This was a prompt that students responded to in class today after watching several youth poets perform their spoken word poetry. We've also listened to contemporary music, and read a wide range of written poetry, and students were asked to reference the works that we've immersed our selves into. Here is my response:
In his spoken-word poem, "Urban Genocide," Berato Wilson says, "We die simply because nothing emphasizes life." Wilson was referencing the lower-class neighborhoods of Minneapolis and St. Paul, but his words struck me deeply. It is lines like these that drill down to the core of an issue in a way that only poetry can. By exposing the raw essence of a problem - the truth - we are forced to confront them. When poems are deeply personal and delivered with purpose and conviction, they transcend literature and become the anthems for our causes.
I look forward to being inspired by the words of my students in the next few weeks.
In his spoken-word poem, "Urban Genocide," Berato Wilson says, "We die simply because nothing emphasizes life." Wilson was referencing the lower-class neighborhoods of Minneapolis and St. Paul, but his words struck me deeply. It is lines like these that drill down to the core of an issue in a way that only poetry can. By exposing the raw essence of a problem - the truth - we are forced to confront them. When poems are deeply personal and delivered with purpose and conviction, they transcend literature and become the anthems for our causes.
I look forward to being inspired by the words of my students in the next few weeks.