Slam poets are preparing for the third annual Poetry Slam, set to take place on Tuesday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the AHS library.

Prospective performers must submit a copy of their poem and a signed permission slip to librarian Jana Dorough in the library or room G236. The library is accepting all students with school-appropriate pieces, whether they be proficient in prose or only starting to discover slam poetry.

“Spoken word really is unique because it truly is a reflection of the person,” Dorough said. “It gives me and everyone that listens an insight into that person, how unique they are and about what common issues face our teens today.”

To prepare for their planned performances, Poetry Society members practice reading spoken word poems at the beginning of each bi-weekly meeting.

“Every meeting, you can choose to perform poetry you’ve acquired, so that helps,” sophomore Victoria Khoa said. “We’ve also been going over poetry etiquette, how to speak and when to clap or snap.”

Performances at the annual slam are viewed by students, teachers and parents, with select poets receiving awards for their work. However, there will be a change in who selects the winners at this year’s slam.

“Instead of having teachers do the judging, we’re going to pull people from the audience,” Dorough said. “We’re also hoping to get some people that were poets in the past to come and do some of the judging.”

Apart from the judging changes, Dorough says the slam will not differ too much from previous years.

“This is for the students, by the students,” Dorough said. “I think it will be a similar format to what we’ve had in the past, but hopefully different poets and different styles.”

The pieces written by students vary from political statements to odes to internet memes, so audience members never quite know what kind of poems they will see.

“I’ve noticed that some voices are very bright and vibrant and add humor to their poetry, and some are very soft and sullen with emphasis on certain words,” Khoa said. “Every poet has their own voice, and I like that most about Poetry Society.”