The first-ever Wapax! Poetry Slam at CARIFESTA XV delivered fire, rhythm, and raw emotion on Tuesday night, and Barbados proudly secured two spots in the coveted top five.
Among the 12 contestants representing seven Caribbean nations, Barbados’ own Ramone Blackman and Timon Howard stood tall. Blackman placed third overall, earning thunderous applause for his original piece that blended passion and storytelling with ease. Howard rounded out the top five, delivering a performance that carried the pulse of chant and the cadence of spoken word, his words falling somewhere between reason and rhythm.
Both poets drew strong crowd responses at Pelican Village, where the packed audience matched the performers’ energy beat for beat.
The competition also drew two representatives each from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands, with St Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia sending one performer each. Performers were given a single theme — The Answer Is In The Trees — and just 30 minutes to craft a two-to-three-minute poem. With no props, costumes, or instruments, the night became a pure showcase of wit, creativity, and courage.
Trinidad came with its own hype section, rallying their poets with chants and cheers that added to the charged atmosphere. But Barbadian pride was no less strong, as Blackman and Howard’s words struck home with local and regional audiences alike.
In the end, victory went to Saint Lucia’s Shyne Savory, a newcomer to the spoken-word scene who edged out the competition. Savory’s ancestral-themed piece moved the crowd into raucous approval and secured her the top prize of US$1,000. Second and third places earned US$700 and US$500 respectively, with Blackman’s performance ensuring Barbados was firmly on the podium.
While the spotlight shone on Savory’s history-making win, Barbados’ double placement in the top five underscored the island’s strength in the region’s emerging slam poetry circuit.
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