“Poetry is a source of catharsis”

Each poet has their own experiences and their own themes within their set. Ashlee Haze is different in her set, and yet she still has her own theme. 

On Sept. 22, at 8 p.m. in the Lankford Student Union, Haze shared her poetry from her two books, as well as some poems she put together for her set.

“I’ve been writing since I was 10,” said Haze. “I got into slam when a teacher entered me into a competition at 16 years old.”

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Haze grew up in an unforgiving environment. Thanks to poetry, she organized her feelings and actions. Haze said her poetry was cathartic.

After graduating from college, Haze realized she wanted to be a full-time poet and pushed herself harder, setting time aside solely for poetry. 

Knowing she couldn't support herself from her shows at first, Haze worked a nine-to-five job and then dedicated herself to poetry from five-to-nine until she no longer needed her day job.

Rather than just reciting her poetry, Haze told the story behind each poem and had the crowd interact with her throughout the set. She taught the crowd about haikus and asked that when she said the word "haiku" that the crowd respond with "five, seven, five" as a game.  Haze also took the time to ask what issues concerned the audience, and had a poem at the ready for it.

Modern languages senior Caroline Crane said, “It went off without a hitch, I’ve worked with LP (Lancer Productions) for three years, and this was a great turn out.”

Haze touched on subjects that dealt with: race, body image, emotions, respect and history.  Her first poem of the night was called The Help. This poem wasn't just about race and black history, but her own personal heritage.

In her poem, she relayed to the crowd that the movie gave her sense of nostalgia, based on what her mother and grandmother told her about the time period. The famous line from the movie The Help is used in the poem at the beginning and at the end, “You is kind, you is smart, and you is important.” 

“Her poetry inspired me mostly because she speaks of realistic feelings and struggles that women go through,” said communication studies senior Emily Carroll.

Some slam poets like to get a response from the crowd, and Haze was no different; at the beginning of her set, she encouraged the audience to snap or make noises when they heard something that they liked or agreed with.

Carroll said, “She was super easy to work with and really down-to-earth.”   

Haze said it let her know what the crowd was feeling that night, and made it easier to know which poems to recite based on the energy of the crowd.  There are some poems that Haze will only present in special settings.

“A poem I didn’t do on my set, it is on the internet, is called Lazarus,” said Haze. “It is about the death of my father, I’ve done it at one or two schools, but the energy has to be just right.”

One other poem that is hard for her is Alligator, a poem she did perform on stage.  Just as The Help discussed history and race, so did Alligator, criticizing the world for still not changing their view points and tactics of handling black history, and even "All Black Lives Matter" as well.  

It used the historical tactic of feeding black children to alligators as bait as a metaphor for the young black men dying at the hands of police.

Haze said, "I'm hoping if nothing else people can relate to my story and that I can be a source of healing."