Whether it’s the Freshman Poetry Battle or the Schoolwide Poetry Slam, Los Altos High School’s poetry events have been competitive for over a decade. This year, the LAHS Poetry Club took ownership of the schoolwide poetry slam, shifting it from a competitive format to a non-competitive stage for the first time. Held Friday, March 14, in the Eagle Theatre, the event allowed students to share their poetry without the pressure of rankings.
“This is the first year Poetry Club has been associated with the schoolwide slam,” Poetry Club Adviser Carrie Abel Shaffer said. “It’s a cool thing that they want to be more involved.”
Abel, who has run the schoolwide poetry slam for over a decade, saw the club’s enthusiasm for hosting a slam and suggested merging with the existing event.
“I figured that if you have a bunch of poetry slams, no one knows which one to go to,” Abel said. “Combining makes one bigger event, so they’re taking the lead instead of me.”
Traditionally, a poetry slam involves a competitive structure with elimination rounds. In previous years, English teachers organized the battles, where poets from all grades performed original solo poetry pieces. A panel of judges then determined the top three poets. This year, however, the Poetry Club aimed to create a stress-free space where students could share their work without fear of judgment. The non-competitiveness of the Poetry Club’s slam also allowed for group poems, not just the traditional solo poems.
“Personally, I think people are more willing to perform if it’s not a competition,” Poetry Club president junior Nora Saraci-Alonso said. “It’s also hard to compare different performances and poems because everyone has different experiences.”
The poetry slam featured 11 performances, three of which were duets. Aside from the change that performances did not have to be memorized as they would have been previously, the emphasis shifted to inclusivity in hopes of creating a space where students could openly share their work without the pressure of competition.
Freshman Jungsoo Hahn, who won second place in the 2025 Freshman Poetry Battle and participated in the Poetry Club’s schoolwide slam, found that she was able to explore more sides of poetry through the schoolwide slam’s less-rigid rules. Jungsoo performed a duet poem with freshman Ethan Lee, who won third place in the 2025 Freshman Poetry Battle.
“Last time, I was really nervous, but I liked how supportive the community was,” Jungsoo said. “It was a little harder to prepare because I had to practice with Ethan and match his cadence, but it was still fun. I was really excited for the slam this time.”
For Slam participant and sophomore Beatrix Poon, the Slam offered her an opportunity to share her poetry.
“This was my first time doing slam poetry,” Slam participant and sophomore Beatrix Poon said. “I wasn’t able to try last year because I didn’t get chosen to compete in the poetry slam for freshmen. But I’m glad this wasn’t a battle. It felt like I got to share my opinions instead of competing with someone else.”
“It’s important that poets have the opportunity to not compare themselves or try to force themselves to be perfect,” Poetry Club secretary junior Caila Kim said. “Poetry is best when people feel supported enough to do it.”
Nora and the Poetry Club also hope to continue both the non-competitive and competitive slams, keeping both the excitement of the poetry battles and the openness of the non-competitive events. She aims to host one of each type each school year.
“Poetry is a wonderful way for people to express themselves,” Nora said. “It’s an art that I feel like people kind of ignore or push to the side compared to other forms of art, so I wanted to give people an opportunity to try out this art form.”
