With that thought in mind, more than 20 MSU students and poets auditioned for one of eight performing spots in An Old School Voices Only Duel, a poetry slam, or competition, being held at 8 p.m. Friday at the Main Lounge in the Union.

This is not your ordinary poetry reading, however, as the competition is judged by five randomly chosen audience members taken out of the crowd before the show. Winners will each receive a varying style of iPod.

During competition, judges give each poet a score between one and 10, with the highest and lowest scores being dropped. Langford, president and founder of the MSU Slam Poetry Team, said the format is beneficial to the performers as it makes the poets talk directly to the people.

“Poetry needs to come out of the ivory tower in which it stands and be judged by the people,” Langford said.

Langford started the Slam Poetry Team three years ago, hoping the group eventually would use its talent to compete against other schools.

Although the team has not reached the point where it can travel across the country to compete, it has hosted events at MSU, such as Old School Voices, with some members also traveling to close schools to compete.

The group was started as a competitive team, but Langford said that it has more of a purpose than winning a slam.

“We want people to know there is a big poetry community, and poetry reaches people in so many ways,” Langford said.

Poets in the competition on Friday are embracing the opportunity that Langford and the team have given them — to perform in front of an audience.

“I was never the most expressive, but poetry has allowed me to do that,” computer engineering senior Ralph Paulk said. “It started to become a passion for me and when I’m up there on stage, I hope to make a change and hope somebody might be able to connect with what I say.”

The stress of performing combined with the intimidation of the crowd might be hard for some individuals to overcome, but many poets said it also can improve the quality of their work.

“It’s a love/hate thing with the pressure,” philosophy sophomore Derek Felten said. “You want to win so you get nervous, and at the same time, that encourages you to do your best.”

Despite all of the nerves and desire to win, Paulk feels at home when he’s on stage performing his original works for an audience.

“I get nervous every time before I get on stage,” Paulk said. “But when I get on stage, I get in my comfort zone and feel like I am holding the audience in my hands.”