Poetry slams — a phenomenon in the late 90s when movies like Love Jones oozed urban cool and made poetry nights a hip new thing — were a trend reaching back to the Beat Generation, a literary subculture movement of the ‘50’s and 60’s that took place in New York and the West Coast, making legends of writers Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, among oth- ers. Flash forward to 2025 when bookstores, along with events like poetry slams, featuring writ- ers’ live readings of their works, are in fashion again.
Beginning in March, Sylvania hosts a poetry slam night the first Friday of each month at Olive’s on Main, in conjunction with Red Bird Arts and Sylvania Writes, a consortium of writers and fans.
Jessica Klimesh is a writer, editor and writing coach who gained the inspiration for the poetry slam event while living in Iowa City. When Klimesh came back to the Toledo area during the pandemic, she wanted Sylvania to create and grow a creative writing scene, beginning with a poetry slam. “Iowa City has a very vibrant and robust literary community,” Klimesh explains, adding, “I knew people in the Toledo writing community and there were (literary) events in Toledo, Bowling Green and Ann Arbor, but not in Sylvania. I knew the organizers of a poetry slam in Iowa City and so I’m basing this on my experience there — how they created and ran their event.”
Writer’s workshop and beyond
Klimesh helps people to write better via coaching and works as an editor. Before relocating to Iowa, she founded the Toledo Writers Workshop, which continues today, though she is no longer affiliated. “Creative writing has always been an interest of mine since I was very small. . . .. I really love being surrounded by a literary community and that’s why I started Sylvania Writes.” There is something about
in-person interaction and creativity that online interaction can’t provide. “I just wanted something in person, where I can immerse myself in writing that’s separate and, yet, still connected to what I do in my job (as a proofreader and editor),” she says.
What’s a poetry slam?
The first poetry slam event at Olive’s was held in March, which was well received. “We had thirteen poets participate in the first event,” explains Klimesh, “there are three rounds — It’s a competition, but it’s a fun competi- tion. It’s a supportive (atmosphere). There are prizes but they’re fun, kitschy, token-type prizes.”
All forms of poetry are welcome. Arriving at the event, participants access a sign-in sheet. Then Klimesh provides a brief introduction after which each writer is invited to the mic as their name is called. The only rule is a strictly enforced three minute time limit. “You don’t really have time to talk about your poem or explain yourself, but you don’t have to use all three minutes. (The time constraint) forces you to jump right in when you get up on stage, which can be helpful for writers overcoming shyness.”
A poetry slam connects and inspires creative people in a fun way. “It was fun to have a range of people immersed in the poetry,” says Klimesh, “and I’m excited to see this event develop new writers in Sylvania.”
See Sylvania Writes on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571906711367
