Three of the organizers of Dayton Poetry Slam visited the WYSO studios for an interview on Kaleidoscope. Link Schreiber, Johnathon Gallienne and Morgan McGee talked to WYSO music director Juliet Fromholt about upcoming slam events and shared some poetry live on the air.
August 2024 will mark the 25th anniversary of Dayton Poetry Slam. Co-organizer Link Schreiber has been involved for 22 of those years and says that the local event is constantly evolving.
"Every few years somebody hits the reset button, you know, like your whole crowd shifts, like a lot of your poets shift," he said. "You know, it's a constant change. And that's I think that's the reason why I've never become bored with it, is just the fact that you never know what new poet is going to show up at the next show."
Poets, and even co-hosts, often begin as audience members, like Morgan McGee.
"For the first few years that I was going, I just went to appreciate the poets," said McGee. "But there's something about being surrounded by these people who have so much passion for what they write. It inspires you. And so I started writing, and now I'm a host. I kind of feel like I just stumbled into that. You know, if you surround yourself with so many creative people, it really does inspire you to create something yourself. And I think that's amazing."
The co-organizers have begun taking on a new task, co-curating WYSO's Conrad's Corner segments.
"I have found it to be incredibly enjoyable, also sort of challenging. I didn't realize how hard it is to find a poem that's 90 seconds or less. But I've had a really good time doing it," said McGee. "As soon as Link reached out to us and asked if we wanted to help with this, I was elated."
Dayton Poetry Slam takes place on the first and third Sunday of each month at Yellow Cab Tavern. They'll also be participating in Sideshow 17, May 17 and 18. Learn more at https://daytonpoetryslam.com/
