The Kentucky Women's Writing Conference continued on Saturday with a poetry slam held at the Downtown Arts Center in Lexington. I attended with a group of my peers to witness the two and a half hour event.

The slam featured Albuquerque, NM, poet laureate, Jessica Helen Lopez, who performed and read a series of her work. Her words and voice were powerful and intrinsic. I was in awe of this women, that wrote such entrancing and compelling words. She spoke of equal rights, censorship in schools, rape culture, feminism, and more.

The slam included not only poetry, but music. Musician and singer, Amythyst Kiah played a selection of her songs, all of which were filled with such beauty. Based out of Tennessee, her sound was akin to bluesy rock music. Her performance gave me strong vibes of independence and power. I especially loved her cover of Dolly Parton's hit song, "Jolene."

Performances also included poetry readings from local teen poets, all of which were powerful, in their own way. The main focus of the event, however, was the poetry slam contest, between three women Jordan, Christina, and Lisa (I'm afraid I have forgotten their last names). Each woman gave a striking performance. Poems covered subjects from all over the spectrum, including mental health, feminism, and racial inequality. In the end, Lisa won the contest after giving two extremely intense performances.

I hope to attend the Wild Women of Poetry event again in 2016.

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Casey