Verbal Blend is a spoken-word/poetry program on campus and the subject of my final story for my MAG 406: Magazine Article Writing course. I absolutely love Verbal Blend. The poets teem with talent and I look forward to every interview, meeting, or event. I am continuously blown away by each person's devotion to the words, the careful ability in which they craft them to convey a message. When I'm in their presence, I'm always pleasantly surprised by the community and camaraderie that exists among them.
The story is supposed to be 1,700 words. But I could write so much more! I could write a profile on each member, I'm sure. I could write about the events that they host and have hosted. I could write about the first ever Verbal Blend learning community in Boland Hall that started this fall. I could write about the efforts Verbal Blend makes to improve the poor education system in Syracuse. I hoped to update this as I conducted each interview and attended each event this month, but, as has become the norm this semester, time slipped away. So, I'm starting now.
The above clip is of a Verbal Blend poet named Christiona performing her poem, "A Warrior Out of Us," at Verbal Blend's 'Ayo Technology' Skype Open Mic on Nov. 17. (More on that in another post). I think I'm leaning towards focusing on Verbal Blend's work off campus, educating and inspiring young students in the city of Syracuse. Christiona will probably be one of my main faces. She's a sophomore who is in the process of creating a literary magazine for high school students in the community.
"We want the high school students to think about pursuing any level of post-secondary education. We feel that publishing them in a college publication with other college writers and artists will boost their confidence in themselves and get them thinking about college in a positive aspect."
Verbal Blend is a special group, so I'm excited to post more about them in the near future.
Till next time.
