Radical Poetry Club
“Radical Poetry Club: Write to Channel, Heal, Organize” is a faculty course in the Manhattan Summer Institute 2024 at Sadie Nash Leadership Project, taught by Olivia Minjae Lee. This course provided a creative outlet for Nashers to question What is the role of the poet? and to promote storytelling as a means of self-expression and empowerment. Radical Poetry Club highlights Black, Indigenous and Poets of Color that channel their lived experiences through themes of healing, identity, heartbreak, Queerness, rage and grief through the power of the spoken word. Some examples of poets we studied; Aja Monet, Noor Hindi, Bay Davis, Audre Lorde, June Jordan and Hala Alyan. We focus on poetry that highlights social change, liberation, movement and displacement. We believe that our emotions are sacred, especially in our poetry. We write what we know. We are always inspired by our home, family, upbringing, culture, environment and nostalgia. We believe that poetry is a vehicle for liberation. In the words of the marvelous June Jordan, “The role of the poet…. is to deserve the trust of people who know that what you do is work with words… always to be as honest as possible and to be as careful about the trust invested in you as you possibly can. Then the task of a poet of color, a black poet, as a people hated and despised, is to rally the spirit of your folks…I have to get myself together and figure out an angle, a perspective, that is an offering, that other folks can use to pick themselves up, to rally and to continue or, even better, to jump higher, to reach more extensively in solidarity with even more varieties of people to accomplish something. I feel that it’s a spirit task.”
When we asked Nashers, “What is Radical Poetry Club?”, they responded with:
“Radical Poetry Club is all of us. It speaks our mind and heart. It praises all that we believe is admirable and helps us express the emotions and feelings others have told us to suppress. Radical poetry club is a space that inspires young poets to dream in an oppressive system that excludes us. Radical poetry club is a place where we can be ourselves and express our emotions through our art. Radical poetry club is being with a group of people who don’t know everything about you. However, through something as simple as writing, it unites everyone to relate to something and makes you feel that you are not alone. We are dreamers, students and artists who believe in a liberated world, and fight for it through the power of the spoken word.”
Yours truly,
Radical Poetry Club
Genesis Miranda, Michelle Ramirez, Sarai Cielo, Soleil Tavares, Emily Toxtle, Chantal Hernandez, Juana Maria Cabrera Valdez, Mia Martinez, Jasmin Shirinova, Eva Wang, Leosmary Gutierrez, Alison Mariana Rincon Forero, Nicol Marin, Farah Najjari, Olivia Minjae Lee
Radical Poetry Club in Action!