Genesee District Library and Flint Public Library present the 2nd Annual UM-Flint Student Spoken Word Performance. As part of their final project, 16 students from the University of Michigan-Flint will perform at the Flint Public Library on Wednesday, April 13 from 5pm to 6:45pm. The performance is part of Dr. Traci Currie’s class, “Spoken Word as Art and Communication.”
“For 15 weeks we have spent time together, allowing students to identify themselves using spoken word,” Currie said. “Students have wrestled with their identities. The stories are honest. It’s some tough material.”
April is National Poetry Month; and spoken word is a form of performance-based poetry that emphasizes word play and storytelling. Students will write their own material, but they will also pull from their favorite artists and authors.
“A lot of people in the class have been through things where other people have controlled their identity and I want them to break free of that. Breaking free sometimes means we hear uncomfortable things,” said Currie. Currie, a Jamaican-American poet, writer, and lecturer at UM-Flint, will also perform.
Admission is free, and refreshments will be served.
This program is presented in partnership between the Flint Public Library and Genesee District Library. To register, visit thegdl.org.
