Last year, four senior girls decided to take their talents as skilled rappers and poets to create a school wide club known as SPARC (Slam Poetry and Rap Club). While it was initially a small group of people, the club has expanded to include more students. On December 3^rd, in conjunction with WIA, SPARC will be hosting the first annual Slam Poetry and Rap concert. Here to talk more about it is head officer Kayla Bernstein.

HB: You created SPARC last year. How was SPARC conceived?

KB: Last year I was talking with a friend, and we showed each other our slam poems and raps! We started discussing how cool it would be to create one club devoted to just that. I started to see more and more that we needed this in our school, so I talked to Ms. Caine, the proctor of SPARC, and with Andrea Salas, Victoria Alfred-Levow and Sarah Alfred-Levow, we created the club!

HB: How did you originally become interested in rapping?

KB: Well, it all started when I was stressing over some stuff at school. I had very strong feelings that I wanted to convey somehow, so I decided to start making raps to do just that! I would use rhyming dictionaries and other tools and over time I realized it was a really good outlet to take what I was thinking and turn it into something cool.

HB: What’s a typical meeting like?

KB: We try to write almost every meeting. This year, a lot more people have been coming, so we decided to start giving prompts that people could write off of. Now we start off about general topics regarding school, friends, etc., or you can bring your own poem that you may have been working on prior to the meeting,

HB: In collaboration with WIA on December 3^rd you will be having the first annual Slam Poetry and Rap concert. Can you tell me more about how you came up with all of this?

KB: This year, Jake Diamond-Reivich, an officer of WIA, approached me saying that we should do an authentic rap/slam poetry concert in the Black Box Theater, which is a great and intimate venue for this kind of event. We’re both collaborating and basically anyone can perform including teachers! Afterwards, all the money will be going to the WIA charity.

HB: Do you want this to become an annual event?

KB: I do! Unfortunately I am a senior so I won’t be here to help continue it, but hopefully the underclassmen and juniors will be here to help facilitate it each year and continue this because it’s so unique and it brings so much excitement to school.

HB: You mention being a senior. Do you plan on taking this with you wherever you go next, whether it be at college or beyond?

KB: Wherever I end up going to college, if they have a rap/slam poetry group I’d love to be a part of it, and if not I’d love to create one because I think it’s a really great and creative way to talk about your feelings and discuss important issues.

HB: Thank you so much for your time!

KB: Of course! And remember to come to the Slam Poetry and Rap Concert December 3^rd to witness the incredible Harriton student body talent, and remember that SPARC meetings are on Wednesdays on Learn 1 in Ms. Caine’s room.