Graphic by Noemi Gonzalez."I have become a woman who writes poetry. I believe in my words, and therefore myself because of this." - "Thank You For Taking Me To the Library" by Ariana Brown
Meet Ariana Brown, a college student at the University of Texas - Austin. She is a lover of books, poetry, and people. And she is a spoken word artist.
I subscribe to the Button Poetry channel on Youtube, and there I discover a plethora of spoken word poets and artists. This is where I found Ariana Brown's "Volver, Volver" performance at the 2014 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational. Her piece illustrates the struggle to love and identify herself in the midst of those who judge and criticize.
[embed width="600" contenteditable="false"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kn4laUEXo0[/embed]
When I first saw this piece of spoken word, I felt a pang in my heart. Her words encapsulated the feeling of so many people in our society. The minute I finished watching it, I wanted to share it with all of my friends, the ones who shared the same sentiments but couldn't find the words to express them.
We can find these people in our world, in our country, in this state, even at our school. In fact, there is a piece of this in all of us. Societies, groups, and individuals take their free will to disparage the identity of others who seem different. This spoken word poet is an artist because she uses her own life experience to feel and embrace everyone else in this world who feels the same.
You can find Ariana's work and bio on her website here. She has also posted other spoken word pieces on her Youtube channel here. One of my favorites from her has become "Thank You For Taking Me To The Library," an homage to her mother and books.
[embed width="600" contenteditable="false"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmMWb7leQGI[/embed]
I hope you enjoy and come to love Ariana Brown and her work as much as I have!
You can reach the writer at arabusa@asu.edu or on Twitter @marie_eo.
