Students
get chance to display talent
By Monica Levette Clark
On-line Forty-Niner
The
Cal State Long Beach Poets’ Lounge kicks
off its first event of the fall semester
Thursday at 8 p.m. in the Student Union
informal lounge.
Senior Mikell Murphy will host the open-mic
event, with musical backing by the improvised
jazz sounds of the J-Evans Project band.
“We’re going to have a teaser, someone doing
poetry at noon on Thursday in the Southwest
Terrace to pump up the poets’ lounge and
get everyone interested in it,” said Keya
Allen, program coordinator.
Allen is the program coordinator of the
event, which is put on by the USU Program
Council every semester. As a monthly
event beginning Sept. 19, the poets’ lounge
offers a break from the monotony of school
work students will have to do all semester
long.
“We are also going to have poets from the
Long Beach slam team come in October, and
we are trying to have a Def Poetry Jam happen
on campus in conjunction with the poets’
lounge,” Allen said.
Created by record producer Russell Simmons,
Def Poetry Jam is a spin off from Simmons’
popular HBO series, Def Comedy Jam. As Def
Comedy Jam featured the hilarious banter
of well known stand-up comedians, Def Poetry
Jam features spoken word performances by
young, established poets. The show
is taped in front of a live audience, and
this past May it was brought to the Long
Beach Convention Center.
With workshops, concerts, sneak previews
and lectures, the Program Council said its
mission is to provide events that have a
positive and thought-provoking impact on
the students, and provide opportunities
for leadership and extracurricular activities.
The poets’ lounge is free and open to the
public and there will be refreshments for
those who attend. The scheduled dates
of the event are Oct. 17 and Nov. 13 at
the Soroptomist House, and Dec. 12 at the
Small Auditorium.
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