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Summer Slam throws down with words

Inspired Word °ä²¹“ŚĆ©ā€™s ā€˜Summer Slam’ is set for Thursday night at Āé¶¹AV’s Laurel Packinghouse
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Summer Slam co-organizer, Rawle James, speaks at an Inspired Word °ä²¹“ŚĆ© event. -Credit: Inspired Word °ä²¹“ŚĆ© Summer Slam co-organizer, Rawle James, speaks at an Inspired Word °ä²¹“ŚĆ© event. -Credit: Inspired Word °ä²¹“ŚĆ©

By Matthew Abrey

Poetry and wrestling are two things that most people usually don’t associate with one another, but on May 17, these two vastly different worlds will collide at the’s ā€˜Summer Slam’.

The Laurel Packinghouse will play host to the brainchild event of the Inspired Word °ä²¹“ŚĆ©, an organization committed to showcasing the talent of local poets through a series of fun and inclusive events, such as Thursday night’s wrestling/poetry hybrid.

ā€œSummer Slam is an old wrestling event, and so we thought it would be fun to have an event that had the fun and performativity of a wrestling event and the lyrical competition of a poetry slam.ā€ said Summer Slam co-organizer, Cole Mash.

ā€œThis event isn’t like anything else you will see in Āé¶¹AV,ā€ continued Mash. ā€œIWC has moved into the realm of interdisciplinarity, utilizing the skills of our incredible team of poets and performers to put on a great show.ā€

The event features a line-up of eight local poets, hand-picked by organizers, who will battle it out with their words, while leaving the wrestling displays to the professionals.

17 year-old Maddie Bishop is the youngest competitor at this year’s competition. She caught the eye of organizers by performing at various open-mic nights over the past few years, and is very excited to have been invited to this year’s slam, which is expecting crowds in the neighbourhood of a few hundred.

ā€œIt’s an honour to be competing against these amazing poets,ā€ said Bishop. ā€œIt feels like I’m playing in the big leagues of Āé¶¹AV now, and it’s very exciting.ā€

Doors open at 6:30 Thursday evening, and tickets are still available at

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