NEW! The Poetry Club - April 16, 2009

The Poetry Club Pics - Mar 12

Journal: The Poetry Club @ The Cofee Loft (Mar 12)

Over 50 students, teachers, mentors, and parents came out to Black on Black Rhyme ATL's first official event in over a year! "The Poetry Club", a monthly city-wide open mike for middle schoolers couldn't have started on a better note. Student representatives from King, Parks, Price, and Sylvan Hills Middle School were excited when they stepped in the door of The Coffee Loft in downtown Atlanta.

Somewhat unaware of what an open mike is, students began to get their bearings straight after the first few poets. Students spoke on many issues with flows that could challenge some college poets. One student from Sylvan Hills performed "Boxes", a dope conceptual piece in which the poet challenged people to think outside of perceptions. Another student from Parks Middle, compared herself to dances. (I didn't even know what a fox trot was until she read her poem!) Yet another middle-schooler did an original piece called "The X Variable", a piece that touched on the unknown. Others spoke on domestic violence, acceptance, peer pressure, and many more relevant topics.

Paul D kept the focus on the students by offering the crowd with bio background info. How refreshing it was to hear students aspiring to be pediatricians, lawyers, and even one girl who hopes to become future President of the United States. Shadow, aka DJ Right Click, kept the tunes going on the Zune with songs from Arrested Development, Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder and more.

After the intermission, three high schoolers from Osborne High School in Cobb County, Georgia, murdered the mike as the night's features. One students performed a Pablo Neruda-esque joint complete with memorable lines referring to the cosmos. Two other students, one male and one female, performed a conceptual group piece in which the male student was speaking an internal monologue while the love interest sat in the background while reading a book.



The night ended with a $50 giveaway to one random participant of the open mike. From the looks on the students' faces, it was obvious that they were enriched and linguistically nourished from a night totally dedicated to them. Stay tuned to our next middle-school open mike on April 16, 2009. Special thanks to Hands-On Atlanta, Communities in Schools, and the many mentors and teachers that went above and beyond to make this event possible.

So why is “The Poetry Club” so important?

So why is “The Poetry Club” so important?


• It provides a healthy social outlet for teenagers to express themselves.

• Participation helps to improve written and verbal skills, which can be applied to the scholastic setting.

• Students will be able to network with students from other schools.

• By speaking from their own thoughts and experiences, attendees will learn, share, and appreciate individual and collective differences and similarities.

• It exposes young people to the art and culture of poetry and spoken word at a level they can relate to.

• It will help to present an honest depiction of the many ethnic, social, and economical features that encompass our world.

• It helps to dispel the notion that you cannot have fun and learn at the same time!

For more information or to find out how to get a teenager involved, please contact Paul D. @ (850) 212-9800 or thepoetryclub.blogspot.com

Press Release: The Poetry Club

January 01, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ATLANTA, GA

Black on Black Rhyme Atlanta Hosts 1st Middle School Open Mic March 12, 2009



EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT THEM, BUT NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING!

The youth of our nation are faced with a seemingly insurmountable number of challenges and dilemmas on a daily basis. The unrelenting scholastic expectations, domestic responsibilities, and public standards dictated by our society can be hard for any human being to maintain.

However, these obstacles are being faced by teenagers, young people still scratching the surface of discovering themselves, which heightens the difficulty.
These issues are further complicated by the lack of social activities and programs designed specifically to engage adolescents and their interests.


“The Poetry Club” was established to provide our community’s youth with a healthy social outlet and platform to express themselves and promote growth in the areas of: self esteem, written and oral communication, public speaking, networking, social tolerance, and cultural understanding through the art of Spoken Word Poetry.


The show is held once a month in Atlanta, Georgia and showcases young poets from Atlanta’s local middle and high schools. We also seek to have experienced, professional feature poets perform and conduct workshops to help motivate and inspire the participating youth.


“The Poetry Club” is committed to providing an atmosphere that encourages unity and character development, so profanity and vulgarity is not allowed.


Several cities around the nation have started similar programs for their youth and the results have been astounding! We strongly believe that “The Poetry Club” can and will have the same type of impact in our community.


Please support us in our efforts to encourage and strengthen the future leaders of our nation.

Sincerely,


Dorian “Paul D” Rogers
Community Poet/ Middle School Teacher/Founder, Black on Black Rhyme Atlanta

Akinbiyi “Shadow” Sawyerr
President, Co-Founder Black on Black Rhyme, LLC

The Poetry Club Flyer