The Commuter Resource Center (CRC) hosted A Little Taste of Soul on Tuesday, Feb. 20, enticing attendees with spoken word artists.
The event was hosted in Hutchinson Hall, Room 100 and was meant to reflect a different aspect of Black History Month. Upon walking in, guests were entranced by the mood lighting of the auditorium made by the use of colored lights on the stage and rope lights leading the way into the auditorium.
As students filed in, event workers encouraged students to sit close to the stage for a more intimate encounter with the performers. As the event went on, this simple step forward resulted in a close-knit group of attendees by the end of the show.
To begin, a Commuter Resource Center student worker introduced the first poet of the night: Treasure.
Treasure gave five spoken word poems on her life experiences in love, loss and family. Her spoken word style was a mix of singing, spoken word and performance. Her poem performances earned applause from the audience and was followed by an introduction of the next poet by another Commuter Resource Center student worker.
Avery was the second poet of the night. Avery began by doing a short spiel on spoken word etiquette as many of the audience members had never been to an event such as this before. He taught the students that spoken word events were meant to be an interactive art. In contrast to other events, the audience is urged to react throughout the performance to encougaged the performer. Avery explained that one should snap their fingers when something was good. When something was great, one should holler "Yes". Avery cautioned that claps are reserved for the end as one does not want to disrupt the progression of the poem. Avery executed this lesson with humor, relieving the crowd of any tension and allowing students to freely comment throughout his performance as they were moved by it.
Avery gave poem performances on love, inmates and life lessons. His poems earned snaps and comments throughout his performance and concluded with a wholesome applause.
To wrap up the event, Commuter Resource Center workers went to set up food at the Commuter Resource Center and allowed guests to stay in the auditorium as they waited. One audience member asked the performers if they could do a couple more as everyone waited for the food. The performers proceeded to do their first spoken word collaborations together, taking turns speaking on the subjects of toxic relationships, self-love and spirituality as chosen by the audience. The spontaneous performances were appreciated by the audience, and the whole event was an overall success.
"I think this was inspirational. There were things I didn't know were kind of relatable to me and actually made sense. That also makes me want to write what I'm feeling because I'm the type of person where I don't speak about my feelings, so I see them as brave people. That [spoken word poets] actually come up there and spend the time to talk about their deepest desires and the deepest feelings that they have. I envy that because I want to do that too, so that's why I appreciate listening to them. One day, hopefully, I can share my own feelings and what I see in the world," said Danielle Olistin, a sophomore forensic psychology major.
For more upcoming events, check out Cougar Link.
