April 2, 2002
"When you take the music away, you can hear yourself, and you make every effort to say something intelligent. That's why I support the Spoken Word movement." -Russell Simmons, host of HBO's Def Poetry Jam IWU Slams into National Poetry Month BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- On April 11 at 8 p.m. Illinois Wesleyan University's Hansen Student Center (300 E. Beecher St., Bloomington) will come to resemble a dark coffee house featuring poets, who perhaps started in the corners of dark coffee houses themselves. Now, however, these performers can be found featured in critically acclaimed documentaries, an HBO series or an NBC sitcom pilot. They are muMs, Beau Sia, Taylor Mali, Roger Bonair-Agard and Ishle Park, all poets in the Def Poetry College Tour. The show is free for IWU students, faculty and staff and $5 for Bloomington/Normal community members. Seating is limited. Doors open at 7 p.m. Credited for rejuvenating and reeducating the Hip Hop Nation, the "Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam," features the best and brightest from the spoken word scene. The 30-minute show is produced by "hip hop godfather" Russell Simmons and veteran TV producer Stan Lathan ("Soul Food," "The Steve Harvey Show," "Moesha") and has seen great success on HBO since it premiered this fall. "Def Poetry Jam was created to lend a voice to the voiceless. In comparison to other expressions, such as rap, spoken word was invisible," said Bruce George, executive producer of Def Poetry Jam. "It's imperative that these spoken word artists be catapulted to the mainstream and be recognized." "Spoken word is becoming really popular. HBO has definitely picked it up, which shows the importance of it, and it's especially growing on college campuses," said Kevin Clark, IWU director of student activities. "Slam poetry is more modernized to today's culture. It has a more urbanized flair to it, and so you see a lot of crossover with the hip hop community." The show at IWU will be hosted by poet muMs. Each poet will perform 15 to 20 minutes of their work. Dedicated to diversity, the five poets performing at IWU represent a variety of cultures and perspectives on life. "A lot of the pieces that are done are politically or culturally based, talking about cultural differences of discrimination," Clark said. "But the whole emphasis is on the performance itself. Its very animated." |
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Other Events
In preparation for the Def Poetry Show on Thursday evening, the IWU and Bloomington/Normal communities will have an opportunity to hear the slam poetry of the IWU community. IWU students and faculty will create their own slam poetry session on Wednesday, April 10 at 9 p.m., in Tommy's, located in the basement of the Hansen Student Center. A pre-event social will precede the program at 8 p.m. Free food and drink will be provided. The Def Poetry College Tour is sponsored by the IWU Office of Student Activities, the Office of the President, the Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs and Sigma Tau Delta, IWU's international English honor society. |
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