Rock the Spoken Word

My friend and fellow colleague Casarae Gibson is starting a segment on her blog called "Rock the Spoken Word." Each month, she highlights a relatively unknown spoken word artist and promotes their work to a wider audience. This month, I am honored to be her first poet for the month of June. I do look forward to reading about the future poets as the year goes on.

It is good to find fellow poets. Hopefully, we can use this vehicle to create networks and collaborations. Keep doing what your doing, Cas :)  Below is in the interview. Also, I have provided a link to her blog.


Rock the Spoken Word
June Feature: Terrance Youngblood

June's Feature of the Month is Terrance Youngblood, a poet and Ph.D. student in English at Purdue University. I had the pleasure of working with this inspiring poet in a group called Haraka Writers, a poetry ensemble at Purdue University's Black Cultural Center. Youngblood is a very passionate and driven poet who speaks the truth, but never demands attention. Through his humble demeanor and forceful words, Youngblood executes vividly a sound story and delivery. Check out this June feature and support Youngblood's work.


City and State you represent?

I hail from the great state of Mississippi where I claim the cities of Forest and Clinton.


How long have you been doing spoken word?

I have been writing poetry since I was in tenth grade. I didn't have many friends, so poetry was a means of expressing my feelings and coping with life. I started spoken word/performance poetry when I was a sophomore in college.


Why did you choose the spoken word art form?

To me, spoken word is an empowering privilege.It is a way to express artistic truth and gospel for the masses to hear, to learn, to grow. The beauty about spoken word is that it is a two-way street: the poet has to grow as well in order for the spoken words to have more merit.


What is the best/most executed spoken word piece(s) you have performed?

The piece that I have most performed is entitled "4eyed atlas." I based this poem
on my self-formations as an black intellectual and black poet.

Name some of the artists that have influenced your spoken word style and why?

Though I have quite a few influences, perhaps, the most important would be C. Leigh McInnis, an English professor from Jackson State University. We meet at a summer program during my sophomore year in college; I was his teacher's assistant. During that summer, I was enlightened by his views of poetry and philosophy. Drs. Jerry W. Ward and Candice Jackson are others who encouraged me to go beyond the trendy and create a focused, complex picture.

In terms of my delivery, I have to go back to my sophomore year as a Mellon Fellow; my roommate, Ernest Gibson III (aka Scripture, in poetry sets) and I skipped the first dinner at Emory and went to a poetry set in Atlanta. Watching him spit made me realize that as a poet, I must always be both bold and vulnerable.


Describe the topic(s) that you write/perform about and the inspiration behind these topic(s).

I write on a range of topics: from politics and love--to death and identity. I don't have a particular inspiration behind certain topics. I write what life lets me see, no matter how transparent or obscure. I believe that the splendor of life is not in the big events--but in the little things that are overlooked, neglected, and forgotten. Search for those things and make them beautiful. That's where you find your best poems.


Is there a website, blog, email where we can find you?
I do have a blog. Feel free to follow my thoughts and poetry at http://www.4eyedatlas.blogspot.com/



All photos used in this feature are courtesy of Terrance Youngblood

If you are interested in being featured for Rock the Spoken Word, email rockthespokenword@gmail.com