The room is filled with curious conversations and sporadic movement as anxious students await the kick-off of the African American Men of Arizona State University’s (AAMASU) Seventh Annual Welcome Black Poetry Explosion.
By the time master of ceremony, Shihan Van Clief, New York native and recognized Def Poetry poet, finishes warming up the audience with his hilarious stories and disbelief of Arizona weather, there are barely any seats left in Ventana Hall. As the crowd quiets down, Van Clief opens with a piece about the low expectations promised to boys and girls and how a breakdown becomes inevitable when they are met. The audience is stunned.
The night is comprised of readings by professional poets, and ASU students and alumni. Divine Valentin, a poet from New York, reads an emotional poem about Haiti. Her strong New York accent makes each line jump out and kick you, making it almost impossible not to feel what she is saying. The poem describes Haiti as a woman whose “bags under her eyes carry months of pain” yet she “keeps keepin’ on.” Valentin’s message becomes clearer with each description of the woman. Haiti’s strength has been taken for granted. Her second poem takes on another tone, but her deep accent still prevails, causing certain words to “pierce through like bad news,” as she states. The speaker in this piece is determined to break her “cycle of being inspired by bad experiences and people who piss me off.” Although the speaker’s goal is serious, the examples she uses and Valentin’s attitude while performing are humorous.
When poet I Am Jones takes the stage he too captivates the audience with his pieces. He is originally from Raleigh, North Carolina and started writing poetry in seventh grade because of his mother, who is a preacher and a poet. This may explain why his reading voice is similar to one of a Baptist preacher giving a sermon or quoting Bible verses. His energy bounces of the walls and anyone can tell that his poetry is his scripture.
I Am Jones’ first poem was a sensual piece about the speaker’s infatuation and absolute admiration of Mrs. Jones. The speaker describes the crazy love they make and explains how their “connection is electric if it could ever be defined.” With each intimate line he brings the audience on a roller coaster ride of sex, love and devotion. As the females squirm in their seats and the males keenly listen for details, I Am Jones suddenly ends the ride with a twist — Mrs. Jones is his guitar. His second piece exemplifies his preacher-like qualities. While reciting this poem about how cocky the speaker is, he stomps his feet, jerks his body into energetic dance moves and elevates his voice to dramatize influential lines.
Charles Peters, a visiting poet from Atlanta enters the stage, after a long introduction, to a track from Jay-Z and Kanye West’s album “Watch the Throne.” The beat alone sets the atmosphere for a poet of Peters’ stature. He greets the audience, which he calls family, and talks about how the talent in the room is inspiring. He recites one poem and an excerpt from his new book, “Last Poem on the Last Day” and begins with his first piece about a speaker who is too cool for his own good and the excerpt is from a long poem about difficulties in his marriage. His voice is rhythmic and jazzy, which intensifies the messages in each stanza, proving that Peters is a smooth poet with a masterful ability to tell a story through poetry.
The local group Black Poet Ventures also grace the stage. Although each member has different voices, when they read, all of them tend to increase and decrease pitches and volume unexpectedly. They bellow words out until they are breathless, making it hard for anyone to ignore their lines.
The professional guest and local poets also leave a lasting impression on most audience members. But when ASU students and alumni take the stage the feeling in the room changes. The crowd becomes more supportive and proud of the artist they have a better connection with. For example, when Van Clief calls Jarrett Payne, an ASU graduate of 2010 who received a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Business and Music, to the stage, the crowd welcomes home their beloved poet. He is now working on his first neo-soul hip-hop album. Payne does a sorrowful piece on losing his mother to cancer and his depiction of loss moves the entire room and brings some to tears. The crowd responds in a standing ovation as Payne exits.
Returning alumni Marchlarina Davis, known as Queen in the Valley, also receives a warm greeting. Her smooth and slightly raspy voice dances across the room as she reads her spiritual poem about the speaker’s relationship with someone who has understood her from birth. Lastly, Mrylin Hepworth, a new graduate who studied Creative Writing-Poetry surprises the audience with his hilariously animated poem about his former Facebook friend. He says his lines insanely fast, yet you can still catch every word as he breathlessly relives the moment when his Facebook friend Tim infested his life.
The student performances were breathtaking. First up was Shadae Bowen, a sophomore sustainability major. Her style not only shows her eccentricity, but her poem also proves she values her individuality and wears it like a crown. Jay Tatum, a sophomore psychology major, brings her confident attitude to the stage. Her poem is about being at a campus where she is associated with negative stereotypes and labels that are nowhere close to who she really is.
In addition, Rebecca Ijeoma, a senior studying kinesiology, recites an intense poem about wanting an ex-lover to consume a poisonous meal. In the beginning of the piece, she describes the repulsive side effects of such a meal, causing the audience to feel remorse for the victim and laugh at Ijeoma’s vivid imagination. But everyone falls silent when she says, “How dare you raise your hand at the woman caring your seed.” Her strong voice then grows in volume and intensity as she recites lines to the females in the audience. She says, “No man who really loves you will hurt you intentionally.” Afterward, she addresses the males in the audience and tells them to apologize to any woman they have hurt in the past and when Ijeoma finishes her reading, Van Clief makes every guy she passes on her way to her seat give her a hug.
The next student poet is Mahogney Turner, a senior secondary education English major. Turner explains she hasn’t written for a year and wanted to share her new pieces with the audience. The first one is about her listening to someone “sang” and the other about her becoming a woman. Her voice is soulful and she slowly recites her poetry with her eyes squeezed closed while she waves her hand in the air, shakes her head in conviction, and sways her body to her rhythmic sounds. Her voice is like a drowning whisper full of deep thought and passion. For her second poem, she speaks over the beats of a local street performer, Jackie Robinson. As she reads this last poem, her southern draw harmonizes with the sounds of Robinson’s harmonica and African drums. Turner clasps her chest as her voice becomes faster and faster. It is evident that her words captivate her as much as it moves the audience.
Van Clief closes the night with a few words of wisdom. He tells the students in the audience to stay consistent and refuse to live up to the low standards society expects of them. The night is a success to say the least. Cymone Reagor, a global studies freshman, says, “I thought the night was an ultimate learning experience and blossomed my inner creativity. The night gave me an appreciation for who I am in a nutshell.”
The event meets high expectations and leaves most students at a loss for words while others are overflowing with new verses and lines. Aveanie Collins Stewart, a senior speech science and secondary education major says, “This is my third time going to this. The event always impresses me. I wrote a poem while in the audience.” Professional poets also found the poetry and atmosphere worthwhile and inspiring, proving the night was indeed unique. Charles Peters says he thoroughly enjoyed himself as he pieces the night together, perfectly calling it “a beautiful display of art, unity and expression.”
Contact the reporter at asharri4@asu.edu
