2008 Woodie Awards
Spoken word at WCU
Amanda Jordan
Issue date: 11/6/06 Section: Entertainment
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Not many people in this world can so freely speak their minds, especially about their federal government. Over the years, U.S. citizens have found many different and creative ways to take advantage of the First Amendment. The '60s sparked a new way of getting the point across.
People began to use their poetic talents to entertain and inspire anyone who would listen. These traditions carry on today and are now known as a large form of entertainment across the country such as Def Poetry Jams and National Poetry Slams.
WCU's Student Activities Council (SAC) brought in two national champion poets to host and entertain Spoken Word Night: "Creative Minds" on Friday, November 3. Admission was free and about 30 students took advantage of the night's entertainment.
Rives and Carlos Gomez performed several poems and also allowed students the stage to free style and read their original poems.
Gomez recited a poem about boxes which was a metaphor for stereotypes, in which he explained his feelings on how people always tried to put him in a specific box because of his half Colombian heritage.
He also performed a poem about genocide which he related back to his time spent as a teacher in New York. He explains in the poem that his supervisors and principals told him he must teach poetry without using profanity. He responds to them that he does not understand why profanity is such a problem when there are 13- year-old girls infected with HIV and teachers are not allowed to suggest the use of condoms to their students.
Carlos Andres Gomez is a former social worker and teacher who has become a well-known poet and AIDS awareness facilitator.
He uses his first hand experiences spending three months in Africa working with HIV+ youth to educate people all over the world on HIV/AIDS with poetry. Since his return from Africa, Carlos has performed poetry at over 100 colleges and universities and toured across North America, Europe, the Caribbean, and Africa. Carlos also ran an HIV/AIDS educational college tour called the "Fight Apathy Tour."
People began to use their poetic talents to entertain and inspire anyone who would listen. These traditions carry on today and are now known as a large form of entertainment across the country such as Def Poetry Jams and National Poetry Slams.
WCU's Student Activities Council (SAC) brought in two national champion poets to host and entertain Spoken Word Night: "Creative Minds" on Friday, November 3. Admission was free and about 30 students took advantage of the night's entertainment.
Rives and Carlos Gomez performed several poems and also allowed students the stage to free style and read their original poems.
Gomez recited a poem about boxes which was a metaphor for stereotypes, in which he explained his feelings on how people always tried to put him in a specific box because of his half Colombian heritage.
He also performed a poem about genocide which he related back to his time spent as a teacher in New York. He explains in the poem that his supervisors and principals told him he must teach poetry without using profanity. He responds to them that he does not understand why profanity is such a problem when there are 13- year-old girls infected with HIV and teachers are not allowed to suggest the use of condoms to their students.
Carlos Andres Gomez is a former social worker and teacher who has become a well-known poet and AIDS awareness facilitator.
He uses his first hand experiences spending three months in Africa working with HIV+ youth to educate people all over the world on HIV/AIDS with poetry. Since his return from Africa, Carlos has performed poetry at over 100 colleges and universities and toured across North America, Europe, the Caribbean, and Africa. Carlos also ran an HIV/AIDS educational college tour called the "Fight Apathy Tour."
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