This year, Get Lit Club sponsor Ron Baer assembled a group of students to represent the school in the Classic Slam, the largest teen poetry competition for high school students all over Southern California.

Meet the four students who will perform this year at the Classic Slam on April 30 at The Los Angeles Theatre Center.

Kamryne Blake

This is Blake’s second year being on the Get Lit team. Having participated in the program last year and performed in the Classic Slam, Blake has been granted the role of team captain, offering feedback and criticism to her fellow poets. Blake is aiming to improve her writing skills in order to relate her poem to herself and a more general audience.

“Just the idea of self-expression and performing up there. Having the rush and the adrenaline is just exciting,” Blake said.

Emely Felix

Emely Felix is a first-year poet on the Get Lit team. Felix may not be experienced in competitive poetry, nevertheless, she’s a passionate performer. She admits she struggles with the emotional aspect that comes along with poetry.

“My favorite thing about poetry is that you get to express yourself in many different ways,” Felix said. “It doesn’t have to be straight out, it can just be a story”

Katarina Lashley

Katarina Lashley is a first-year poet in the Get Lit program. While she has previously written poetry in the form of personal journals, this is her first time publicly performing her works.

“Not everybody has to understand it for it to be beautiful and mean something to you,” Lashley said.

Amanda Jimenez

Like  Felix and Lashley, Amanda Jimenez is new to the Get Lit program. While Jimenez has trouble in expressing her emotions when performing, she excels in projecting her voice and is passionate about her poem’s response.

“You can say something over and over again in 10 different ways in 10 different emotions and you’re making the audience take it in, in those 10 different ways,” Jimenez said.