Love Jones: Spoken Word took place for two hours at Nolan's, providing jazz music, poetry, and history, commemorating not only Black History Month, but also Valentine's Day.
The themes coincided perfectly because both involved family, love and friendship and had to do with who we are, not just as students.
The event featured student performances by Morgan State University students Roy Bryant, Brian Sessions, Malcolm Lawson, Myeasha Taylor, Brittany Thomas, Jasmine Couch and Crystal Brandon, and Hopkins freshmen Amanda Nwaopara and Justin Grant. The spoken word poetry was finished off with a surprise performance by Hopkins junior Hannah Jiam, a student who was merely attending the event.
"I wake up in the morning feeling like everybody else but me," said Sessions in a line of his poem, pointing out the common problem of people identifying themselves in reaction to others, without actually knowing or appreciating who they are.
Finally, there was a musical performance by Watoto (Swahili for "children") from the Nile, a Baltimore-based musical group created by five elementary school students, three of whom are sisters.
Watoto from the Nile's songs were written to spread positive messages through Hip Hop, as opposed to those of money, drugs and the degradation of women that are being spread in mass media today. Watoto from the Nile performed "My People 365," a song illustrating the idea that they were proud of their heritage and culture all over the world, resulting in much enthusiasm and applause from the crowd, all of whom seemed to be smiling in amazement at the confidence and talent these young women showed throughout their performance.
Spoken word poetry originated from both blues music and the poetry of the Harlem Renaissance.
It's about creating poetry that doesn't just want to sit on paper; something about spoken word demands it to be heard out loud or witnessed in person, and always with the purpose of entertaining, educating and, most of all, inspiring the audience.
The students' poems varied from being fun to painful and from serious to silly. They wrote about general themes, such as love and identity, but also incorporated their deeply personal experiences, which made each poem resonate with something unique and individual — a story very specific to that person.
Spoken word poetry allows for immediate connections between the reader and the audience and represents that difficult ability to express yourself. Unsurprisingly, finding that courage to present your stories and opinions to others can be a powerful experience. Performers are often rewarded with a room full of their peers who are ready to listen and empathize.
And that is exactly what happened at Nolans's on Valentine's night, the night of Love Jones: Spoken Word.
Musicians were set up in the background to provide a steady beat for the poets, as well as smooth jazz music in between their performances, transforming Nolans's cafeteria atmosphere into an artistic and cultured one.
Chairs were set up in rows right in front of where the microphone was, near the stage, and tables remained in the back for those who wanted to have dinner while listening to the poets.
Free food was also provided to those attending the event.
The vibe was appropriate because of the somewhat low lighting and the comfortable circular couches, since spoken word poetry is usually enjoyed as a relaxing and thought-provoking event.
The intimate audience was very encouraging to the poets, and, at moments of seriousness, became appropriately quiet and sullen.
At other times, they laughed together, and the mood of the entire place lightened.
The most beautiful part of this event was that all of the emotional connection was able to happen despite differences: differences in peoples' genders or ages, majors, backgrounds or experiences.
