Wayne State College is preparing for its 50th twice-a-year Poetry Slam soon to be hosted on March 6.
Chad Christensen, an English instructor at WSC and director for the Plains Writer’s Series and Poetry Slams, said that he’s excited to celebrate 25 years of hosting the slam.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic messing up the timeline, Christensen said that he’s excited to celebrate over 25 years of Poetry Slams. He said that he’s trying to get a few guests from previous poetry slams to get them to either come back and participate or just celebrate the success of this event.
WSC uses the Poetry Slam as a way to give students a platform to show off their writing.
“The idea is that students get the opportunity to get up there and showcase their work,” Christensen said.
It isn’t just WSC students that show up to the Poetry Slam. Authors from the Great Plains area come to visit, offering their experience and advice.
“It gives them another opportunity to hang out and talk to these authors,” Christensen said.
In addition to the Poetry Slam, the Plains Writer’s Series will also be taking place soon. This event is meant to highlight young writers in the Great Plains area. “Our main focus is to give a platform for the cool writers that live or write in the Great Plains area,” Christensen said.
The Plains Writer’s Series and Poetry Slam are open to all who wish to attend.
“It’s ran by Wayne State students and obviously, there’s a lot of Wayne State students that participate, but it’s completely open to anyone,” Christensen said, “It’s free to attend.”
The Plains Writers Series will take place on March 6 at 2 p.m. on the Wayne State Campus in the Humanities Lounge, and the Poetry Slam will take place that same day at 7 p.m. with registration for the event taking place at 6:30 p.m. at The Max Bar and Grill.
Christensen said he’s excited for this milestone and is eager to meet new writers. Anyone looking for more information on the event can refer to the Wayne State College Press website at wscpress.com.