Episode 11: How to Win a Poetry Slam

As athletes from around the world compete for gold in Rio this summer, poets from across the U.S. are facing off in a different kind of competition. It is called a poetry slam. On this episode of Stories with a Heartbeat , we talk to poetry slam champion Dasan Ahanu to figure out what this poetic conflict is all about, and how to win. Download Episode 11 Now In 2010, Dasan Ahanu and host Will McInerney were on a slam team together. They were competing in the Southern Fried Poetry Slam . Southern Fried is one of the the largest and longest running poetry slams in the world. Their team from Durham, North Carolina made it all the way to finals that year. Dasan recalls what it felt like to be in a big-time poetry slam like Southern Fried. "It's one of the most amazing feelings ever, everything moves in slow motion, you feel like there is this aura around you, you are totally conscious of everything you are doing in terms of body motion, you are hearing each word as it comes out," he said.