Midnight Sun and other extra credit responses

The Monthly Edutainment Night at the Writer’s Block in Anchorage has become my favorite monthly event here in town. It’s a Poetry Slam hosted by MC MoHagani Megnetik, a social activist, transgender woman, and upcoming graduate of UAA’s creative writing program. The event is open to anyone who wants to share their poetry and to those who want to compete for a $100 cash prize. At 7pm, all of the poets’ names are put in a hat and drawn in random order to perform their slam poetry. The competitors are then rated on a scale from one through 10 by a group of four judges. The five poets who receive the highest scores advance to the second round, and its three best poets advance to the final round. The winner receives a $100 cash prize, and the second and third places win photo shoots. Each month’s event has a theme that competitors have to follow in their first round of poems. Subsequent poems can be on any topic. Last night’s theme was in honor of Black History Month, ‘On this day in history over 100 years ago’, and writers addressed an array of topics ranging from social and racial injustices to gender inequality. Later rounds included poems on rape culture, struggles with insomnia, and life as a ‘Spanglish speaker’. I just recently, in the last six months, discovered the beauty of poetry by listening to and watching slam poetry performances and I’m amazed by the level of talent in our community. If you are ever in Anchorage, please stop by the Writer’s Block, a small café and book shop that hosts a variety of reading, writing, and music events, and if you are ever here on a second Saturday evening of the month, please go and support our local poets or compete for the cash prize yourself!