WORD kicks off the year with spoken word poetry show
Yale’s student spoken word poetry group showcased their works at their annual recruitment show.
Angel Hu, Contributing Photographer
William L. Harkness Hall came alive Saturday night with poetry, snaps and enthusiasm for WORD’s annual Back to School show.
WORD is a group of students who gather weekly to write and perform spoken word poetry. The Back to School show was WORD’s annual poetry showcase to encourage prospective new members to audition. Audition signups and invitations to a writing workshop on Sunday afternoon followed the show.
According to Ashley Wang ’27, co-president of WORD and editor in chief of the Yale Daily News Magazine, the performance was meant to showcase the writers’ “best hits” and “the sheer range of poets that we have to offer – both stylistically and thematically.”
Audience members were encouraged to react with snaps, stomps, and hand-waves when they heard a line that they liked, which allowed them to engage with the performance.
Helen Zhang ’28, who performed a piece reflecting on her relationship with her mother and her Chinese heritage, described performing to be “nerve-wracking.” However, she found her nerves replaced with confidence due to “the energy of the audience.”
“The anticipation is terrifying, but when I speak, it feels really free,” Zhang said. “I love how ephemeral spoken word is, and it goes back to how stories have been passed down orally because being able to read a poem aloud is so liberating.”
Faven Wondwosen ’27, the other co-president of WORD, echoed Zhang’s sentiments about the transience of spoken word poetry, describing it as an “ephemeral art form.”
“You leave a group of people feeling the same way as you. There is a sense of shared empathy for a brief couple of minutes,” Wondwosen said.
For the upcoming school year, Wondwosen said she hopes to collaborate more frequently with the Afro-American Cultural Center and the greater New Haven area. Additionally, she is looking forward to “building a community with the new taps and hearing a bunch of people perform,” she said.
Fiona Jin ’29, who plans to audition for WORD, attended the Back to School Show and expressed that her admiration for the group started even before she arrived at Yale.
“WORD was a big part of why I committed to Yale because spoken word poetry is such an important part of my creative life,” Jin said.
WORD auditions will take place on Sept. 10, Sept. 12 and Sept. 13.