To the pantheon of Camden poets - a group that already includes Walt Whitman and Nick Virgilio - add Zaniah, Jazmine, and Lesley.
The three were among the 80 poets sharing their work in the city's first spoken-word competition (aka 'slam') inspired by Louder Than a Bomb (LTAB), which originated in Chicago in 2001. The March 22 event was hosted at the Rutgers-Camden campus center by poet Michael Haeflinger, a part-time lecturer in the Department of English.
"The poetry world is alive and well among Camden's youth," he says. "We heard poems that dealt with their perceptions of place and of themselves, as well as how they feel the world perceives them."
The poet Steve Burns, who is studying in the MFA program at Rutgers-Camden, wrote about the event for Apiary magazine. He was impressed by what he heard.
"Some of their lines were so powerful," says Burns. "These kids are in middle school and high school and have experienced so much in so little time - but they're able to turn it into poetry so stunningly well."
--KEVIN RIORDAN