The school held a mandatory assembly in Taper Gymnasium on Dec. 12 for sophomores and seniors for a spoken word poetry performance by three members of Get Lit, a non-profit youth poetry organization founded to encourage student literacy and community engagement through spoken word poetry. Slam Club, which participates in slam poetry competitions for the Upper School, invited the group to perform at the assembly.
Get Lit was established in Los Angeles (LA) in 2006. According to the organization’s website, its mission is to engage “young people by providing a creative outlet, community and real-life work experience, transforming students into artists, activists, scholars and stars.” Get Lit has performed at the Hollywood Bowl, the White House and the United Nations headquarters, and it was recognized by the Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program for supporting youth literacy in 2023.
Co-leader of Slam Club Anusha Shayegan ’24 said she hopes the group’s performance made upper school students interested in slam poetry.
“On a very basic level, me and [Jasmine Sorgen ’25,] the other Slam Club leader, got in contact with Get Lit to spread the word and excitement about slam poetry at HW,” Shayegan said. “On a deeper level, I believe slam poetry, like all poetry, is a very effective tool for self expression, especially as an outlet for emotions and as way to bring to others’ attention important societal issues.”
Each performer recited both a classic poem and an original, self-written response poem. Get Lit’s Associate Director of Communications, Paul Herrera, called this the “classic-response model” of slam poetry, which he said promotes individual creativity and engagement with poetry.
“Every single person in a [Get Lit] classroom picks a poem that resonates with them,” Herrera said. “You choose it. This is not, ‘here is a poem, and this is what I think it means. You have to think this is what it means too.’ No, you choose the [poem] that resonates with you the most, and you memorize it, perform it and then write your own spoken word response to it.”
Jada Leung, a high school senior and member of Get Lit, recited “Inside Out” by Diane Wakoski. She said said spoken word poetry has allowed her to overcome her discomfort with public speaking.
“I’ve done written poetry for a really long time, but I have really serious social anxiety, so I’m not really great on stage,” Leung said. “But thankfully, this art form, because it forces you to interact with people on a platform, gave me a lot of confidence and changed the way I see the rest of the world. I had a great time. The audience was really responsive, which is always nice. It’s great to feed off their energy.”
Jasmine Minchez, who works as a teaching artist for Get Lit and hosts their podcast, recited “Girl, Just Girl” by Olvia Gatwood. She said she appreciated how introducing poetry to students can spark interest in performing spoken word poetry.
“There was one teacher who really pushed the Get Lit curriculum at my school,” Minchez said. “There was a journey between going to that high school and taking her class and then now working in poetry, being a poet and getting paid for it. It really just takes one teacher or one student to spearhead this and get others involved and inspired with this art form, because it’s under-appreciated.”
Shayegan said she enjoyed Get Lit’s performance and felt moved by the experience.
“Get Lit creates such a welcoming environment, even in their yearly slam competitions, that the entire slam team immediately thought of inviting them to HW,” Shayegan said. “Their performance really captured the sincerity, power and beauty of spoken word poetry, and it was an honor to host them.”
