Right now, the members of the Brandeis slam team are on a plane to Michigan and preparing for their competition in the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational. Before they left, however, they took part in Sunday night's VOCAL Presents..., the proceeds from which helped to maintain the after-school creative writing program at the John F. Kennedy Middle School in Waltham. Joined by headliner freelance poets Joshua Bennet, James Caroline and Caroline Harvey, slam team members Rawda Aljawhary '13, Usman Hameedi '12, Jordan Hinahara '12, Sara Kass Levy '12 and Ashley Lynette '13 gathered together to discuss love, race, religion and art using a very specific art form: slam poetry.

When asked what characteristics define slam poetry, Levy explained that by performing slam poetry, "You're putting yourself in a very vulnerable position" relying not only on the words of the poems but the physical aspects of the delivery to convey meaning to the audience, most often through movement and vocal delivery.

The emcees of the night, slam team veterans Jason Simon-Bierenbaum '11 and Rachel Parkin '11, started off the event with an explanation of the event's fundraising goal. Following this, Simon-Bierenbaum recited a guest poem. The poets, both on an individual level and as a group, both shared personal moments through their words in addition to their desire to, above all, "take our words and put them into action," as Parkin noted.

Lynette was the first to perform from the slam team. She began with a love poem framed with Candyland-inspired images of "molasses monsters" hiding in "jelly-bean jungles." Her fast-paced slam style, accented with the staccato syllables of her words, led the audience on a rollercoaster ride through her candy-constructed world, showing off her mastery of imagery.

While many of the poets chose to use their arms to define their space and connection with the audience, Hinahara changed the volume of her voice to accentuate her best lines. Her first poem began with a jarring, abrupt start: five pieces of advice she learned from her mother, spoken as if her voice was programmed in caps lock-leading to not only laughter, but to thoughtful contemplation on the nature of a mother as well.

After strong performances from Aljawhary and Hameedi (the latter's line "I write because I have fallen in love with human perseverance," garnering snaps of approval from the crowd), Aljawhary, Hinahara and Lynette took the floor together for a unique group poem. The three females, who represented the Muslim, Christian and Jewish religions, used their poetry to extol the virtues and disprove the misconceptions of their religions-their closeness with God, their religious culture and their community and religious dress, for example.

Of the slam team performances, however, Levy's "Cuddlemonster" stood out from the rest. Her poem, describing a mystical creature capable of cheering bad moods and curing illnesses alike, was difficult to listen to, knowing that as soon as her poem ended, so would the existence of the Cuddlemonster. Her descriptions of the Cuddlemonster, from his purple claws to his hiding place beneath the bed, elicited a bittersweet longing for this creature, finding the perfect balance between humor and sentimentality delivered with great ease by Levy.

The second half of the evening was dominated by the headlining poets known on the slam-poetry circuit and started off with New York-native Joshua Bennet. His poetry, inspired by his outreach work with children of lower-income neighborhoods and his own family, expressed humble ideas about life and family, although with less memorable imagery than some of the other poets. He made up for this with the intensity of his delivery, displaying a mastery of both using his physical space and vocal dynamics.

James Caroline and Caroline Harvey, the last two poets to perform, are local to the Boston area and have previously toured together. During the last portion of the event, they traded the floor; Caroline read two poems and then Harvey did the same, which balanced the other's theme and style.

Caroline started with two stark and sobering poems. "I'm a little bit of a buzzkill," he admitted to the audience, walking them through the depression of a breakup, and then, a shiver-inducing dialogue about a boy who had been killed by another boy after asking him on a date. Caroline walked off the stage looking emotionally shaken by the delivery.

Harvey followed with two delightfully heartfelt poems of love, the first a lament and a plea for another to open up their heart and share their story with her, the second a visceral explanation of her love for another. For example, she expressed finding solace in the fact that "I pressed my face against your shoulder, and it pressed back," a startling honest admission of vulnerability with another.

Any sort of review of the night would be remiss not to mention the youth present at the event, however. Waltham public school students who had participated in the after-school creative writing program presented some of their best poetry, ranging from a seventh grader's envisioning of a couple escaping from Vietnam to a ninth grader's open complaint against the importance of popularity and instead lauding the importance of education. The performance garnered a standing ovation from members of the audience.

Kaytie Dowcett '99, the teacher at JFK Middle School who has been coordinating the after-school creative writing program, said in an interview with the Justice that she and a teacher from Waltham High School are considering bridging this program to the high school so that students can continue with their poetry.

"When I get most excited is when kids who are not necessarily the most successful students, not necessarily excited about their classroom environment, somehow find a point of access here," Dowcett said. At the end of the night, the event raised $460 for the after-school program.