Photo Credit: Maddie Norwood[/caption]The somber notes of love poems, hurried beats of rap, and soulful tones of musical poetry filled the Learning Commons Thursday, October 30 as students and staff members remembered recently deceased teacher assistant Edmond Curry. The open-mic poetry slam took place in Lunch A from 10:15 to 11:15 am.
Orange County Schools behavior interventionist Umar Muhammad opened the slam by describing his memories of Curry and explaining why a poetry slwas a fitting way to honor him. Curry was “creative, innovative, and outgoing” and “wasn’t afraid to express himself,” he said. The purpose of the slam was to honor Curry and “engage something inside of you.”
There was never a slow moment at the slam--when one student finished speaking, another quickly took his or her place at the podium. While some of the performers were members of the poetry and rap group Apollo’s Panthers, others were new to poetry. Most students had something they had written to read, but a few just took a moment to speak to the audience about an issue that concerned them, such as treating others with respect.
Mark Greenstreet, the advisor of Apollo’s Panthers and an English teacher, performed musical poetry at the slam. He decided to honor Curry with a poetry slam because “Mr. Curry was instrumental in organizing and performing in OHS' first open mic... When we lost our brother and colleague, we wanted to both honor his memory with the nomenclature of the event we collectively inspired, and capture the beauty of his lifelong pursuit: he used the power and beauty of his voice to enlighten and inspire others to find and share theirs.” He remembers Curry as “a friend, a brother and a fellow artist.”
Samantha Nance, a member of Apollo’s Panthers, read four poems--”The Art of Preservation,” “The Union of Sky and Sea,” “Wander” and the biblical passage 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14. Although she thought the slam was “chaotic” at times, she “was really impressed” for it being the first slam. “We had a great turnout and most of the people were really attentive and respectful. I'm extremely happy that we had members from the audience come up. I know how scary it is to do something like that, but they were all amazing,” she stated.
Although Nance “didn't know [Curry] very well,” she knew “he was a great guy. He liked to laugh and enjoy life. I was very sad when I heard the news and send my thoughts to his family during this time.”
Rodney DeLoach, also in Apollo’s Panthers, wrote and read “The Union of Sea and Sky” with Nance. He also read “Gangsta,” “Music Freedom,” and “The Mood.” “The main takeaway from my poetry should be that everything is poetry, be it from your perspective or anything [or] anyone's perspective,” he said.
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