Women writers gather to ‘slam’ and share work

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By Stephanie Short

An evening of high-energy and fast-paced slam poetry will take center stage in downtown Lexington on Thursday night as women from across the country compete to win the title of top “gypsy poet.”
The Gypsy Poetry Slam, a free event, will kick off the 30th annual Kentucky Women Writers Conference this weekend and features three-time National Poetry Slam finalist Rachel McKibbens.
“It’s a free event, with many unorthodox and unique individuals, so it’s especially popular with college students,” said Virginia Conn, undergraduate coordinator of KWWC.
McKibbens, along with four judges selected from the audience, will score the female contestants during two intensive rounds of poetry slams. Cheering and jeering from the crowd is extremely encouraged.
This year the event is being co-sponsored by UK’s Center for Research on Violence Against Women, and many of the pieces will concern that topic.
“Every year is different because the people involved are new, so in a sense, expect the unexpected,” Conn said.
The conference continues Friday as authors from across the nation come together for workshops, panel discussions and community events “to provide support, visibility, and education to writers and readers,” said Julie Wrinn, director of KWWC.
This year’s speakers include UK alum Holly Goddard Jones who recently published her first collection of short stories, “Girl Trouble.”
“Lexington is where I discovered that I wanted to be a writer,” Jones said. “When I was attending readings then, participating in workshops, shopping at Joseph-Beth, I wanted but didn’t really believe that I’d ever be in a position to participate in that dialogue, that I’d have a book to sign. I’ve come full circle.”
Along with teaching a workshop, Jones will perform a reading alongside UK creative writing and poetry professor Nikky Finney.
“(Finney) mentored me through two writing workshops and an independent study while I was at UK,” Jones said. “I owe so much of my current writing to her wisdom and encouragement.”
The conference will conclude Saturday evening with the Hardwick/Jones keynote reading from Yale Professor and poet, Elizabeth Alexander. Alexander recently wrote and delivered her poem “Praise Song for the Day” at President Obama’s inauguration.
The Gypsy Poetry Slam will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, with open-mic beginning at 6:30 at Victorian Square in downtown Lexington. The keynote lecture is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Hall. Admission is free and open to the public.
While the workshops are already filled, more information about other free community events can be found at www.uky.edu/wwk.
“What we offer that is original is having all these authors here at the same time,” Wrinn said. “At the conference there is an opportunity to rub shoulders with the authors. It is a more intimate experience than an average lecture.”