With the pre-Golden Hour sun higher up and a touch brighter than usual for 4:00 PM, the Wilshire Ebell Theatre was rolling out the literal red carpet for some of art’s unsung and most prolific offspring: Get Lit’s Words Ignite Annual Classic Poetry Slam in its 13th incarnation, continuing to raise the next and support the current generation of young poets, writers and thinkers.

I attended the previous year’s event as my first introduction to spoken word poetry and the poetry slam format, and after a year of steadily immersing myself in the world of poetry shortly thereafter in my personal life, I’d say I’d become a little more attuned to the complexities of the format and the already-undeniable skill it takes to get up on the stage and bare ones soul as the brave and bold speakers have done on consecutive nights leading up to the Slam Finals.

For those not in the know, The Classic Slam is the largest classic poetry slam in the world, nearly 20 years in, featuring youth poets from various schools across California, who perform and compete with classic/contemporary poems alongside their original Spoken Word responses for a panel of judges. Judges whom this year include actress Geffri Maya, world reknowned poets Yesika Salgado and Rudy Francisco, CAA Foundation Executive Dennis St. Rose and Dynasty Typewriter owner Jamie Flam — all of whom graced the red carpet for a 1-on-1 with me.

“They write with a different kind of freedom that I envy,” Salgado said of the young poets, “It’s just like they can do no wrong.” Geffri Maya had a wish for new listeners to absorb the poems with openness: “Sometimes it’s not about understanding, sometimes it’s about ‘did you feel it? Did you connect with it in a way that sometimes isn’t spoken?’”

“Events like this are so important,” poet Rudy Francisco praised, “I think about who I could’ve been had I started earlier, and how much confidence that would’ve given me. I was never a confident public speaker — I used to speak with a stutter — so organizations like this really allow students to follow their voices so much earlier.”

How would the VIPs and Alumni describe a poetry slam in three words?

“Creativity, Courage… and Inspiration,” CAA Foundation’s Dennis St. Rose ruminated, while Dynasty Typewriter’s Jamie Flam answered “Passion, Inspiration, and Connection.”

The Slam was lead with style, grace and humor by DJ Joshua Silverstein on musical duties and Get Lit Deputy Director Mason Granger as the master of ceremonies; Granger doubled as a First AD, directing the audience through different segments that would be filmed by a camera crew throughout the night for an ongoing documentary shoot about Get Lit by a major motion picture company (soon to be formally announced, I’m sure!)

A montage rolled of the dozens of students repping their respective schools, doing their dances and call-and-responding their slogans — the energy started high and stayed high the entire night. Francisco Arriaga from Bravo High School was the night’s first ‘Sacrificial Poet’ (a poet who performs to set the tone and also be a living example of the competition’s rules and regulations, but is not technically competing). Arriaga performed a clever original titled “Why Am I So Bad at Math?” which drew just as many laughs as it did resounding hums and finger snaps. He was followed by Alhambra High’s Cyrus Winter; they scored a 27.5 and a 28.0, respectively.

Round One of The Slam was led by Hamilton High School, Venice High School, LA Lit and Mark Keppel. LA Lit’s Marlee Porter performed an original called “An Ode to Sweatpants Under Skirts,” partially about the sexualization of women of all ages and the ways they combat the unwanted male gaze; Venice’s Zara Seldon gave us “Name: Snow White, Occupation: Pretty,” touching on the fact that appearances can be deceiving, with Disney’s rendition of Snow White as a metaphor for a mentally distressed girl who looks picture perfect from a distance but struggles with unspoken insecurities.

Mark Keppel’s Samantha Rios provided “Ways We Say I Love You,” and Hamilton’s quartet of female poets took to the stage to perform an engaging and impressively physical spoken word about suicide and depression, with the group acting out well-choreographed arguments, faints and emotions.

If last year’s Classic Slam had the overarching theme of racial discontent from sensational poets like Salome Agbaroji all the way through to previous winner, Cleveland High School’s Ashley Tahay, with an undertone of gender commentary, the dynamic flipped this year, with culture, race and skin tone being secondary to the fact that the young women who graced the stage were living, breathing, struggling and overcoming many of the same trials, tribulations and victories as their peers, mothers, sisters and lovers as the true universal experience. Progress had been made, but progress was still required, namely in the ways of the sexualization of women, societal pressure to conform, power dynamics and unspoken physical, emotional and sexual abuses.

Round Two promptly jumped into a different order of business, with Venice going first, followed by LA Lit, Mark Keppel and Hamilton. Venice’s poet penned a thoughtful and emotive piece titled “It’s Not That I Don’t Remember My Childhood, I Just Grew Up Too Fast,” an ode to youth and the lament of the passage of time. LA Lit’s brilliant duo, Marlee, Abigail and JG gave us “A Poem for Not All Men,” an aptly titled cautionary tale about the insecurities and fears women face in a violent and hypersexual society and the active roles men play — and downplay.

Gabby/Lex Wong’s poem, of Mark Keppel, “Acceptable Alternatives to My Dead Name,” dealt with self acceptance, while Hamilton’s Henna Lopez-Spears and Navonne Reyes-Masters portrayed emotionally charged scenes of domestic chaos, as lovers in both their classic and original readings — culminating in a performance of their sultry piece “Sea Levels,” a romantic duet about a toxic love affair of an overly critical man who orders his lover not to look ‘like a prostitute’ around other men. Anxiously attached, she complies to most all his requests, yet retains just enough agency to pull away far enough that he continues to pursue her — the result being an encounter that makes their ‘sea levels rise.’ Well done, Hamilton.

One thing that continues to astonish about the youth poets is their level of prowess and their ability to articulate that at a level that most (and older) people don’t come close to. It’s a testament to Get Lit as an outlet of expression that these younger people are able to have a forum to formulate and construct their thoughts and opinions and invest the energy of their circumstances and observations into art. In this way, they’re even able to touch on world news and current events as evidenced by Round Three aka The Shorty Round: 1 minute poems with a 30 second grace period.

Brianna Macklin kick-started the segment with “When I’ve Got Nothing to Say, I Say Sorry” a poem about oppression, toxic masculinity and how they affect family dynamics and the ramifications it has on young daughters especially. Mark Keppel’s Maryam Tall followed up with “Last Words Left on the White House Call-In Line,” possibly the most cerebral, thrilling reading of the night. “Last Words” takes the current conflict in Gaza, placing it within the scenario of two girls on stage — one imitating the White House answering machine — as the other girl, Maryam, leaves an impassioned message reciting the names of the forgotten and often mispronounced victims of the ongoing crisis.

Returning fan favorite Lila Abercrombie of Hamilton offered “One Step Closer to Eating the Apple,” about radical self love and evolution, and Venice’s Jaylen Germani concluded the set with “I Quit Dance” a poem about going where you’re celebrated not tolerated, after a stirring retelling of traumatic times as a young ballerina and the emotional damage and body dysmorphia that comes along with it.

Round Four brought Mark Keppel’s last contenders, Samantha Rios, Zenina Adao and Gabby/Lex Wong, to the stage in group format; Isabelle Michaels gave us “The Math Lessons You’ll Use for the Rest of Your Life,” (an impressively creative piece on body dysmorphia and anorexia, among the backdrop of learning volume and mass equations as a 4th grader); Jonathan Smith delivered a poem about the power of friendship, youth and self love; LA Lit’s JG concluded with “Typhoons, Raindrops, Reflections,” a poem about internalized racism and self love.

There was a running theme during the closer; we’d weaved our way through the complexities of young adulthood, the external complications of life, familial pressure and abuse and had transcended to the levels of self actualization, emotional regulation, and inner peace. Whether a universal coincidence or a calculated effort on part of the poets, they’d all managed to string together a sort of heroes journey for the modern listener’s mind that an older audience can respect and an even younger generation can learn from. All of that was in a certain sense summarized in poet/judge Rudy Francisco’s reading — and without a doubt the most heart-wrenching piece read on stage that night — about the bond between him as a father of a daughter, and the contrasted upbringing he experience due to the absence of his own father.

The story relayed his times playing Hide-and-Seek with his little girl, who orchestrated the details of the game down to his own hiding place, and he joyfully obliged because, unlike his own father, he always wants his daughter to know where he is. The pain in his voice as tone and tempo escalated up until the release of finding ourselves as listeners in the present day, combined with the tempestuous thoughts of a young man who battled with the inevitable feelings of inadequacy which morphed into self determination made him not only one of the stars — despite being relegated to the role of observer for the night — but one of the most unforgettable performers of The Slam.

Festivities wrapped with the long awaited results: Hamilton’s Isabelle Michaels took the night as the highest scoring poet, Hamilton High School landed the third place spot, LA Lit snagged second place and — in a rare and remarkable upset — Venice and Mark Keppel tied for first place.

It was another good year for The Slam — and though there are no bad years — the 13th entry in the series felt to be as much of a celebration as it was a competition. There’s a unity that I personally notice in the poetry scene that you don’t quite find in other industries, genres of art. Perhaps, in the pursuit of clarity of thought or in the need for expression, there’s a middle ground where all our commonalities are laid bare. Or, it could be as simple as having a forum like Get Lit to relate, congregate and just breathe, brings out the best in everyone who takes the leap to join. In any case, if the right words can sparks the right ideas, Get Lit’s young poets, each with their own boundless potential, are another year closer to changing the world.