[caption id="attachment_10099" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Photo courtesy of Kolin Mendez[/caption]
For the first time this past Sunday, April 26, POETIC, People of Education Together Influencing Culture, held their Annual Black Tie Affair together with the Black Student Union and the National Council of Negro Women. The event successfully brought in students from all groups from the Seton Hall Community to come together for a night filled with poetry and performances.
“This year POETIC, BSU and NCNW are combining our galas,” said Emerald Nwanne, POETIC president and a junior economics major. “This (was) a huge step for us and I think it (made) the event greater than ever because all of these great organizations are combining their time, energy and resources.”
Hosting the event jointly allowed different organizations to be represented. The event has different guests each year who are able to perform. This year’s guest was renowned poet and author Jasmine Mans. She performed several of her own pieces that dealt with topics love and police brutality in our society today.
“Jasmine Mans was great,” said Nwanne. “Everyone loved her poetry. She spoke about a few different topics.”
The event was held in the University Center’s Main Lounge with semi-formal attire required for attendees. BSU gave out awards for students within the memorable ceremony. The Black Tie Affair gave students different ways to get involved with spoken word poetry and performance
“I have seen some pretty incredible pieces,” said Nwanne. “My favorite pieces are from people who perform regularly and who we get to see improve over time. The growth and change I have had the honor of witnessing throughout my time in POETIC is definitely my favorite part of the organization.”
Although the affair is held each spring there are several opportunities for students to get involved throughout the year. POETIC also holds Open Mic nights that anyone in the Seton Hall community can attend to perform or listen to different messages.
“POETIC has weekly general body meetings where we have creativity workshops followed by ‘jam sessions’ where we perform anything new we came up with,” said Nwanne. “We also use this meeting time to plan future events and gain feedback on past events. Anyone is welcome in POETIC, from singers to poets and even those who just like to watch.”
Stephanie Gomulka can be reached at stephanie.gomulka@student.shu.edu.
Comments
