Ram Slam competition team finalized

Hal Dockins
Staff Writer

A spot was up for grabs Sunday night on VCU’s award-winning Slam Nahuatl Poetry Team, Ram Slam. The one spot came down to two very talented poets.

Sophomore Josh Braunstein, one of the poets in the running to be chosen for the team said he would be more than happy to be chosen.

“I was on the team last year. It’s a lot of fun to perform and compete.”

Slam Nahuatl at VCU hosted their third Ram Slam Poetry Competition of the semester on Sunday, Oct. 4 at the Shafer Street Playhouse. The auditorium buzzed with excitement as poets spoke on topics ranging from VCU crime reports to the power of religion.

Braunstein successfully performed his first poem and waited anxiously in the front row for the second round to begin. He was one of only four poets that were chosen to advance to the second round out of a dozen performers. A panel of five judges gave him some of the highest scores of the night.

In the back of the auditorium sat freshman Shavontae Patrick. She chatted with her friends who congratulated her after her electrifying first-round performance. With the final round upon her and victory within reach, she said it would be nice if the spot on the Slam Team were hers.

Senior Rob Gibson helped launch Slam Nahuatl at VCU in 2010 and said that he is very satisfied with its accomplishments. In 2012, the competitions started and the team went to the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational. Last year, Ram Slam placed 10th out of about 40 teams total.

It wasn’t difficult for Gibson to find poets who were interested in joining Ram Slam.

“I just hit up my friends and we kind of brought some members in from that,” Gibson said. “Most members were recruited via word of mouth (which)… is ironic because (Ram Slam) is all about word of mouth.”

Junior Chase Turner was performing for the first time on Sunday night.

“As an artist, I really enjoy people expressing themselves,” Turner said. “It’s nice to see that in a more direct way with words.”

According to the Slam Nahuatl at VCU website, the mission of the group is to “help community members achieve self-actualization through the use of poetry and spoken word.”

“Nahuatl” is the language of the Aztec people which translates into “a good, clear sound.” Turner believes that the club has already made a tremendous impact at VCU.

“I think that the event is necessary on campus. I think poetry is an essential part of the college community. It serves as a good outlet,” Turner said.

After two more poems by Braunstein and Patrick, they found themselves in a tie for first place and the right to represent the Slam Nahuatl Team in competition. Slam Nahuatl had planned to hold more Ram Slam competitions that would determine the final spot of the two remaining on the roster.

However, in an astonishing decision, by audience vote, both Braunstein and Patrick were selected to represent the Slam Team and the plans for the final Ram Slam were scrapped.

Despite his accomplishments, Braunstein has no plans of slowing down.

“I feel like I’ll be able to perform forever,” Braunstein said. “As long as I keep living life, I’ll have things to write about. The sky is the limit.”

With the Slam Nahuatl Team complete, including Braunstein, Patrick, Gibson, senior Breonca Trofort, and sophomore Saidu Tejan-Thomas; attention turned to the “Survivor Slam” Poetry Competition the following night at the Nile Ethiopian Restaurant.