Local poet will compete in national poetry slam

RECORD PHOTO BY AUSTIN GRABISH

St. Andrews resident Kortnee Stevens, 18, will represent the City of Winnipeg at the Verses Festival of Words in Vancouver next month.

By Austin Grabish, The Selkirk Record

A St. Andrews poet will represent the City of Winnipeg at a national poetry competition in Vancouver next month.

Kortnee Stevens, 18, will face off against almost 40 other poets at the Canadian Independent Poetry Slam, which starts at the end of next month in Vancouver.

Stevens was named the Individual Poetry Slam champion last December for a piece she performed on mental health, and is now competing for the national title.  

The poetry slam is part of the Vancouver Verses Festival of Words.

Stevens will be performing a piece, no longer than four minutes in length that will criticize society in some way. The exact length of the piece and the topic will be determined at the festival.

She successfully spoke about stigma associated with mental health at the Winnipeg competition last December.

“The motivation came from a lot of friends that I’ve had and they’ve been struggling a lot with the mental health stigma,” Stevens said.

“People don’t see depression or anxiety is a real illness or a real disadvantage in everyday life.”

Poetry slams are short memorized pieces of art made by writers. The slams can be about pretty much anything, but poets are usually restricted to no more than three minutes of stage time, Stevens said.

Judges evaluate contestants on their overall performance and any extra entertainment a candidate has created to compliment their piece.

The pieces must be done without the aid of props, costumes, nudity, animal acts, or musical accompaniment.

“You sort of just sign up and spill your heart out on stage,” Stevens said.

“If it’s a meaningful piece to you then the audience really sees that and that’s kind of where you get your points.”

Stevens first started writing poetry a few years ago when she was in Grade 11 English class, and then began attending open mic nights with friends that were put on by the Winnipeg poetry community.  

“We kind of grew addicted to it I guess,” Stevens said.

Stevens calls herself a relatively new competitor and said she’s relishing the opportunity to go to Vancouver to compete.

“This is the one that takes you places,” Stevens said.

“That’s why it’s major and kind of stands out from the rest.”

 -- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition March 26, 2015 p.15