JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- “The purpose of this event is to give service members, dependents and civilian employees a safe environment to express themselves in an open way,” said Senior Airman Tiara Wright, 673d Comptroller Squadron accounting technician, and one of the event’s leaders. “It’s therapeutic for me and it’s a nice way to bring us all together and inspire each other to make a difference.”
The first spoken word night featured eight speakers, each given a maximum of eight minutes for any type of poetry they desire. Each poem must be original without excessive cursing, violence, sexually explicit content, or degrading, discriminatory language.
“We want them to have a good time while still being respectful,” Wright said.
The participants may speak about any subject in any style – such as literary poetry, sound poetry, power raps, and many others. Poetry may be read from a notebook, page, phone, or nothing at all.
“In my experience the ones who usually write are more reserved so this could help them get out of their rooms and have a good time,” Wright said.
Wright said she wanted to start a spoken word night because there are not a lot of off-base options that cater to spoken word and poetry. Wright and Senior Airman Kiana Knight, 673d Security Forces Squadron Commander Support Staff, both avid poets, brought the idea to the AWAAC during a Thursday meeting and was the event scheduled less than a month out.
“I think it turned out to be a great success,” Knight said. “Tiara and I were pretty nervous when 7 p.m. came around and there were only a few people, but next thing you know the place was full.
“We’ve been getting positive feedback and questions about when the next spoken word will be, so our goal is to do it monthly,” Knight said.