Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Connections

It's live, it's energetic, it's slam poetry!

Five people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man front left is wearing a beige sweater, beige pants, white sneakers and several gold chains; a man front right has dark hair and is wearing sunglasses, a black hooded sweatshirt, black athletic pants and black shoes; a man back left has short dark hair and is wearing a yellow plaid button-down shirt; a woman back right is wearing a glasses, a black cap, black tank top and black cardigan sweater; a woman at center has long dark hair and is wearing a black blazer over a red dress.
Mari Tsuchiya
/
WXXI News
(foreground) Matthew Van Scott and Chi the Realist, (background) Agape Armageddon Towns and Lu Highsmith with guest host Mona Seghatoleslami on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Monday, April 13, 2026
A smiling woman with long dark hair wearing glasses, a red button-down shirt, a black jacket, and a necklace
WXXI Classical 91.5
Mona Seghatoleslami

WXXI Classical's Mona Seghatoleslami guest hosts this discussion about the art of spoken word performance.

Local artists say slam poetry is alive and well in Rochester, drawing on a rich intergenerational tradition of performance and community.

We hear about what local slam poets are doing in terms of performance, mentorship, and community activism.

In studio:

This conversation is part of WXXI's celebration of Poetry Month.

Mona Seghatoleslami is the host and producer on WXXI Classical 91.5 FM weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. She also hosts the lunchtime concert series Live From Hochstein at 12:10 p.m. Wednesdays, interviews musicians, produces special programs, and works on any project she can find that helps connect people and music in our community through WXXI.
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.