Standing in front of a mic stand, poet Joshua Bennett read a love poem for his favorite artist, Stevie Wonder. He spoke with one hand in his pocket, his delivery smooth.

‘Maybe your soul is a window for our eyes,’ Bennett read passionately. ‘Every song like a beautiful mirror perfectly placed at the corners of your mind.’

Even when his voice became serious, audience members still snapped their fingers. Benett was one of three poets invited to speak at the ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ panel on Friday night, organized by Verbal Blend and the Nu Rho Poetic Society. Inside room 304 ABC of the Schine Student Center, the crowd greeted poets Lemon Anderson, Tara Betts and Bennett with excited yells as they walked to the table.

Friends of Verbal Blend founder Cedric Bolton, coordinator at the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the poets came to Syracuse University to premiere the Spoken Word Poetry Institute. This new initiative, sponsored by Verbal Blend, aims to examine the dynamic of 21st-century written and performance poetry.

After seeing the panelists for the Spoken Word event on her dorm’s bulletin board, Courtnee Futch put it on all of her calendars. The three poets are renown, but she was particularly excited to see Joshua Bennett, who read at 2009’s Sundance Film Festival and at President Barack Obama’s Evening of Poetry and Music.

‘I stayed up until eight in the morning, when I had another class, so that I could watch all his stuff,’ said Futch, a freshman biology major on the pre-med track, bouncing slightly in her seat.

Bennett was joined by Anderson, the most aired poet on HBO’s ‘Def Poetry’ and an original cast member of the Tony Award-winning ‘Def Poetry Jam’ on Broadway. Seated in between the two male poets was Betts, a creative writing lecturer at Rutgers University and co-founder of the weekly writing and leadership workshop ‘GirlSpeak.’

‘I was very honored to finally be at a panel with two people I respect,’ Lemon said about his fellow panelists. ‘They’re the ringing bells of what we consider the community of poetry.’

Front-row audience members recorded the poets on their phones when the three performed some of their original work. Each read their words with an energy that sent snaps of agreement rippling through the crowd.

Betts performed a simple book reading of a poem in honor of Florida shooting victimTrayvon Martinand about how he should still be alive today. Her voice trembled slightly as a few cries of emotion came from the suddenly somber crowd.

Verbal Blend is hosting a reading for the teenager at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Watson Auditorum.

Abandoning the mic stand, Bennett walked in front of the crowd and projected his own voice energetically. His poem was one about liberation and the spreading of poetic voices throughout America. The performances ended with wild cheers for the three performers.

In the discussion portion of the event, the poets revealed how poetry affected their lives and helped them grow up.

‘Writing has always come from the gut for me,’said Bennett, his eyes looking up in thought. ‘That’s sort of clich, but it also makes sense.’

Bennett said that during an isolated childhood, poetry became an outlet for his frustrations that helped him move forward in life.

Poetry had a similar effect on Betts. She had a difficult childhood, coping with abusive parents and facing consistent trouble in school. Her discovery of literature and poetry gave her something to strive for and helped her make new friendships in the poetic community.

‘If I could make that human connection,’ Betts said, ‘it makes everything a lot easier.’

After Betts spoke, Anderson revealed that poetry had helped save his life. During time in prison, he said literature helped get his mind right for returning to society. When Anderson was released, the one job he could get was in poetry.

‘I hold it like it’s the boss that came into my life and gave me a job,’ Anderson said. ‘So I’m always gonna work for the boss. And I’m always gonna protect the boss.’

All three of them were surprised after the discussion when members of the Nu Rho Poetic Society, a group engaging the SU campus in poetic events, inducted the trio as honorary members. With these three, the society has 19 members, 11 of them founders.

‘I can put it on my bio,’ Bennett said with a huge smile, drawing several laughs from the crowd.

Aspiring poets who attended the event left with a deeper knowledge of professional poetry.

‘I’m learning now that it’s really important to just understand what poetry is,’ said Ciara Goins, a junior communications design major. ‘I can do it because it’s a hobby, but there’s knowledge behind it that I need to know.’

meantonu@syr.edu

Published on April 1, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Max: meantonu@syr.edu