 "Photo: Photo by: Jameshia Jefferson")
Words fly through the air like bullets on a battlefield, but there is no harmful intent to them. These words are meant to enlighten and entertain. This is the English language at its finest. This is HCC’s poetry slam, and poetry lovers got their first taste of what will be six months long celebration of the art and attitude of spoken word.
“They get to be enlightened by some of the things. Sometimes those words that you hear, sometimes they inspire you to understand more and see things differently,” said Charles John “Candyman” Coney Sr., HCC Public Safety Officer.
The poetry slam was hosted by Lizz Straight, Artistic Director of HCC Ybor City Poetry Slams, and the evening’s sacrificial poet. For those who don’t know, the sacrificial poet is the first one to go.
Some of the poets were first timers like 18-year-old dance major, Bianca Russel. “I'm not really one to share my poetry,” said Russell. “... It definitely took me out of my element, which is good sometimes,” she said.
The poets were divided into two groups, one consisted of three HCC competitors and the second of six public competitors. There were two rounds for each group, with five judges scoring the verbal art on a scale of one to ten.
The poetry of these lyrical combatants’ ranged from a comedic tale of a woman’s vagina to a soulful love story. The small, but enthusiastic, crowd ate up the poetry with the delight of a starving man given his first meal in weeks. There was clapping and cheers for the poets, and some boos for the judge's scores, most of all there was fun to be had.
Ultimately, winners from the two categories had to be crowned. For HCC, Candyman won on the wings of his poem’s mantra, “Yes, we can make a change”, which was in remembrance of the one-year anniversary of Barack Obama’s election. As for the public competitors, Reggie Eldridge reigned king.
There were cash prizes for the winners, but competitors don't do this for the money. They do it because they love the artistic expression it allows them. “They told us at first that the staff wasn’t going to win any money...we were just going to get a certificate," said Coney Sr.. "So it wasn’t a money incentive,” he said.
In the end the biggest winners were the audience. Getting to watch talented people perform for free is a reward within itself. But, the free food provided did not hurt. For those interested in attending, the next HCC poetry slam will be held in January 2010.
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