Spoken word poetry with Shihan the Poet

Spoken word is not the type of poetry where you quietly listen and clap for poets after they read a piece you may have never understood. Spoken word evokes emotion and response at every turn of a phrase; even if you cannot personally relate to those words, they move you all the same.

SAB held a spoken word poetry night April 11 featuring an open mic session followed by Shihan the Poet. As students and visitors took to the stage reciting their own poems, the audience soon realized how much talent sat in the room. Some recited from memory, others from paper, and one free versed right on the spot. 

As Shihan took to the stage, the audience could not help but be captivated. We were on a journey with excitement and anticipation which Shihan took advantage of as he enchanted the audience not only with words but his life stories. Taking a moment between poems to answer questions from the audience not only kept us engaged but gave a personal understanding of Shihan which enhanced each poem. Shihan was like a comedian and poet all in one, wrapped in this down to earth, we’ve been friends forever, T-shirt and jeans kind of guy. You couldn’t help but like him and with each poem, you wanted more.

Shihan’s poems ranged from ones inspired by his kids, one dedicated to his wife, another from frustration for applauding the ignorance portrayed by rap music, all the way down to a letter sent home from college asking for more money. When asked how he got into writing poetry, he said it started with a love for books. When he was not able to get into a night club, he went across the street to listen to poetry instead. He began taking random jobs for Nike and NSYNC when finally Def Poetry came around and opportunities emerged. From his story, it seemed this was not the life he expected to lead, but it was the one presented to him for which he is thankful. Shihan said, “We bought a house off poetry, I did something right.”

SAB hopes to hold more poetry events next year, possibly every quarter; but for now this was the last poetry event planned for this school year. For more information about Shihan visit www.shihansback.com