Today’s society is a constant struggle between trying to be an individual and trying to blend in with society. Everyone wants to be remembered, but not many people are ready to be different and to step away from the crowd. Elizabeth Acevedo, a poet who will do slam but refer to herself as a run of the mill “slam poet,” performed her poetry to the students of Longwood University on Sept. 10 at 7:30p.m. in Wygal.
Acevedo was born and raised in New York City with her heritage being a mix of Dominican and African descent. All of which was expressed in her poems she performed, and her heritage isn't hudden within her poems.
The first poem she perfromed was “Rat’s Ode” which conveyed her message that small and ugly things are subjects that are hard to talk but they are still beautiful and should be talked about.
Every day, there is something horrible on the news, and it is usually more than one event. These cultural differences were her inspirations for the majority of her poetry. It can be easy to write about a personal issue, but it isn’t as easy to think or discuss how the same issue isn’t just affecting one person. Acevedo never said that she could do anything to easily fix the entire problem or make it go away. She did acknowledge the things that she could do, such as using them in her poetry and recite them to a crowd; but also to inspire those around her about the issues and to make a change.
With each poet, there is a different style and there are different influences or different patterns that each one follows. Acevedo would not only recite her poetry, but she gave it life by adding her own body language and facial expressions to it. Also she would give the back story or the inspiration of the particular poem, and then she would take it a step farther and relating it to the students and their everyday lives.
“Crossing genres” is the term Acevedo used when asked about what her particular genre of poetry is. Just as many of poems will speak of not letting limitations hold a person back, she will not let a genre restrict what she writes about. Instead she uses different genres to her advantage to better tell the story or to communicate her ideas further.
Acevedo touched on many controversial topics that can be difficult to discuss, yet with each poem she brought forth the meaning and truth of her words. With her words projected powerfully, the message was clear and the crowd was more than able to respond to her words. Making it important for the crowd to participate and to give responses back to Acevedo during her performance.
The crowd was able to give the proper responses from the lesson in the beginning of the production. Not only was body language given by the crowd, but it was encouraged for the crowd to also make certain actions in order to give her feedback on what they enjoyed. She even added an extra “Wepa!” to it, an exclamation of excitement or content that comes from her Dominican Heritage. Acevedo was an inspiration to have on campus. Lancer Productions will be hosting Mike Super, a magician who will be performing in Jarman Sept. 17 at 8p.m.
Elizabeth Acevedo explaining to the audience they can snap or say "YES" when they hear something they agree with during her performance in Wygal on Sept 10.
We are all light wrapped in skin: birthmarked perfect" expressed Elizabeth Acevedo on Sept 10 in Wygal.
