‘Poetry is emotion’ – freshman organizes Black History Month Poetry Slam for Feb. 29

By: Ellen Laws

The Broad River Coffee House will be hosting a Black History Month Poetry Slam at 7 p.m., on Feb. 29. The poetry slam is an open mic night event, open to students and community members, with an emphasis on poetry.

“The idea [for the poetry slam] came up during some brainstorming with a couple of close friends who pushed me to promote black history month here on campus,” said freshman Rachael Meachem, organizer of the poetry slam.

After doing research for the black history month displays in the Dover Library, Meachem became inspired by Amiri Baraka. “Baraka was an African-American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. His career spanned nearly 50 years, and his themes range from black liberation to white racism,” said Meachem. “I truly admire the ways of Amiri Baraka, purely because his ways were controversial;  it made people talk about a subject that they weren’t comfortable with.”

Meachem’s desire for the poetry slam is for participants to spark conversation about racial injustices, like Baraka’s work does, through poetry.

“Poetry expresses emotion because poetry is emotion. Using metaphors, allusions, hyperboles, and other techniques in poetry, a person can emphasize certain points and express raw emotion through a few or many words,” said Meachem. “Poetry allows a person to be freer in what they say.”

For more information about the poetry slam contact [email protected].