Corbin Bugni has been writing poetry for four years. He doesn’t just write it, he slams it.
“I’d say my style is kind of urban, a little hip hop, and (uses) visceral imagery,” said Bugni, Shorecrest High School senior, of his performance style.
Four years ago, poets from the Seattle non profit Youth Speaks Seattle came to Shorecrest, and their performance drew him in.
Since then, Bugni’s been writing and speaking his work at spoken word competitions. He won first place in the Seattle Youth Slam competition in May 2008 and went with four other poets to the national competition in Washington, D.C in July.
Some of his work is social commentary.
“Just about the generation and all the stuff that’s on TV and the Internet, all the stuff that’s constantly being shot at you,” he said. “A lot of times people get carried away.”
In November, Bugni traveled with Youth Speaks to Alaska, where he performed for schools and talked about his poetry in Anchorage and Wasilla.
Spoken word performances can encompass any style, he said.
“So just bring out your voice and perform your words,” he said.
The first preliminary competition in the 2009 Seattle Youth Poetry Slam Series is Saturday, Jan. 24 at Mokas Café, 329 Fairview Ave N. in Seattle.
Signups are at 6:30 p.m. and the slam is at 7 p.m.
Open mic events are the third Sunday of the month at Cafe Allegro in the University District.
For information on Youth Speaks, see seattleyouthspeaks.org.
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