Slamapalooza Team Competes in Vancouver Poetry Slam

Fundraising competition brings laughs, tears, and celebration for KPU team

It’s a dim, humid evening in Cafe Deux Soleil, and tensions are high.

Situated in the heart of Vancouver’s Commercial Drive, the cozy nook is crammed with spectators and performers readying themselves to take the stage. There are four groups of poets here, packed around their tables like sardines, waiting to compete against one another for the title of best slam poetry team in the city.

With that title comes a dazzling prize—a small, spinning disco ball which is clearly in high demand. Technically, though, the purpose of the night is to raise funds for two of the teams who will be travelling to Winnipeg to compete in the fall. And yet, there is no noticeable maliciousness between the competitors.

Looking around, brows are sweating and nails are being bitten, but presumably only because of stage fright and inevitable cold feet.

The emcee comes on stage shortly after 8:00 pm. Stage lights brighten, glasses stop clinking, and the open mic portion of the slam begins.

A few pieces are read by middle-aged poets before the four teams—Vancouver Poetry Slam, Vancouver Youth Poetry Slam, Slamapalooza (the KPU/Surrey team), and Victoria Youth Poetry Slam—begin sending up members. The rules for the slam are laid out by the emcee.

For each of the event’s four rounds, every team puts forward one poem. They are individually judged by volunteers in the audience who hold scoreboards, and whichever team comes out with the most points wins.

Once the ball gets rolling, the poetic content ranges from uproariously comedic to deeply existential. One performer speaks from the perspective of Pluto, the pissed-off planet demoted to dwarf status, addressing the scientists who stripped it of its title. In contrast, a few others talk about rape culture, insecurity, and toxic relationships, nearly moving some audience members to tears.

Near the end of the night, Slamapalooza team member Julia Pileggi sings about the pet peeves that irk her as a waitress, adding that competing in the slam “feels great.”

“This is so fun and everyone is so supportive,” she says. “I’m just happy that we have the opportunity to go to Winnipeg and this helps us do that, so I’m happy to come and check out the poetry that’s been all around the city and the surrounding areas.”

Following Pileggi’s performance is more serious material covering the subjects of mental illness, gender identity, and body image. Every poem scores above a 6.0—although many fall around the range of 8.0 to 9.0—and after each score is revealed, the emcee reminds the audience to “applaud the poetry, not the points.”

In the end, the Vancouver Youth Poetry Slam comes out on top. In close second is Slamapalooza, followed by Vancouver Poetry Slam and Victoria Youth Poetry Slam.

Slam Master Jillian Christmas, who is in charge of organizing slams and taking care of Vancouver’s community, stands outside of the cafe to chat with friends. She personally mentored many poets that performed—regardless of which team they belonged to—and was thrilled to see their hard work brought to life all in one place.

“I love that [tonight] brought together four different teams that rise up out of different communities, and you can really hear the distinct voices of each of those communities,” she says. “There was a lot of variety in this slam.”

This October, Slamapalooza will be going to Winnipeg to compete in a national slam poetry competition, and team coach Simon Massey is hoping for the best with the experience.

“I just want them to be able to bring the pieces that they really love to the stage and share them with a full Canadian audience. That’s going to be reward enough,” he says. “It’s mostly about the poets getting to have a really awesome time.”