“Flagslam” is a weekly event that has brought creative northern Arizona poets together to compete at Applesauce Tea House since 2001. However, when Aaron Johnson, the previous coordinator of the slam, left for Phoenix at the end of last year, a void was left that needed to be filled.

Fortunately, two NAU students, Ryan Brown, a sophomore English education major, and John Cartier, a senior English education major, stepped up in order to keep Flagslam alive. They revamped the event, and made changes that has brought more participants to the event.

“Last year it cost money and not many people came, but this year it’s free and the crowds are huge,” Brown said. “It’s going really well. Me and John have kept it going and a lot of people come out. It’s becoming a really youth-oriented thing.”

Flagslam emphasizes community involvement. Brown said the poetry slam is a collaborative effort between local poets, Applesauce Tea House and the Flagstaff community.

Kamryn Henderson recites a poem by American poet Selah during the weekly Poetry Slam Night at Applesauce Teahouse. The slam begins at 8pm every Wednesay with participant sign-up at 7:30pm. - Jen Merrill/ The Lumberjack

“The whole poetry community has a say in the slam,” Brown said. “We have a term called Slamily, a combination of slam and family. Everyone helps do stuff.”

Another change Brown and Cartier made is that they focus on local amateur poets more than professionals. Cartier said they are always trying to get more poets to come to Flagslam, regardless of their experience.

“We have a vast array of poets,” Cartier said. “We are absolutely all about support and getting people to come out. It’s all about meeting these new poets. The points don’t matter at all. We are all about the community.”

Cartier said one of the most enjoyable aspects of Flagslam is that it offers writers an opportunity to share their voice.

“I enjoy the performance aspect of it and being able to express myself,” Cartier said.

Dana Sackowicz, a Spanish education major, is the scorekeeper of the poetry slams. She said the variety of performers and styles is what makes Flagslam so enjoyable.

“I love the people first and foremost,” Sackowicz said. “It’s a really beautiful thing when all of us can get together and share poetry.”

The audience is made up of those who compete and people who simply enjoy listening to poetry. Sackowicz said the audience determines the scores given to the poets.

“At the beginning of the slam I pick five people from the audience at the slam and give them a score card,” Sackowicz said. “After the poet reads, the audience assigns a number to the poet zero to 10. I drop the lowest and add the middle three, and that’s how they’re scored.”

Cartier said open-mindedness is another positive element of Flagslam.

“I enjoy our poetry slam because of our struggles in keeping the slam together and open-mindedness,” Cartier said. “There was this guy who wrote this totally offensive poem, but we still praised him for it and it was okay because we are accepting of everything.”

Brown and Cartier have kept Flagslam alive through hard work and assistance from local Flagstaff participants. Brown said the event has become better and stronger than ever before.

“The energy is up and there is a greater appreciation of poetry,” Brown said.