Student poetry competition blends authors’ creative prose with variety of issues
For the second year in a row, Ty Rice took home the first place trophy at Verbal Blend’s ‘Take the Mic’ poetry slam Thursday night.
Rice, a junior marketing major, was one of 18 contestants battling to win the top spot as Verbal Blend’s champion. The slam had two rounds in which all 18 contestants competed in the first round. Before the second round, the judges narrowed it down to nine poets.
Judges scored contestants out of 10 points based on their word usage, flow, stage presence and the audience’s reaction. Poems’ topics ranged from oppression, creating change and political, social and spiritual struggles.
Rice’s round one poem was an audience favorite. He performed his piece ‘N****s in 3D’ and received five out of six 10s from the judges. Rice rocked the audience with the powerful line: ‘All because these teenagers are fornicating and lack of teachers stimulating, there’s more baby showers than graduations,’ receiving thunderous applause instead of the usual quiet poetry snaps.
Through his poem, Rice expressed his feelings about the real-life struggles he has seen while growing up in New Jersey and how the media portrays violence in black culture.
‘The media depicts scenes of violence as though it’s a rare occasion,’ Rice said. ‘These are real-life situations that happen every day.’
First-time performer Jasmine White was another audience favorite. White, a freshman television, radio and film major, performed a political piece about racial unity in America. She did not make it to the second round and the audience shouted at the judges when she did not move on.
Anthony Mormile, a freshman film major, was a big hit with the female audience members. He performed a piece that brought tears to audience member Danielle McCoy’s eyes.
‘He just spoke the truth of how women should be treated, and I respected that. Not many men talk about this,’ said McCoy, a sophomore political science and African-American studies major.
The theme of empowering women carried on to round two when Rice asked all women in the room to stand up as he recited his poem. He talked about the beauty of a woman and what the word should mean to them.
‘Media once again shapes how females conceptualize beauty, and we should make our own definition of what is beautiful,’ Rice said.
The second round had hard-hitting acts, particularly male-dominated. The talent was raw, real and inspiring, and the lowest score did not hit below a nine. Although scores did not vary by much, the finalists ranged from people within the Syracuse University community to students from neighboring colleges.
Finalists only claim three winning spots. Syracuse University students Ronald Taylor, a freshman policy studies and African-American studies major, and Ousman Diallo, a senior information management and technology major, tied for third place. Julian Pena from Onondaga Community College secured second place.
Audience member Carren Summerville, a sophomore social work major, jumped out of her seat when Rice nabbed the first-place spot.
‘His poem was really inspirational,’ Summerville said. ‘It makes you think if people change, how much better the world would be.’
Published on October 30, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Contact Melissa: qsbronso@syr.edu
