On May 21, Family Focus held its fifth annual poetry slam with the 8-to-13 year old Expressive Writing Group participants. Approximately 20 poets and three slam teams competed for trophies, judged by Gerald Daye, Jr., Maia Hubbard and Nina Uziel-Miller.
The poetry was moving and the judges had to resort to giving scores over the maximum “10” on three occasions. The team winner was the 8-11-year-old group, Poets Take W, performing the poem “Fear.” The individual winner was Nya Hobson, with a poem about gun control. “Family Focus poets once again stood up for their views and voices with great power,” said Beth Jacobs, who facilitates this and other writing groups at Family Focus.