Ebony Stewart entertained a crowd of students in the Alumni Lounge (Feb. 8th), just in time before the big snow storm. Stewart is known for being a spoken word artist from Texas. The event was sponsored by SCOPE, and co-sponsored by the W.R.I.T.E. Poetry Club and was part of the Black History Month events. Poem topics ranged from her personal experience teaching, to relationships and race. Stewart classifies her favorite writers as Lucille Clifton and Maya Angelou. She started out journaling at the age of eight year and eventually it turned into poetry. Her dad was abusive to her mom and journaling was a way to escape and get out.

The event kicked off with students from the W.R.I.T.E. Poetry Club performing some of their own pieces. When it was time for Stewart to perform, she mentioned how her poems are like conversations and how it is hard for her to write about herself. Throughout the whole event, with every line, she made the audience laugh. She engaged in conversations with the audience, and even answered audience questions.

The first piece she performed was about her experience as a Sexual Education teacher for sixth graders. The poem was entitled Six Grade Boys. You could feel the emotion she put into her poem. The next part of the event was interactive. She had the audience write down questions anonymously and put them into a bucket. Questions could have been about relationships, sex, or anything else, that she would answer throughout the event.

“I wasn’t able to attend her entire performance, but from the moment I sat down and she continued to talk, I was drawn in and absorbed in her words and her passion,” said Jared Reynolds.

She asked the audience what the best pickup lines they have ever heard or used were and one audience member replied, “You are thicker than a bowl of oatmeal.” The audience and Stewart laughed.

“To watch poetry come to life through Ebony’s performance was truly amazing to see! She combined interaction with the audience and poetry to make a one of a kind experience,” said one student in attendance, Cookie.

She asked the audience what things they were afraid of or have heard that others are afraid of. Answers ranged from flying in airplanes to clowns to heights to the dark. “Darkness gets a bad rep, and I think that’s a metaphor,” Stewart said. In regards to the fear of flying in airplanes, Stewart mentioned, “I need to make a poem about the things I’ve seen people do in airports.” She proceeded to go into her next poem called, “Fear,” which made her nervous because it was a newer one.

“I think my poems are relatable because I write from real life experiences. I think we are more alike than different and whatever I write in its way someone will be able to relate and that’s my plan,” said Stewart.

“So this is going to sound really cliché, but time. Time does a lot of things and you got to give yourself time. In the process of that time communicate with your partner, let them know what is bothering you,” Stewart said when asked, ‘how do you let things go in a relationship, things like past situations so you can move forward in the relationship?’

The next question she answered was, ‘When do you know that you love someone?’ to which she replied, “You go out of your way to do something for someone that you wouldn’t normally do. You don’t think, you just do.”

When asked, ‘Why can’t I love myself?’ Stewart replied, “Find something that’s right with you, and for every negative thing you think of give yourself three more things you love about yourself. Learn how to validate yourself and accept yourself.”

At one point she discussed her goals saying, “I’m doing this thing where I want to perform in all 50 states. There’s only seven I have not performed in: Delaware, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Montana and Wyoming.”

She closed with a poem which was important to her and one she wanted everyone to hear, it was different than the one she normally closes with.

“This event was amazing. I love how personable she was.  She made the performance feel very intimate and it set a very good tone.  Her poems were also very relatable. I loved it!” said student Shakoyah D. Brown.

“I think this type of event is relatable to students because poets write and speak from the heart and many of the poems are something that students here could have possibly experienced,” said Timmy Lewand, SCOPE’s entertainment committee head. He proceeded to say, “We saw Ebony at the NACA (National Association for Campus Activities) Northeast Convention in November and loved her performance then and thought that the students here would be interested in her poems. We had a spoken word poet (G. Yamazawa) in November that had a good turnout and people seemed to enjoy him act, so we thought that it would be smart to bring another spoken word poet.”

Stewart ending saying, “The Eboard of SCOPE was great; the WRITE Poetry Club poets were amazing and I hope people will be a part of that organization. If you have something to say you should use your voice to say it.”