DATE: Thursday, April 10, 1997              TAG: 9704090140

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 15   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   53 lines

POETRY SLAMS GIVE BUDDING TALENT A STAGE

Students and faculty of Virginia Wesleyan College will gather in a cozy lounge April 17, and the coffee and verse will flow as literature becomes performance art.

Coffee House/Poetry Slams have been a stage for local talents to show their wares.

Next Thursday's will be at 8 p.m. in the lounge of the Pruden Building. The public is invited.

The slams are held under the guidance of students editing ``The Outlet,'' a campus literary magazine published annually. The current Outlet editors are 20-year-olds Jaime Kimpton and Merideth Plimley.

``We can't expect half the campus to turn out to this sort of thing,'' said Kimpton of the events that usually draw about 50 folks.

Plimley said, ``People enjoy hearing other people's poetry. They have a good time. People come; they nosh. It's a culture thing.''

Danial Orange, 19, has aired his verse at a poetry slam or two. His poetry is sometimes terse and experimental, he said, and sometimes straight-forward blank verse recording ``whatever's on my mind at three in the morning.'' He has found the cozy poetry slams to be a good place to try out new work.

``This is the only place to read,'' he said. ``You get feedback to keep in touch with the community. By people approaching me, I get feedback. And hearing the other poets inspires me.

Briana Muggli read at the last poetry slam.

The 19-year-old sophomore's poetry deals with ``life, death, sexuality.'' She enjoys the booze-free atmosphere at the slams.

``Humans need a healthy outlet,'' said Muggli. ``They need a place to hang together and get raw.''

Performances are not limited to current students. Phillip Friedman, a former Wesleyan student, who plays guitar with a local band, played original music at the last slam. With an acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder, the 23-year-old used his music to express his thoughts on faith and living.

``I like to fumble around with religious stuff a lot,'' he said. Friedman, who is also active with the theater community at the college, came at the request of the organizers to an event he ``loves to do.''

He isn't alone.

Poets, writers and the like have already approached Plimley and Kimpton about performing at the upcoming show. The editors intend to make sure the creatively inclined at Virginia Wesleyan continue to have an outlet. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE

ABOVE: Phillip Friedman sings an original song at a recent Coffee

House/Poetry Slam at Virginia Wesleyan College. AT LEFT: Jaime

Kimpton, co-editor of the school's literary annual, watches a

performance.

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