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Some were filled with emotion and had personal meaning, some were about today's influential black Americans and others were written by some of history's most famous black Americans.

Whatever the inspiration, more than 30 students and teachers from Thomas Johnson Middle School in Lanham came together Feb. 4 for the school's first-ever Poetry Slam/Open Mic to celebrate poetry and help students embrace learning outside of the classroom.

"What [students] think poetry is, isn't all classic in structure — the structure of a poem can be hip-hop and still articulate and convey profound meanings," said Erin Cooper, who teaches eighth grade reading/language arts at Thomas Johnson and organized the event, held at the Chick-fil-A restaurant in Bowie.

At the end of January, Cooper's eighth grade reading/language arts class wrapped up a three-week poetry unit, and she and the students decided to hold a poetry slam, an opportunity for students and teachers to stand up individually to read poems in front of a seated audience. The event was open to seventh- and eighth-graders, teachers and administrators.

"It was a way to bring parents, students and administrators together," she said. "Education happens everywhere — not just in school, not just in homework."

Chick-fil-A will donate 20 percent of sales made during the two-hour event to the school's Reading/Language Arts Department, which plans to purchase composition books and other supplies with the money. Cooper expects the event raised about $200, but does not yet have the official total.

Each poetry reading and selection was unique, giving the school community insight into its students and teachers.

Seventh-grade teacher Rashieda Addison chose to read "Ain't I a Woman," a speech by Sojourner Truth, an American slave, women's rights activist and abolitionist from the late 18th century and early 19th century.

"[Truth's poem is] empowering, it's cultural, and it's ethnically important, especially from a woman's perspective," Addison said. "[Tonight] students could see the academic transfer outside of school. This is what people do in the real world — poetry slams."

Most students wrote their own poems, surprising their peers with tidbits about themselves.

"It was cool to listen to others I didn't know could read or write poetry," said Benazia Kamara, 13, an eighth-grader from Lanham who read two original poems, "History," a poem about the election of President Obama, and "A girl."

Courtney Jones, 13, an eighth-grader from Glenarden, wrote "Frosty Blue," a poem about her love of snow.

"The snow isn't around long enough — I love snow," Courtney said about the poem's meaning.

Dexter Sandy, 13, an eighth-grader from Glenarden, wrote "Stay off it," an anti-drug poem.

"I saw an ad on TV to not do drugs," Dexter said about his inspiration for the poem. "Kids doing drugs is wrong. I encourage people not to do drugs."

One student wrote an original poem about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and two other students wrote poems about Obama.

Parents, students and teachers alike showed enthusiasm for each piece of poetry with wild applause and cheering.

"I didn't know some people had it in them—I learned about them from what they shared," said Talia Tunstall, 13, an eighth-grader from Lanham.

E-mail Liz Skalski at eskalski@gazette.net.