NAACP celebrates culture with poetry

MARION - There is a deep history in spoken word for blacks. It stretches back to Africa, to a time when stories were not written but remembered and passed down orally. These traditions carried over to America on slave ships as slaves used their songs and stories to pass along news, vent frustrations and even plot escapes. Eventually it would carry over into music, into the blues and later rap music. It would also foster much of today's spoken word movement and would influence hip-hop music. The Marion National Association of Colored People paid homage to these ancestors and encouraged unity on Friday as it sponsored what it hopes will be the first of many poetry jams. Poets, black and white, bonded over stanzas of relationships, not only relationships with their partners, but with God and their fellow man, as they gathered at the Marion Recreation Department. The event, organized by Marion NAACP president Rhea Kaiser and fellow poets Carmen Megginson, Nicole Boyd and Quiana Revere, gave poets a chance to share and to explain their inspirations. It is what Kaiser said she hopes is the first of a series of community events to be sponsored by the NAACP this year. Kaiser said she wanted the organization to take part in Black History Month. The poetry reading served as an event they could organize quickly to invite members of the community to share their talent. She said she has enjoyed poetry since she was a teen, letting it be a way to release emotions. "It's a way of asking questions I may not want to ask aloud, of expressing joy and offering comfort," she said. About 40 people attended, several sharing their own work or that of their favorite poets. They spoke of such issues as their faith in God, their struggles in relationships and their insistence of living up to their potential no matter what "haters" they may encounter. The latter was some of the inspiration for Revere, owner of Diverse Moves Dance Studio, who said that being both black and a woman she is a "double-edged sword" that cannot be defeated. "Poetry for me is a release," Revere said. "It's a release of happiness, sadness, life's frustrations, difficult times, anything I am going through." Participants expressed their pleasure as they discussed the event. Frank Volenik, director of Rushmore Academy, said he is hopeful it launches other events that showcase "poetry, verse, music, dance and spirit, which unites the greatness of our community." "I think what touched me and inspired me about tonight was the blending of the human spirit from so many unique perspectives shared in the form of poetry," he said. "Truly what was seen, heard, tasted, and touched tonight was an experience of the amazing, diversified talent and passion of people in this community." Reporter Kurt Moore: 740-375-5151 or kdmoore@marionstar.com


http://www.marionstar.com/article/20120226/NEWS01/202260309