All this week WHQR is highlighting the winners of a recent poetry contest sponsored by UNCW's Watson School of Education.
By Catherine M. Welch
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/national/local-national-589160.mp3
Wilmington, NC – All this week WHQR is highlighting the winners of a recent poetry contest sponsored by UNCW's Watson School of Education.
The poets are winners of what's called a "poetry slam." It's a competitive arena where poets take to the stage to perform their work with points given for both writing and performance.
Poetry slam gets its sound from the Beat Poets of the 50's, Jamaica's "dub poets" of the 70's, and the emerging rap sounds of the 80's.
And while this is an art form that attracts young poets, performers of all ages take to the stage to perform their work.
Shawn Mitchell is a playwright and actor and active in Wilmington's theater scene. He says his poem A Documentation, Proclamation, an American Bi-Partisan Rap is an attempt to unite America's political party system.