Multiple El Camino College students sang, recited, and vented their way for a chance to win cash for the Fifth Annual Poetry Slam.

In honor of National Poetry Month, the Humanities Division teamed up with the Social Justice Center to host the Fifth Annual Poetry Slam. The April 27 event marks the first year of their partnership.

Event coordinator Shane Ochoa of the English department couldn’t resist a jab at the original venue. In his opening address, he pointed out how the space of the Social Justice Center felt more like a “poet lounge” than the Distance Education Center.

A large gray sofa at the front row, reserved for the poets who would be competing that day, created an artificial barrier separating the audience from the performance space. A long white judge’s table sat two rows behind them, complete with score signs.

This year’s judges panel consists of students Sandra Derrell and Patrick Hahn and faculty members Mora Mattern and Elayne Kelley. In addition, there was a special guest judge, Hector Luis Rivera, a professional poet who directs Taller Bula, an on-campus Puerto Rican Bomba workshop.

“I like to hear all the ways people play and use words, painting a picture with words. That’s refreshing to me,” Rivera said. “It’s a courageous thing to do, to share your voice and inspire others.”

At fifteen past one in the afternoon, Rivera kicked off the event with an opening poem.

Then, one by one, each of the poets slated to perform took their places in front of the room. The first to present was Dulce Stein with her piece “Spell for a Good Night’s Sleep”.

In total fifteen poets, both newcomers and veterans, would take the stage. They are Dulce Stein, Bella Santana, Sohee Moon, Brynelle Hall, Patrick Lippert, Kira Fernandez, Cooper Hannon, Heinrich Muller, Mars Nored, Mila Ishikawa-Gonzales, Squid Bacon, Samijay Fleming, Romel Kassaye, Manuel Beltran and Selena Brown.

The poets had free reign over what they could present. Topics ranged from body dysmorphia and trans rights to love and family issues to overalls and an explicit act involving “your mom”.

The judges ranked each performance on a scale of six to 10 through scorecards.

English major and first-place winner Mila Ishikawa-Gonzales sealed her place by securing the only perfect score of 50 for her poem “Unbodied.”

She opened with a disclaimer that she would be delving into themes of body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and self-harm.

Ishikawa-Gonzales launched into a gut-wrenching delivery about the pain of living with these self-harming behaviors in an unfair world. “I am my body. There’s nothing poetic about it,” Ishikawa-Gonzales said.

“It feels surreal,” Ishikawa-Gonzales said, looking back. Holding onto her certificate of achievement like it is a lifesaver, she said “I don’t know, you go into these things hoping you win. When you do, it’s like, ‘Oh, is this a mistake?’”

Second place was tied between Cooper Hannon and Squid Bacon.

Cooper submitted an ode to overalls and even donned a pair of brown coveralls for the occasion. Squid Bacon, a first-time participant, drew on living with ADHD and neuro divergency as inspiration, which includes powerful lines such as, “I live in a world not meant for me. I’m orange in the blue.”

Third-place finisher Bella Santana explored the themes of social injustice spanning across generations in the Latin community.

Fourth place went to Mars Nored, who is representing the Black Student Services Center, letting audiences know her work is fictional even though it dwells on the very real and painful themes of a toxic relationship.

Fifth-place also touched on the topic of a toxic relationship with a father courtesy of Romel Kassaye.

Afterward, audience member Adia Haynes rushed up to congratulate Squid Bacon.

“I’m here to support my friends and enjoy some poetry,” English major Adia Haynes, beamed. She was one of the first people to come and said “I considered submitting something but I didn’t. I highly considered submitting but I missed the deadline.”

Nursing major, Squid Bacon, 18, was bouncing with excitement, silver fish earrings dancing to the beat.

“This is my first time competing. I think it’s awesome,” Bacon said. “I placed second and got to share my work with the El Camino College community. I felt like there was more of a community here and I felt more connected.”