Matthew Coonan Makes Semifinals of National Poetry Slam Competition

2015 Apr 6

Matthew Coonan of Shirley, NY, made it to the semifinals at the 15th annual College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI) hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University from March 25-28. Coonan is a member of SUNY Oneonta's Big O Poetry Slam team.

This year, 68 teams competed during the four-day event, which included educational workshops, haiku and nerd slams. Oneonta finished 12th in the nation, ahead of last year's national champions, the University of Texas-Austin. Coonan was recognized as a part of the "Best of the Rest" and performed his poem "Fish" on the finals stage.

The Big O Poetry Slam team is one of more than 100 student clubs and organizations at SUNY Oneonta.