ENH 224 | Spring 2018 | College of Staten Island, CUNY

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This isn’t BAM poetry so it will probably suck…(Okheem)

What a mistake I made going into that room with that attitude. From the moment Rommi became an entirely different person as she recited her work, I was hooked. The way she was able to channel what she was hearing in her head into a physical, living work of art was truly touching. Im usually someone who as soon as I feel my phone vibrate, I do a quick little check to see what it is. Yet, as my phone buzzed a million times in my pocket that night, I couldn’t even command my hand to even reach down for it. As Rommi finished up, I sat there waiting for the next poet to present her piece.

Tracie Morris, the following poet, completely blew me away and changed my views of poetry entirely. Ive heard of sound poetry before but Ive never actually watched it being performed. To see the way Tracie bended and shaped her voice to her will and not break nor falter for even one second was amazing. I heard as everyone laughed and giggled at her during her performance but I just stared in awe. Much like Kanye west bending his voice in his music to liken his hums to guitar strums, Tracie was able to transform her hums into whatever she wanted to. What amazed me most in the story she was able to tell with just those hums and very few words.

This was truly an experience I won’t forget

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