Prize Money Brings Out Large Crowd to Roswell's Poetry Slam

‘Slammin’ In The Suburbs’ has become one of Roswell’s most popular events, not only by February's Roswell Roots standards, but in general; and this year Oak Morse took home top honors from the event for his impromptu poetry.

A standing room only crow packed the Roswell Historic Cottage for the 9th annual Roswell Poetry Slam during February. Teenagers, hipsters, thespians, poets and everything in between showed up to experience the poetic mastery by some of the best ‘slammers’ in the industry, according to the city. Award-winning spoken word artist, Ayodele Heath, was once again the host and kept the fast paced poetry competition moving smoothly throughout the night. 

"With over 48 expressive performances in just under three hours, we definitely had a jam-packed night of high-quality spoken word," said Heath. "The increased first place prize money of $1,000 was a big incentive for some of the best poets in the Southeast to participate."

There was also an added element of excitement surrounding the event this year, as Mad Mouth Media was on site producing a documentary on the entire ‘Poetry Slam’ experience. Executive Producer, Lee Walker, explained the reason behind the film: 

"We wanted to showcase this unique and often unknown art form happening right here in Roswell. This is one of the coolest events in the metro area and the talent that radiates from these poets is something we think is worth sharing with a wider audience."

The evening was filled with laughs, tears, snaps and standing ovations as each poet emotionally delivered their heartfelt and sometimes very personal messages. Thoughts on politics, women’s rights, love and history were all popular topics for the night with a final surprise performance by Alice Lovelace, recipient of the Georgia Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award and long-time advocate of political and social justice titled ‘Freakin’ Out’.  

Audience members were chosen at random to help judge each performance and after the scores were tabulated, the final contestants were awarded with the following prizes:

1st Place ($1,000):  Oak Morse

2nd Place ($250):  Miss Haze

3rd Place ($100):  Fit

4th/5th Place Tie ($37.50):  Gypsee Yo & Samuel Eddie

For more information on how to support, contribute or volunteer to be involved with next year’s Poetry Slam or Roswell Roots Festival, contact Brandee Bryant at bbryant@roswellgov.com or 770-641-3705.