Ninety-Year-Old Lewis Wins Vermillion Literary Project Slam Bout
Ninety-year-old Elizabeth Lewis from Yankton, South Dakota won the Vermillion Literary Project poetry slam at the Coffee Shop Gallery in Vermillion, South Dakota on Thursday, June 29, 2006. Lewis, an experienced poet who had never slammed before, said about her win, "It made an OLD woman feel almost thirty again."
The VLP held two rounds, with poets' scores from the two rounds added together. After hearing Lewis read during the first round, slam regular and Vermillion resident Tony LaPointe commented, shaking his head and smiling, "I don't know if I can beat the old lady." LaPointe earned second place, with Krista Bruggeman of Lennox coming in third.
Traditionally, the VLP slam winner performs a third poem while wearing the infamous VLP gladiator slam belt. Lewis was too exhausted to come up to the microphone again, so slam master Doug Murano brought the wireless mic to her table, and she performed a brief, additional piece. VLP faculty advisor Michelle Rogge Gannon noted, "We did not require Elizabeth to put on the slam belt, as we felt the heavy-duty leather belt might be somewhat oppressive for ninety-year-old bones."
Nine poets participated in the slam, performing for an attentive audience that included students from the University of South Dakota, Vermillion/area residents, and a group of teachers from the Dakota Writing Project. The Vermillion Literary Project has the only slam venue in the state officially recognized by Poetry Slam, Inc. The VLP has been holding slams regularly since October 2002. Elliot Harmon, the VLP's first ever slam winner and a frequent participant in the VLP slams, later went on to represent Omaha in the 2004 National Poetry Slam.
The VLP challenges other slam organizations to come up with slam winners--or even slam participants--older than Elizabeth Lewis (age ninety).
The VLP held two rounds, with poets' scores from the two rounds added together. After hearing Lewis read during the first round, slam regular and Vermillion resident Tony LaPointe commented, shaking his head and smiling, "I don't know if I can beat the old lady." LaPointe earned second place, with Krista Bruggeman of Lennox coming in third.
Traditionally, the VLP slam winner performs a third poem while wearing the infamous VLP gladiator slam belt. Lewis was too exhausted to come up to the microphone again, so slam master Doug Murano brought the wireless mic to her table, and she performed a brief, additional piece. VLP faculty advisor Michelle Rogge Gannon noted, "We did not require Elizabeth to put on the slam belt, as we felt the heavy-duty leather belt might be somewhat oppressive for ninety-year-old bones."
Nine poets participated in the slam, performing for an attentive audience that included students from the University of South Dakota, Vermillion/area residents, and a group of teachers from the Dakota Writing Project. The Vermillion Literary Project has the only slam venue in the state officially recognized by Poetry Slam, Inc. The VLP has been holding slams regularly since October 2002. Elliot Harmon, the VLP's first ever slam winner and a frequent participant in the VLP slams, later went on to represent Omaha in the 2004 National Poetry Slam.
The VLP challenges other slam organizations to come up with slam winners--or even slam participants--older than Elizabeth Lewis (age ninety).
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