Syracuse Poetry Group Celebrates Five Years of "Spokenword Poetry" at Syracuse Stage

Syracuse, NY, September 14, 2014 (Newswire.com) - The Underground Poetry Spot never imagined that their style of poetry, made famous by HBO's Def Poetry Jam, could sustain and thrive in Syracuse for five years. The group will now celebrate their five-year anniversary by with a spokenword concert, the first of its kind in Syracuse, at Syracuse Stage Friday, September 19 at 8:00PM.

The performance group’s founder, Seneca Wilson, is a native of Pascagoula, Mississippi and Syracuse University Employee. He is a writer, a poetry lover and discovered that poetry of this kind had a place in the city of Syracuse again.

“I feel like service is the price we pay for the space we occupy. We, as artists and writers, are an important part of our community and our words and stories help our communities heal and grow,” said Wilson.

Growing from a regular open mic series at Joe Reddick’s Sports Bar to a celebrated performance group in Syracuse seemed like an impossible dream five years ago.

Local performer, Michael Gaut, met the Underground Poets while he performed poetry in bars and at open mics. He later joined the growing catalog of performers and feels that the group has touched thousands. 

“If I had to take a guess at the number of lives enriched by our process, I would say "several thousand," said Gaut. “We create a safe space for fresh voices and seasoned pros, alike. Sometimes, it’s where we get our superhero fix.”

The group is proud that they have been able to be an open and welcoming space for everyday writers, audiences and teachers who allow them to share and teach performance poetry to students in the classroom.

“I feel like what I do, as a young performer and writer, is important. I’m giving other young people an example of something positive they can do with their life. This is still a professional option,” says group member Simone Owens. Owens is the youngest member of the group and volunteers with other youth at Syracuse Model Neighborhood Facilities, Inc.

The group has collaborated with Vera House, the Syracuse Shakespeare Festival; programmed open mics each year out of Red House, 601 Tully Street and Transitions 658; performed at Carrier Dome; toured to schools in Alexandra, VA and downstate New York; and have represented Syracuse in regional competitions. The group hopes to reach a bigger audience in Syracuse before hosting the Queen’s Elizabeth Way regional competition in December.

“We love Syracuse and we’re all so different. When we travel to other cities, they think of Syracuse differently. We’ll continue to do our part and we want the city to be well represented among the other circuits in Upstate,” said Wilson.

Their anniversary concert at Syracuse Stage is the first of its kind in Syracuse. It will be a spokenword concert featuring members from the group and will benefit the group’s hope to establish a permanent poetry venue and send a poetry team to represent Syracuse at Poetry Slam Nationals. Syracuse has not had a competitive poetry team since 1996 with Georgia Popoff. Details for the event can be located on their website at undergroundpoetryspot.com.