The annual activity is patterned after HBO’s “Def Poetry Jam,” and this year’s theme was “Love, Passion, Fire.”
The whole day event started at 9 a.m.
Program coordinators Leila Staffler, Rosalyn Ajoste and Jay Sanchez — all English class teachers — said this year’s event drew more “first time” poets and song writers.
“About 75 percent of the participants are new [to this event],” Ajoste said.
Participants either recited their original poems or poems by established poets.
Some sang their original songs with ukulele accompaniment.
Ajoste said their aim was to present the student’s poems and songs “uncut and uncensored so they express their true emotions.”
Some of the poems were about family problems, teen pregnancy, drug addiction, campus activities, love and passion, Ajoste said.
Students could either write free verse poems or haiku.
Kagman High School principal Alfred Ada said he was very proud to discover the “hidden gems” of the students.
Sanchez, who performed a dramatic piece, said the annual activity has changed the attitude of students.
“There were students who were shy and had difficulty in speaking out in class but now they are very eager and confident,” he said.
Sanchez admitted that he, too, got nervous when it was his turn to perform in the jam-packed activity room.
