouragement. However, negative feedback is generally restrained as the idea is to create a positive environment for the participants, many of whom have never gotten up in front of people to perform before. 

“Audience members like cheering their friends on and also connecting to those relatable moments,” said Melvin.

JSCC’s fourth annual poetry slam will be at 1:30 p.m. at the Pell City Campus, located off Hwy 231, over by the hospital at 500 College Circle. Entry to the event as well as participation are free, but poets are encouraged to give a donation to participate. There will also be light refreshments available. 

If you have some free time, come out to Jeff State to witness students commingle with members of the community to perform moving and interesting poetry, some for the first time, in a supportive the encouraging environment that’s been set up for them. 

“It’s kind of a beautiful thing to see.”