UofM Does it Again (Twice)

The University has Michigan has continued to display its astonishing ability to host first-rate events in the past few weeks, especially those honoring Black History Month. About a week ago, on February 10, nationally renowned spoken word poet J Ivy headlined a spoken word event at the UMMA. The evening began with an open mic portion, allowing a dozen or so aspiring poets to showcase their talents. I had the honor of joining them when the MC asked for an additional five performers from the audience, which gave me the very unique opportunity of reading my poetry in front of over 100 people. Although I was quite clearly an amateur and my poem did not have the substance of some others, (I immediately followed a girl who read her incredible poem about a girl being raped) the crowd warmly accepted my efforts. That is the beauty of an open mic- the quality is less important than the actual process of performing. The other poets were all far more talented than I was, and kept the audience thoroughly entertained before J Ivy’s segment.

Then it came time for the star. J Ivy has been featured on HBO’s Def Poetry several times, and is most famous for his collaboration with Kanye West on the song “Never Let Me Down” on Kanye’s first album, College Dropout. J Ivy adds an entire spoken word poem (which he gave a rendition of at the event) in the middle of the song, which is also a testament to Kanye’s unparalleled creative genius. On Friday, J Ivy performed for over half an hour, reading some poems while also performing others. I particularly liked how he engaged the audience throughout the show, (“And the church says…”) and even jumped off stage during his finale. My favorite poem of his was called “Blind Date,” which told the story of a blind date he once went on that turned into a set-up to mug him. The story was so interactive, so vivid that it captured all of J Ivy’s best qualities in one poem. This entire event was the epitome of what a University-sponsored show should be: an opportunity for students to get experience performing followed by a professional exhibiting the art at its finest.

This past Friday, the 17, I took part in another student-performed event at the Work Gallery on State Street: the Word of Mouth Story Slam. Completely student run, the story slam crew hosts an event every month, in which students compete by getting five minutes to tell any story he or she chooses, based on that night’s theme. The stories are then scored on a ten-point scale by three different judges; the storyteller awarded the most amount of points wins. A few nights ago, as it was so close to Valentine’s Day, the theme was infatuation. Stories ranged from a girl’s infatuation with quirky situations, to the telltale signs of how a boy knew he was interested in a girl, to a serious account of a college romance. I was the second-to-last performer (out of ten) to tell a story, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. As it was a much smaller crowd than the spoken word event, the acts were not nearly as strictly prepared and I was able to be much more personal and relaxed. I highly recommend the events to anyone who is looking for a night of intimate, enjoyable conversation and some darn good stories. There is only one slam left this school year, the Grand Slam in March, which will feature all of the winners of the events this year, so the performances will surely be worthwhile. Make sure you get to Work Gallery- I guarantee it will be worth your time.