Stand Up and Slam (Poetry): Carly Brown

Not many people are keen beans on the scene of slam poetry, but Carly Brown, a 3rd year English student from Texas, is a champion. During the Easter Holiday, Carly competed in (and dominated) the 2013 Scottish Slam Poetry Competition, earning her spot in the World Championship in Paris this June. The Stand caught up with Carly to get the details on what makes her poetry so slammin’.

What exactly is slam poetry? How did you get involved?

Slam poetry is basically a live poetry competition. It involves a lot of different aspects of performance and creativity, and at the end of the night, the audience chooses one poet as the ‘victor’. It’s all original poetry, written to be performed. I got involved in the St Andrews slam poetry scene in my first year, when I went to a slam hosted by Inklight (which Carly is now the president of). I wasn’t very familiar with slam poetry at the beginning, and so at the beginning I wasn’t very successful.

What have you found that audiences prefer when it comes to types of poetry?

I’ve found that an audience always prefers humour. That’s a huge blanket statement, but you get a better reaction from the crowd if you can make them laugh. So my poetry tends to be more comedic, and very anecdotal. I have one poem that usually gets a good reaction, called ‘Tesco Hellos’. It’s about running into people that you don’t want to see in Tesco, from the awkward past hookup to the “Freshers Week” friend. It usually gets a good laugh because people can really relate to it, which is key. 

So tell us about your most recent competition, in Edinburgh, the National Competition.

That was so much fun! It was an open audience, so there were students from University of Edinburgh, locals, educators, etc. It was totally mixed. The competitors included people that had won slams from all over Scotland, from Aberdeen to Glasgow, and they weren’t just students. It was very intimidating. 

You’re going to the World Championship in Paris this summer … how do you feel about that?

Oh my god I am so intimidated. There will be slam poets from America, Brazil, China … people who live and breathe poetry. It’s about a week long, and it is going to be very intense. I’m the youngest person ever to represent Scotland, so honestly I am honoured and excited to be able to go. I keep getting encouraging e-mails from previous winners — people who are actual established poets who I really admire — and so the pressure is on. 

The Stand wishes Carly all the best at the World Championship in Paris this summer. If you are interested in getting involved in the slammin’ St Andrews poetry scene (“Completely beginner-friendly, I swear!” Carly promises), check out Inklight for information regarding upcoming slams.

headline photo courtesy of Alex Williams