This is part of the The Crossroads Collaborative

Shared from the Community Literacy Journal 8.1 (Fall 2013) Special Issue Adela C. Licona & Stephen T. Russell, Co-Editors

In “Boom,” slam poets Sammy Dominguez and Zack Taylor creatively and critically engage the realities of everyday bullying across contexts. Through their collaborative slam poem, we are reminded of the many ways in which young people experience ordinary spaces as threatening and how educational contexts can fail to be inclusive spaces of meaningful learning. These poets use statistics about LGBTQ suicide together with the names of young people who have died by suicide – numbers and stories – to call attention to the mundane nature of everyday harassment and everyday violences. Sammy and Zack are illuminating the intolerance that prevails in a climate where normative expectations restrict sexual and cultural literacies.

View their performance on YouTube

The Tucson Youth Poetry Slam advocates literacy, critical thinking and youth voice through poetry competitions, workshops and community showcases. Founded in 2010, the program regularly collaborates with diverse organizations across Tucson.

The monthly poetry slam competition is open to all youth 19 & under and is held every 3rd Saturday at Bentley’s House of Coffee & Tea, 1730 E Speedway. Crowds at the TYPS regularly top 100 people.

The Tucson Youth Poetry Slam is a program of Spoken Futures, Inc.

Slam poet bios:

Sammy Dominguez is a second year student at Northern Arizona University majoring in Biomedical Sciences with a minor in Asian studies and Chemistry. Sammy started slamming in 2010 with the Tucson Youth Poetry Slam in Tucson, AZ and continues to slam in Flagstaff, AZ. Sammy was part of Team TYPS who traveled to San Francisco in 2012 to compete at Brave New Voices, an international slam poetry festival. Poetry and community are part of Sammy's history, present drive, and future ambitions.

Zack Taylor graduated from Sunnyside High School in Tucson, AZ in May 2013 where he co-ran the Poetry Club, helping Tucson Youth Poetry Slam facilitate discussion around social justice issues using spoken word poetry. He has been competing and winning slams since 2011 and is a core member of the TYPS staff. Zack represented Tucson with Team TYPS at the international slam poetry festival and slam, Brave New Voices in 2012. Zack plans on attending the University of Arizona in Fall 2013.