The fourth annual poetry slam was held in the library’s reading room. The mood was soft and friendly. It was well lit, and not too bright. The event started at 5 p.m. and ended at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23.

There were many people of different race, gender and religion all in one room sharing the same thing, their love for poetry.

The poetry slam is one of many “fan favorites,” according to Pedro Gonzalez, a student attendee who was there to support his classmates as they performed.

Poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry. It encourages poets to focus on what they’re saying and how they’re saying it. In competition, the poets are judged by members of the audience.

Typically, the host or another organizer selects the judges, who are instructed to give numerical scores on a zero to 10 or one to 10 scale based on the performance.  

Gonzalez has been attending poetry slams for the past two years. “I think poetry is underrated, especially slam poetry, it really makes you feel some type of way.”

“Every poem is written by the heart and it’s interesting to hear them coming from people you’d never imagine to write poetry,” he said.

The poetry slam at FCC was different, it was not judged, it was a simple open mic performance. People were encouraged to go up and read their original work and listen to others.