Framingham High Students Compete in Louder Than A Bomb

Over the weekend, seven Framingham High students competed in the 3rd Annual Massachusetts High School Poetry Slam Tournament, known as Louder Than A Bomb, said Alison Courchesne, one of the two Flyer coaches.

Framingham High students Emmanuella Aka, Tom Bogue, Romeo Gray, Brandon Ibarra, Cordelia Jones, Carolyn Ten Eyck and Claire Whall competed Saturday, May 10 in "Louder Than A Bomb," the Massachusetts Poetry Slam Tournament at MassArt's Kennedy Building in Boston.

There were 32 teams, from across the Commonwealth, who competed.

"The kids did really well in their preliminary rounds on Saturday," said Courchesne. "Unfortunately, we missed out on making it to the semi-finals by a few tenths of a point."

Courchesne and Phil George were the coaches for the team.

Louder Than A Bomb was started in 2001 in Chicago by poets Anna West and Kevin Coval. It’s since grown to be the largest youth poetry festival in the world.

Louder Than A Bomb aims to bring teens together across racial, gang, and socio-economic lines. It is a friendly competition that emphasizes self-expression and community via poetry, oral story-telling, and hip-hop spoken word.

The finals will be held on May 15 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Boston University's Theatre at 264 Huntington Ave. Tickets are required. Cost is $15 per person, but high school students are free.