A Chicago native brought her first national poetry slam to Rockford last year and she’s bringing it back this Saturday. Two of the past winners talk about their journey.
Dianna Tyler is an award-winning artist. She goes by Goddess Warrior The Poet. She’s the creator of The Gods and Goddesses Poetry Slam: A National Competition. Tyler said the slots for the competition filled up much quicker this year than they did for the inaugural event.
“I don’t even think I had the registration link out for a whole month and slots were gone,” Tyler said. “You know, people were contacting me, ‘Hey, can I still be a part? Can I still get in? Can I register? Can I register?’ And I'm like, ‘I'm sorry, but all spots are gone.”
Two poets, who won prizes last year, made sure to snag slots and they are ready for the pressure.
Sheri (Purpose) Hall lives in Kansas City, Missouri. She is the CEO of Poetry for Personal Power, an organization that teaches artists how to make sustainable wages and helps these artists receive grants. It also conducts research by delving into the question, “How does arts affect your mental health?” This information aides in more funding for mental health. Hall placed third in last year’s competition. She started taking spoken word poetry seriously in 2006 and has participated in several slams across the country. She said keeping the same energy throughout each round is key.
“Knowing what your audience is responding to, and not pulling a whammy on them. You can even switch delivery,” she explained. “So, like you can probably switch serious to comedic to this to that. But staying in the same vein.”
Hall goes on to explain that her first couple of pieces were filled with feminine energy. Then, she said, she switched it up, which she believes impacted the judges’ decision.
Arrie Lane lives in Detroit, Michigan. She came in second place last year. Although she started writing at 12 years old, she calls herself a spoken word newcomer in comparison to those she competed against.
She said an unfortunate event pushed her into this word-slinging ring.
A friend of hers committed suicide. To cope, she combined her acting background with poetry and created a short film called UnTIE-tled.
“The difference between acting and poetry sometimes is as simple as -- with poetry, I get to tell the story I want to tell,” Lane said. “When I'm acting, I'm telling someone else's story. And so, I really just fell in love with the journey.”
This creation was the pathway to Lane’s spoken word journey because after that people started to notice her. They invited her to speak at different events. She said taking part in poetry competitions helps strengthen her voice and connections with other people.
“It's just when people say ‘that resonated with me, that really spoke to me, thank you for that piece’ like, it really, it really means something to me because I want more than anything, it's not just about me getting up here and performing.”
Hall agreed.
“When they come and tell you they got their healing. Or you seeing them crying to the side (and) you go on console and wrap your arms around them, if they're open to that. That is the most rewarding part.”
Both ladies were impressed with the last years’ experience and the essence of Goddess Warrior The Poet. Hall summed it up.
“If you haven't had a Goddess Warrior The Poet, hug — that's a ministry in and of itself,” she said. “She gives me this hug and it's all the good vibes. And she has been like that ever since. She spit some poetry. She said some words. You know, when she stomps her foot on the floor, the mountains quake.”
And Tyler is stomping her poetry feet across the city. Recently she facilitated a youth poetry workshop. She taught writing and performance. She said the idea for this came when she saw kids play fighting at a Rockford Park.
“And I went over, and I said ‘hey, you guys know what poetry is? And what about dodgeball y'all like to play dodgeball?’” she asked. “So, I'm just bringing up are the things that they can do other than play fight and wrestle.”
Tyler started writing when she was 8 years old. She said this craft changed her life and she wants children to understand its power.
“One thing that I definitely teach to all young people is that everything is written,” she said. “You know, everything from the football commercials that we laughed at during the Superbowl, you know, their favorite pop music song, before it's recorded, before you see a TikTok song played on those dances.”
The second annual God and Goddesses Poetry Slam takes place 7 p.m. Oct. 8 at the Nordlof Center, 118 N. Main St. Information can be found on the competition’s Facebook page.
- Yvonne Boose is a current corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. It's a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms like WNIJ. You can learn more about Report for America at wnij.org.