Silver City, NM- Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors from Deming High School arrived at Western New Mexico University to here the spoken word poetry of Albuquerque native Mercedez Holtry, a slam poet of Mexican and German descent. Mercedez is a world-class slam poet, taking third place in a World Slam Poetry Competition.
After a lunch of chips and wings for the students, Mercedez delivered a series of poems, each more passionate than the last, discussing everything from race to the President of the United States. She then worked with the assembled students in writing their own poems. Using a grid with people, places, sights and sounds, she had the students explain the people and places that made them who they were and pick their favorite things out of those topics. Using the topics they chose, students began to craft their poems, with several performing them at the end of the event.
Two grants from The Center for Gender Equity and the School of Education were responsible for the event. The grant from The Center was used to bring Mercedez from campus, while the grant from the School of Education was used to bring the students. Mercedez will be performing for the university again tonight at 6pm in Light Hall Auditorium.
