This is LaJenne’ of Digital Youth Network’s All Access covering Brave New Voices’ Slam Poetry Festival. Day four of Brave New Voices was unlike any other for me.  The morning brought all of the semifinalists together once again to find out who would participate in the Grand Slam Finale on July 18^th, 2009, the last and final day of the festival. These teenagers get up and speak unlike anything I have ever heard. I swear the microphones were seared by the end of the sessions with all they were saying. In the end Hawai’i, Leed, the Bay and Jacksonville all made the grand slam finale.

I deemed this day extremely emotional for me for no matter what event I went to something just seemed to hit me like ‘BAM’ from out of no where. This is something that I love about poetry, the fact that it forces you to face your demons or to “To run towards fear” as Haki Madhubuti tells all to do. Just sitting in the audience watching them you unknowingly mirror their every movement without thought, as if you practiced the routine along side them, you know the words they speak when they have never left your lips before, you cry when the poet cries as if you share tear ducts, this is what I love about poetry. The simple fact that words have the power to influence and shape in this manner is quite intense.

There were so many poems that reached out and touched me but it was truly one that had me in a daze. It left me confused, riddled with questions that could only be answered by myself, scared, and strangely understood. For the first time during this festival I was truly moved to tears. I was so busy in my state of shock that I couldn’t even catch them before they fell.  I was finally able to talk to the poet and let her know and of course humble she was and thanked me for letting her know in turn. However this is just my story there were countless others that saw the same result for others. Simply beautiful.

The end of the night saw to it that the adults got their chance to shine as well. Poets Ashley Olson, Beau, Queen Godis, Saul Williams, Roger, BX and Iyeoka Okoawo all came on and pretty much murdered the microphone. We even had to retire a microphone for the evening, it was too hot. One thing that I thought would be pretty important to share is something Beau brought up, the fear to fall or mess up. So to show us, the youth, that stumbling is perfectly fine he freestyled the whole poem on the spot. Yes, he messed up but he kept pushing and made it out alive. He told poets to fall on your face intentionally so as to know how it feels to get up and rise again. True words and a true work that received much respect. July 18^th, 2009 marks the end of Brave New Voices’ stay in Chicago and I am sure that it will be beautiful and bittersweet. I am excited about what the finale will bring but I am also saddened to think of it leaving.