I started writing poetry in my senior year of high school. A friend of mine by the name of Christine Ruff got me interested in poetry and its deeper meaning, and I took off like a rocket, composing pieces on a daily basis. I used a hypothetical inspiration to start off and name my pieces, but it wasn’t until I watched a young man by the name of Joshua Bennett on HBO’s “Brave New Voices” that I decided to engulf myself in its culture.
Joshua Bennett is a recent graduate of the University of Massachusetts, and also a dynamic slam poet who caught my eyes and ears when I first heard him. First of all, slam poetry is performance-style, which means that the artist puts plenty of emotion into their piece. This emotion includes either a combo or choice of anger, sadness, happiness, fear, etc. Joshua is a master at his craft, being able to incorporate multiple emotions into one stage act. The first time I heard him, he was performing in a 5-man group and by the end of their performance, I had literally shed a tear. I have never been so touched by poetry in my life, and from that moment on, I made it a must to learn as much as I possibly could about Joshua and the art he professes.
I went on YouTube and looked up as many poems from Joshua as I could possibly find. To this day, my favorite poem is called “10 Things I Want to Say to a Black Woman.” I was so inspired from his piece that I watched it 15 times over and tried to memorize it. I always suggest him to my friends whenever they are looking for a great artist to follow. I have actually composed personal pieces inspired from his writing style, and from this point on, any poem that I write contains some style that he incorporates in his own style.
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