At the beginning of 2005, Mr. Geinosky-Pioter was approached by student Tabitha Humphrey who was eager to create a U.City slam poetry club. Soon, they established a team, originally called Poetic Justice, and went on to compete in several national competitions in the spring of 2005 and 2006.

Seven years later, after some “behind the scenes work and a simple twist of fate,” he and four talented students are advancing to the VerbQuake Teen Poetry SLAM Grand Finals, a local St. Louis competition sponsored by The Urban Artist Alliance for Child Development. The current U.City team called “Wreck” will perform in front of spectators at the Missouri History Museum.

At the free event on Saturday, April 20, four high school teams will compete to bring home the bragging rights of winner of a grand slam competition. Juniors Tamareka Lofton, Kiara Reed, and Erianna Henderson, along with freshman Derek Mills have been fervently preparing for their time in the spotlight.

The process begins when the student writes his/her original piece. There are no restrictions on the topic or content of the students’ work. A wide range of topics are touched on, everything from love, hate, loss of a friend, and general social commentary.

“I’ll be performing a poem about materialism and how it affects people in America,” said freshman poet and rapper Derek Mills. “I’ve been reciting it each day to make sure I have every piece, line, and word of the poem right.”

Their drafts are critiqued by their peers during their after school meetings, and given feedback on how to improve and perform to convey their message and emotions. The poets’ assigned VerbQuake mentor, James ‘JayLuvve’ Watford preps the students for their performance and helps them improve their work.

“Jay is really awesome,” said Mills. “He gives us the insight that we need, insight that Mr. G. can’t because he doesn’t have as much experience as Jay.”

With the help of Geinosky-Poiter and Jay, the young poets have discovered a love of spoken word and gained a bold confidence. The students are hopeful for a win at Saturday’s competition after their hours of work and dedication producing what they consider some of their best work.

“I have to be confident that we’ll win at VerbQuake,” said Mills. “If I’m not confident in our abilities, we won’t win!”

The free event is open for anyone to attend. Come support Wreck on Saturday, April 20 from 3-5 pm at the Lee Auditorium in the History Museum.  http://www.mohistory.org/node/8287

Video from the semi-finals can be found above and the U. City poets appear at the 2 hour mark.