Urban Word NYC poet Lauren “Lo” Anderson, captivated the crowd at TEDxYouth@Hewitt on November 20, as she showcased her powerful artistry through spoken word poetry.
Lo began her time on stage, not by launching straight into her musical verses, but by livening up the room’s atmosphere, explaining that “poets really don’t like quiet spaces, and this has been really, really quiet.” She was delighted by the stomping and yelling that greeted her after her request, as she believes that “spoken word poetry is an interactive process.” Lo encouraged the audience members to react to any part of her poetry that they find interesting, whether the reaction was as simple as a low, thoughtful “ahh,” or as audible as an appreciative snapping of fingers. Indeed, her first poem, concerning the ill-informed attitude against youth voting, received much clapping after she asserted that “upwards more, past my chest, to his surprise, there’s a mind, that can very much distinguish the kind of pole he’d like me to be dancing on in the ones that come on Election Day.” Her skillful wit was further displayed by her next two poems, one of which taught us about her sadness towards the merciless, fatal shooting of African-American Oscar Grant by the police, the other describing her relationship with a friend sent to fight in Iraq who became a burn victim as a result of a roadside bombing.
During lunch at TedxYouth@Hewitt, I was happy to get the chance to ask Lo more about her inspiration for her poetry and her experience with Urban Word NYC. She discovered the organization through a pamphlet about a poetry slam given to her by her sister. According to Lo, Urban Word NYC promotes completely uncensored youth poetry through free workshops held in places throughout New York City, including Manhattan and the Bronx . The organization embraces every individual poet’s style to fight against youth silence, as one of Urban Word NYC’s main goals is to provide youth with a voice that society doesn’t always grant them.
Lo is very grateful that the youth poetry organization has given her the platform to speak about the topics that she is most passionate about; Lo explained that she likes writing about topics that are usually ignored by many to spread awareness about issues such as police brutality. For example, Oscar Grant was a figure unknown to many in the audience. This poem also exemplifies Lo’s method of giving the audience a glimpse of herself through the lenses of others’ stories.
Lo once thought that her story was of no interest to audiences because she had never experienced the hardships that make headlines each day, such as sexual abuse or poverty. Fortunately, she realized that she didn’t have to remain a bystander in a world full of injustices, and through her own experiences as a faithful lover of spoken word poetry, she now understands that one does not have to go through traumatic experiences to have something important or interesting to say. She takes her job as an observer of these injustices very seriously while maintaining an air of musicality and an irresistible, charismatic charm that makes every rhythmic verse even more penetrating than the last, every smile and laugh making so much more apparent the fact that she loves being on stage and performing her poetry to a widespread audience.
All in all, it was a pleasure to attend TedxYouth@Hewitt and see poetry’s power for positive action. Mokgheti “Mega”
Thinane, whom I wrote about in my last article, also performed at the event. His style was more conversational than Lo’s but still had its own form of charm and wit that amused us that left us thinking. Both Lo and Mega are excellent examples of the effectiveness of Urban Word NYC, and I encourage anyone interested in getting started or wanting further involvement in spoken word poetry to visit Urban Word NYC’s website and find out if there are any free poetry workshops coming up. Many thanks to Urban Word NYC for providing TedxYouth with two such talented poets!