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In The
Company of Poets
Words on
Water Poetry Series
Concludes With Contest Winners
By Junious
R. Stanton
In The Company of Poets a fierce
female spoken word ensemble -- composed of Nish Pugh, the
conscious poet; Debra Powell, the Wisdom Poet; Oni Lasana, the
Story Poet; and Pat McLean, the Warrior Poet -- sponsored a
Summer Poetry series called Words on Water
in Fairmount Park’s Lloyd Hall on Boathouse Row, Kelly
Drive and Waterworks Drive.
The women word weavers took the initiative to
create a relaxed supportive venue where poets and spoken word
artists could enjoy each other’s company, revel in each
other’s creativity, and keep the genre of spoken word alive.
The once-a-month Words on Water series provided a free and open
space where an eclectic group of artists, musicians, and free
spirits could come together to see and hear some of the area’s
most dynamic and creative personalities.
In addition to In The Company of Poets
reading and performing their own works, providing open mic
opportunities for aspiring artists to share their talents, they
also sponsored a poetry contest to encourage unpublished artists
to present their works and get feedback from the judges.
Last Friday (September 5), the series closed
out before an appreciative audience many of whom participated in
the open mic reading their poetry, singing, and performing. The
winners of the Summer Poetry Contest -- Marilyn Edmond, Lisa
Haines, Millicent Seels and Charles Younger -- performed their
submissions before a supportive audience. One contestant Andrea
Edmonds was unable to attend to receive her prize and read her
submission. The series was a way for the ensemble to give back
to the community.
“Philadelphia has been very supportive of
us the last two years," Pat McLean, the Warrior Poet,
explained. "We went to a lot of places and we asked Lloyd
Hall and they said we could do it for no charge. This started
last summer, this is the second year and we are hoping we can do
it every summer.”
The genesis of the poetry contest was to
provide a venue where new poets could gain exposure and overcome
their fears of performing before a live audience.
“The idea of the contest was to give new
poets a chance because when we were starting out it was hard for
a new poet because you have to get past that fear of putting
your poetry out there and letting someone else read it because
it’s a personal thing," Pat continued. "Since we
have a lot of people who felt comfortable around us, we figured
with our name attached to it a lot of people would submit.”
The sisters of In The Company of Poets create
an atmosphere where people feel comfortable about sharing their
work and being themselves. “We generate love, we be like that
so the people get it from us, the energy we put out,” added
Debra Powell.
For Charles Younger, being a contest winner
was icing on the cake. His experience with the poetry scene has
been as a producer and supporter for the last ten years. So for
him to be given the opportunity to submit original work and to
be one of the finalists was exhilarating:
"The contest was something that I
thought I would do because I run my mouth a lot and I’m very
supportive of the artists. But it was an opportunity to try
something new. This was my first contest, I’ve never submitted
anything, not from nervousness, but in an effort to support them
[In The Company of Poets]. I just took advantage of it and I
appreciated that I was a finalist.”
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Left to right:
Debra Powell Pat McLean, Charles Younger, Millicent
Seels, Marilyn Edmond and Lisa Haines |
For Marilyn Edmond, being in the contest was
a challenge to see if she would follow through and take
advantage of the opportunity to submit her work for public
scrutiny:
“It was a challenge to see if I had the
heart to do it and follow all the guidelines. And I did that and
I sent it in so it really means a lot. I’ve been writing for a
while so getting feedback on my writing was good. So the fact
that I made it through and they asked me to submit it, that said
it all to me. I really feel proud about it.”
The gathering was friendly and more
importantly everyone was supportive of the performers giving
them immediate and positive feedback in the call and response
tradition.
The Summer series has ended but In The
Company of Poets are off to new ventures and venues sharing
their talents and energies. The winners have been given the
encouragement to continue writing, performing and adding to the
wealth of the poetry and spoken word traditions.
Photos: Junious R. Stanton
posted 11 September 2003
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Russell Simmons knows firsthand that
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* * * * *
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The New Jim Crow
Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness
By Michele Alexander
Contrary to the
rosy picture of race embodied in Barack
Obama's political success and Oprah
Winfrey's financial success, legal
scholar Alexander argues vigorously and
persuasively that [w]e have not ended
racial caste in America; we have merely
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segregation has been replaced by mass
incarceration as a system of social
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colonies to the Clinton administration,
delineating its transformation into the
war on drugs. She offers an acute
analysis of the effect of this mass
incarceration upon former inmates who
will be discriminated against, legally,
for the rest of their lives, denied
employment, housing, education, and
public benefits. Most provocatively, she
reveals how both the move toward
colorblindness and affirmative action
may blur our vision of injustice: most
Americans know and don't know the truth
about mass incarceration—but her
carefully researched, deeply engaging,
and thoroughly readable book should
change that.—Publishers
Weekly |
 |
* * * * *
The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
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Ancient African Nations
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If you like this page consider making a donation
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Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
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Enjoy!
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
* *
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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update 16 December
2011
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