By Matthew Abrey

Poetry and wrestling are two things that most people usually don鈥檛 associate with one another, but on May 17, these two vastly different worlds will collide at the鈥檚 鈥楽ummer Slam鈥�.

The Laurel Packinghouse will play host to the brainchild event of the Inspired Word 颁补蹿茅, an organization committed to showcasing the talent of local poets through a series of fun and inclusive events, such as Thursday night鈥檚 wrestling/poetry hybrid.

鈥淪ummer Slam is an old wrestling event, and so we thought it would be fun to have an event that had the fun and performativity of a wrestling event and the lyrical competition of a poetry slam.鈥� said Summer Slam co-organizer, Cole Mash.

鈥淭his event isn鈥檛 like anything else you will see in 琉璃神社,鈥� continued Mash. 鈥淚WC has moved into the realm of interdisciplinarity, utilizing the skills of our incredible team of poets and performers to put on a great show.鈥�

The event features a line-up of eight local poets, hand-picked by organizers, who will battle it out with their words, while leaving the wrestling displays to the professionals.

17 year-old Maddie Bishop is the youngest competitor at this year鈥檚 competition. She caught the eye of organizers by performing at various open-mic nights over the past few years, and is very excited to have been invited to this year鈥檚 slam, which is expecting crowds in the neighbourhood of a few hundred.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an honour to be competing against these amazing poets,鈥� said Bishop. 鈥淚t feels like I鈥檓 playing in the big leagues of 琉璃神社 now, and it鈥檚 very exciting.鈥�

Doors open at 6:30 Thursday evening, and tickets are still available at

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