The Spooky Slam featuring Nathaniel Strauss and Stephanie Nudelman took place on Thursday night, and was Tributaries' first poetry slam of the year. The event had free candy, punch, Ernest Hemingway, and Sylvia Plath, as well as some great (and occasionally spectacularly spooky) poetry. The weather (torrential downpour with a slight hint of monsoon) was the perfect ambiance for the spookiest slam yet.
Before the event opened, Hansen played the Tributaries Sppoky Slam CD, with a playlist including things from "Thriller" and "Monster Mash" to the infamous "Party in the USA." After the USA was able to briefly desist partying, Sylvia Plath (BethAnne Roberts) and Ernest Hemingway (Mike Whitfield) kicked the show off with a little of "their" original work.
Once the emcees had read their work, the open mic took place, during which time a few people read both original work and some classic stuff like Kaz Frankiewicz's performance of Keats' "This living hand" or Jessie Brewer's rendition of the "boil(ing) toil(ing)" section of "Macbeth."
After chucking some energy boosters (candy) at the audience, Sylvia and Ernest introduced the Student Features: Nathaniel Strauss and Stpehanie Nudelman. They read a combined poem to M.L. Rosenthal as a shout out to their creative writing seminar with Dr. Theune, then proceeded to original work. Nathaniel read a combination of his short fiction and poetry, while Stephanie read creative non-fiction about her time doing mission work in India. Despite the small crowd the two were warmly received and the evening ended with some shameless plugs about Tributaries and everything we will be doing this year.
Photos are on Facebook, so check them out!