By Kiara Catanzaro
Staff Writer
Cheesy rhymes and dull performances might come to mind when a person thinks of a poetry reading. However, slam poetry is different. The excitement that awakens the crowd is contagious, especially for a slam-poet novice. The poet can swear, scream, stomp or sing at any point to communicate his or her message to the audience.
Slam poet Buddy Wakefield performed in The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts Tuesday. Wakefield is a two-time Individual World Poetry Slam Champion featured on NPR, the BBC, HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and most recently signed to Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records.
Three Bonaventure students opened for Wakefield with their own pieces of slam poetry. First to perform was Makeda Loney, a junior journalism and mass communication major. Loney’s poem “Stay Beautiful” was about human flaws and addressed the idea that people should remember to stay strong and beautiful.
“Makeda’s poem was empowering and truthful,” said Taylor Cole, a freshman physical education major. “It gives students a reminder that everyone should look past the physical aspects of a person and focus more on the beauty within a person. It’s a reminder that we are all beautiful and that we need to stay beautiful.”
Stephen Kuzara, a senior English major, performed after Loney.
“Being able to see a guy perform poetry in front of a crowd is impressive enough, but Steve wrote that particular poem earlier that day,” said Christopher Russo, a freshman biology major. “He is comfortable with performing in front of a crowd, especially when he didn’t have a lot of time to practice. That takes a lot of skill and courage.”
Finally, Emily West, a senior theater and journalism and mass communication major, performed her poem “My Superman,” in which she described her struggle with relationships. Emily grabbed the audience’s attention quickly with her powerful voice and high energy, according to Emily Jo Manchester, a freshman Spanish major.
“Emily spoke very well and was enthusiastic during her entire performance,” Manchester said. “Her poem was beautiful, and the tone of her voice shifted as the mood of the poetry shifted. I think that alone is what made the poetry more engaging for the audience to follow along.”
Once he took the stage, Wakefield effortlessly cracked jokes about performing while being sick, and how terrible it is to drive from Ohio to Olean. He spent the first 15 minutes talking about himself as an artist, then began his first poem.
“Buddy Wakefield has a gift of telling his stories through poetry,” said Sabine Wakim, a freshman international studies major. “He’s capable of speaking about uncomfortable situations. For example, 9/11 was one of the topics Buddy discussed in his poem. His poetry gives the audience a different perspective on a difficult situation.”
Wakefield’s performance inspired students to become more involved in poetry.
“Attending ‘The Return of Buddy Wakefield’ was eye-opening for me as an aspiring poet,” Manchester said. “I want to become aware of other forms of poetry, and slam poetry would be a new type of poetry to try.”
