Get free is not just something you say on a microphone.
Don’t just go in. Go home.
Because the way you live your life is the greatest poem you will ever write.
And that’s why I am more than just a poet.
Walter Jennings, the poet, writer, teacher, and Tampa native, affectionately known as "Wally B.," uses those words to introduce himself to a new class.
He’s the founder and head coach of ‘Heard Em Say’ Youth Art Collective, which he started in 2007 “to identify, cultivate, and empower youth in activism through artistic education and expression.”
Everyday Hero Host Bill Murphy attended the Collective's first workshop for the poetry slam season.
“Poetry slam is the competitive aspect of poetry where students are challenged to write, memorize, and perform their poem,” Wally B. said.
Members of the new class each have an opportunity to "introduce themselves" through the sharing of verses.
She looked at me hesitantly, trying to find the right words to say
Trying to carefully avoid a landmine.
But her words felt like dropping bombs in my soul.
One after another, they deliver lines and stanzas all raw with emotion and potent imagery.
Five years of walking through 90 degree Florida sun
To sit on a bench and wait on a bus that is now nine minutes late
To get to a transfer that’s 12 minutes away.
These young poets will be guided as they work to perfect their writing and performing skills.
She’s breathtaking literally.
She collapses lungs like mind rebels
Against the ways of Father Time.
The public is invited to teen poetry night the last Friday of each month at Ybor City’s Blind Tiger Cafe to hear these voices. These voices, and their verses that must be heard.
“It allows them to communicate their experiences in the way they view the world in their own way,” Wally B. said. “In their own language.”