BY BETHANY MOSETTIG
Edinburgh University’s poetry team gave a winning performance at this year UniSlam landing them first place.
The finale took place in the Ken Edwards Building, on the University of Leicester Campus, Mayors Walk, on Sunday January 31 2016.
Compere, International poet and Midlands coordinator Bohdan Piasecki, 35, said: “The poetry was of a really high standard, it was great.”
Mr Piasecki also ran a workshop before the competition for over 100 contestants and helped the teams prepare before they competed.
“There was a real sense of people wanting to talk and learn from each other.”
The three other teams that made it through to the last stages were Northampton, Goldsmiths and Rose Bruford.
Goldsmiths University came in a close second place with less than a point between them and the winning team.
The performers were encouraged to speak without notes as they could lose points for reading off a script.
The team’s points were added up discarding the top score and the bottom score with only 1.8 points between the bottom and top teams.
Winner, Catherine Wilson, 20, an English literature and Philosophy student of Edinburgh said:
“It was amazing, every single team had diverse voices, and I’m amazed how they picked a winner.
“I’m just in shock.”
The winners as well as the trophy and title won a place at the Hammer & Tongue National poetry slam finals in 2017 held at the Royal Albert Hall.
They also won a place at UniSlam’s American sister competition C.U.P.S.I 2016 which is held in Austin, Texas.
Hollie McNish, spoken word artist and poet, also performed some work from her new book set to be published later this week ‘Poetry and Parenting’.
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