September 23, 2024 • 57 mins
In this episode of the Ditto podcast, hosts Ashley Hatch and Matt Moore engage in a deep conversation with Charity Blackwell, a DEI practitioner and spoken word artist. They explore the intersection of poetry and sports through the lens of DC Scores, an organization that empowers youth through poetry, soccer, and service learning. Charity shares her personal journey into poetry, the transformative power of writing, and the importance of community in the creative process. The discussion highlights the resilience and confidence that poetry instills in young people, culminating in a powerful performance of Charity's poem, 'Blank Screen Canvas.'
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
For us individuals that haven't exercised this creative muscle in writing and writing songs and lyrics and poetry,
(00:06):
what's the process like?
And how do you know when you're done?
Like, how do you get better at it?
One thing that inspires me is that I write about me.
I write about my true experiences.
I focus on my story, my truth.
What I like to tell other poets who've asked this question is that only you can tell your story.
And your story is always right because it is your story.
It's always unique.
(00:27):
It's a powerful message because who's going to question me?
You can't tell me what my truths are, my background, my lived experiences are.
I don't think I have all the answers, so I continue to go to workshops.
A lot of times when I talk to poets where I feel like they get stumped,
they feel like they've learned everything that they can learn.
They've taken all the workshop.
They're not trying to stretch themselves.
So just continuing to learn and study the craft of poetry, study the craft of spoken word,
(00:52):
going to open mics, just knowing that I don't know everything,
I think also keeps me fresh and keeps me inspired.
I would love to ask you if you're working on any poetry that you could maybe share with us.
Okay, blank screen canvas, Charity Blackhead.
(01:15):
Hey everyone, Ashley Hatch here, another special episode of Ditto.
We are super excited for our episode today.
We have the one and only Charity Blackwell here with us on our episode of Ditto.
Matt, Charity, how are we doing today?
You guys good?
I'm excited.
(01:35):
Thanks for having me.
I'm super excited to be sitting here with you and Matt.
Us too.
It's a conversation.
Yeah.
We are excited for sure.
Good.
All right.
Well, I'm going to give our guests a little bit of background on who Charity is.
Charity is a DEI practitioner, spoken word artist, host, MC, and poetry specialist.
(02:02):
She's the chief of collective arts of, oh sorry, chief of culture and arts at DC Scores,
which is where we made our connection.
Obviously, shout out to DC Scores.
She is a Trinity University grad where she got her bachelor's and master's for communication.
(02:23):
She also got her certificate for executive leadership for diversity, equity, and inclusion
from Georgetown University.
And I think one of my favorite titles of yours is you're the dope, the director of poetry events
at Busboys and Poets, which I feel like that title was made and named just for you.
(02:50):
But anyway, welcome Charity.
We're super excited to talk to you about a lot of things, but especially your experience
with DC Scores and poetry, something that I couldn't find on Google,
but I wanted to make sure that I was correct.
You're originally from South Carolina.
Yes.
And you played soccer at Trinity University.
(03:11):
Correct.
What part of South Carolina, Charity?
We're in South Carolina.
It's a small, small town called Rock Hill, South Carolina.
It's very, very northern, approximately like 15, 20 minutes,
depending on who's driving from Charlotte.
So it's right there on the northern border.
Oh yeah, we lived in Columbia for a little bit.
(03:32):
Oh, nice.
I got some family out there.
Yeah, we love South Carolina.
Charleston and South Carolina, Greenville, there's so many wonderful places in South Carolina.
100% love it.
Yes, yes.
Nice, cool.
Well, I think it'd be really interesting for you to kind of tell us a story of like why poetry?
(03:54):
Like how did poetry become such a big part of your life?
When was it first introduced to you and how did it evolve into, you know, your livelihood is now poetry?
Word, word. So great question.
I try to keep it short.
I try to get better at answering this.
So poetry kind of came about on accident.
(04:17):
So I grew up, I was born in Arizona.
Then my dad was in the Air Force.
So that's why we moved to South Carolina.
And my mother met in Sumter, Fort Sumter.
And so we were stationed in Arizona.
Then we drove our van from Arizona to South Carolina.
(04:39):
If you were to ask my dad, he would say that we visited all these places.
I was like, I was three years old.
I don't remember any of these places.
But we drove from Arizona to South Carolina.
And that was where I was raised.
I grew up in a Catholic elementary school, then went to public middle school and high school.
And in elementary school, we only had two sports.
(05:04):
We had soccer and softball.
I saw, I went to both tryouts, both the softball tryout.
I saw a girl get smacked in the face with a softball.
I made that option of sports that I would try to do very easy.
So that's where soccer kind of got introduced into it.
But the poetry component, as I, you know, went through elementary school,
(05:26):
we then transitioned into public school, which was very different.
I felt like I didn't fit in in elementary school because I was like one, no,
me and my sister were two of like four black kids at the school.
And then when I went to public school, I was then there with more diverse crowd.
(05:46):
But I was looked at as the outside kind of girl that just came from elementary,
came from a Catholic school, talk proper, all these different things.
So I was looking for things that would naturally allow me to make connections with people.
And I had, I loved hip hop.
I love rapping and I love sports.
(06:08):
And so I started battle rapping kids in middle school.
And that's kind of where the flow and the rhythm came into play,
not thinking anything about poetry.
That's just where I loved writing.
I would write raps.
I would go out battle folks and I was pretty good.
You know, kids were like, oh, she got bars.
And so that was a way that I actually used it to become, you know, to build community
(06:32):
and to build connection to find something that people who I couldn't relate to in other spaces,
we all had at least something that we liked or something in common with that piece.
High school, I needed another creative arts class.
So I took poetry and started writing.
I got feedback that, oh, this is really cool.
(06:53):
But more importantly, I just enjoyed it for myself.
So I just began writing just to write.
Then for Black History Month, we had to do a project on a famous historic black figure.
I did Langston Hughes and fell in love with Langston Hughes poetry.
So the writing, the written form, I just fell in love with in high school on accident.
It wasn't like I was out searching for poetry.
(07:14):
It just became a thing.
And I just kept writing ever since.
Then when I moved from South Carolina to Washington, D.C., I came up here for college.
That was when I was introduced into spoken word.
So poetry, that's the written form.
That's where you just write it and put all your feelings on the paper,
all the poetic devices going into that.
(07:36):
Spoken word is when you take that and you actually use that as a way of expression
through performance, kind of theatrical performance, if you will.
And that's when folks were like, hey, you know, I took another creative writing class in college.
Professor said, you're awesome.
You should go to Busboys and Poets.
(07:57):
What's Busboys and Poets?
What are you talking about?
So I checked it out and it's like being introduced to poetry and spoken word around.
It was like around a time where imagine being introduced to spoken word around the same time
like you were introduced to basketball when Michael Jordan was in his prime.
(08:18):
This is when poetry was really popping in D.C.
I mean, we had this is when Clint Smith was starting to do poetry in Busboys and Poets.
Poets like Elizabeth Acevedo, Pages Matan, Jason Reynolds, all these folks that have really big names for themselves in poetry.
I was introduced into spoken word by seeing them at Busboys and Poets.
And so I fell in love with spoken word at that point.
(08:40):
So I started slams at my college, started performing.
My pieces got really inspired.
And then after I graduated, I stopped writing for a while because I was just kind of dealing with just a lot of trauma that happened.
My mother got sick and then she passed away.
And then, you know, my father, he two years later, I'm a firm believer people can die of a broken heart.
(09:04):
He passed away.
And I remember my teacher at the time, the one that made me go to Busboys and Poets,
my creative arts teacher in college, she wrote me on Facebook and was like,
Charity, whatever you do during your pain and your trauma, always write.
I know. And I still have this Facebook message.
She unfortunately passed during COVID, but I still have this Facebook message on my Facebook page where she said,
(09:28):
whatever you do, your power is writing.
And so I picked up writing again.
And honestly, that was what helped me get through some really, really, really tough situations.
So that's how I was introduced into poetry.
It has guided me all the way up to now to where I work at an organization where I'm serving youth that through poetry,
(09:50):
through spoken word, through service, which is kind of full circle because that's like my life story.
I feel like DC Scores was created for me personally to work there because it's just everything that I believe in and love and passion about all in one that I'm able to pay it for to things that have been to these these passions of mine that have really carried me through life.
Yeah. Yeah.
(10:12):
Wow. No, that was awesome.
Thank you so much for sharing that.
I think that's really powerful.
And Matt and I obviously have a lot of conversations around mental health, mental performance and something that we often refer to and exercise.
We like to encourage everyone to do is to write or to journal and not only for like the mental performance side, but just for life.
(10:34):
Like it's so important to be able to have that time with yourself, with your pen and your paper and to just reflect.
And I feel like I learned the most of myself or from myself or from my situations when I'm writing.
And I think when you look back on those hard times or even the good times, I love looking back in my journal and like seeing how far I've come and seeing how I've like navigated certain situations.
(10:58):
And so it's really cool to hear that you found your passion for poetry through writing and through others, like encouraging you to do that.
I think that's really awesome.
Hundred percent. Yes. Yes.
But yeah, that's interesting because I've done this thing now recently where I used to I used to get really stuck in finishing a poem.
(11:21):
And I would go back and just be looking through poems and like, wow, this I can't find a perfect ending for this.
I can't find a perfect ending for this.
And then it dawned on me that I was actually talking to this this poet, legendary poet from Baltimore named Gail.
She I was interviewing her during when I was doing some some type of panel discussion over covid on virtually.
(11:48):
She and I don't know how it happened, but how somehow the interview then flipped on me because she just, you know, just savvy like that.
And she was asking me, like, what's the latest poem I wrote?
And I was telling her, well, it's not done. But, you know, this is what I'm working on.
She's all right. We'll share it. And I shared it.
She's like, oh, you know, it's finished.
And I was like, what do you mean? It's like it's no happy ending here.
(12:09):
It's like she's like she's but then she explained to me that sometimes that is the poem like poetry writing is a snapshot of your your lessons, your life.
And sometimes the poem is done.
Sometimes you got to look back and be like, dang, I was going through it then.
But look at where I am now.
You shouldn't you shouldn't feel like you have to go back and change anything.
What you've written is just like a still moment of that emotion and that feeling.
(12:33):
So, yeah, I think it's that is healthy to look through whether that's just journaling poetry, whatever, just so you can have that reminder of, oh, this is this was a really beautiful time.
This was a really tough time.
This was a really confusing time in life, you know, so you can have those times of reflections and learn from them.
So I love that in relation to that, I have a question for you.
(12:57):
Sure. My experience of writing is academic, which is really boring and nobody reads it.
For being honest, like journal articles, it's like, come on.
Like, why are we publishing this?
And so like with that in mind, like I'm fascinated by like I'm reading a sci-fi book right now and I'm just like, how do you come up with this?
(13:20):
And make it cohesive and align and there's themes and make it interesting and engaging and then writing songs like that creative process is so beyond me.
But I know, you know, if I were to be deliberate about it, I could get better at it and actually do some of this.
Anyways, I guess my question is for us individuals that have an exercise, this creative muscle in writing and writing songs and lyrics and poetry, what's the process like?
(13:52):
And how do you know when you're done?
Like you just mentioned. And then how do you get better at it and, you know, create more poetry and create more songs?
I know there was a ton of questions in there.
So if you need me to rephrase any of that, please let me know.
That's really awesome.
So, yeah, so there's a couple of things there.
(14:14):
One thing that for me as a poet that is helpful for me and I think in the in the recent years, I've gotten I've just studied poetry more.
So I feel like I'm better at creating outside of things that I just love.
But one thing that like inspires me is that I write about me. I write about my true experiences.
(14:38):
I focus on my story, my truth and what is so powerful.
What I like to tell other poets who ask this question is that only you can tell your story and your story is always right because it is your story.
And when I think when it comes to like academics and other works, you know, you're writing about.
(15:03):
I mean, let's just you know, your biography or something like that.
I don't know, but you know, mostly write about other things.
But what I like and what helps me is when I write about me and I write about my experience or things that impact me or things through my eyes.
It's it's always unique.
It's it's my own and it's it's and it's the truth.
(15:24):
It's a powerful message because who's going to question me?
Like this is like you can't tell me what my truths are, my background, my lived experiences are.
Another thing is, is like, I don't think I have all the answers.
So I continue to go to workshops.
I continue to. There she goes.
(15:45):
There's the cat. I continue.
I continue to read poetry books that have different types of writing workshops in them.
I have actually share one with you that's one of my favorites.
But I continue to get, you know, a lot of times when I talk to poets where I feel like they get stumped, they feel like they've learned everything that they can learn.
(16:10):
They've taken all the workshops.
They have they're not trying to stretch themselves anymore.
So just continuing to learn and study the craft of poetry, study the craft of spoken word, going to open mics, just knowing that I don't know everything,
I think also keeps me fresh and gives and keeps me inspired.
Even when I'm thinking about my lived experiences, I might hear someone else talk about their lived experience and go, hmm, that's something I've kind of can relate to.
(16:37):
Or I see this. I can or I might see this from a different perspective.
That might be something I want to write for right about. But from this angle and yeah,
I think that's in practice, like, you know, and get feedback, practice, learning and get feedback from folks, I think has been helpful.
(16:59):
But biggest key thing for me is just sticking to what I know and not trying to write other people's stories,
but write my own has been helpful for me in my journey in poetry.
Well, we can learn a lot just about that last phrase alone, I think, in any domain in life.
Anyways, beautiful. Thanks for sharing that.
(17:21):
I guess I need to gain more insights into my own story and figure out how I can put it on paper.
I've never attempted to do it. And so it's again, the idea of writing a poem or a story just coming from my own brain sounds so difficult.
I need data to support what I'm writing and I need to see others experience, right?
(17:45):
Like you were just saying. And so it's fascinating to me.
But I think that idea, like you mentioned, is beautiful.
So thanks for sharing. I love it.
Yeah. And I think another thing that one poet, her name is Simply Sherri.
I told her, because in April we have 30 for 30 where I don't do it.
I like to watch people do it.
But people get 30 prompts for each day and are supposed to write a poem every single day.
(18:10):
And so I remember asking, what are folks favorite prompts?
And this poet, Simply Sherri, she was saying, well, there's one way to not necessarily a prompt,
but a way to address writing, to approach writing that is that kind of stretches you,
but kind of makes you think about your lived experiences in more of a creative way.
(18:36):
So like talking about. Using an object to explain an experience that you went through.
So for instance, a book, the chapters of my life from beginning to end,
I'm turning a page of a new leaf or something like that.
(18:56):
So, you know, it's also helpful to just get like starters, like a starter pack, if you will.
Like some prompts and stuff are also helpful. Sorry. Just wanted to add that to.
Yeah. No, thank you.
You know, that's really cool. I think it's really cool to see like this is your craft.
And like you say, like you have to practice it.
(19:17):
You have to be exposed to it. You have to learn from others.
But correct me if I'm wrong.
The poetry like community just seems very welcoming and not very like not competitive or combative
because like you're all like you said, telling your own stories.
You're all on your own journey and you're all helping each other through life,
but also through this craft of poetry.
(19:39):
Is that is that the right pulse?
So like because like all the poetry people that I've come across, especially in DC scores seem that way.
But I could be wrong.
No, you're right. You're right.
So here's the cool thing.
So you're right.
Yes. The poetry community is very, very welcoming and also extremely competitive.
So just like you see in DC scores, the poetry component of our program is extremely welcoming.
(20:02):
But then if you go to a slam, it gets pretty intense.
And that's from the coaches down to the students from the community members, the family members.
So using poetry as a way to compete, I definitely see it get I see the competition come out,
but it's friendly competition.
(20:22):
Yeah.
And but overall, overall, essentially the poetry community in DC, I would say the DMV area is very tight knit.
We have some of the best poets, I would say in the US in this bucket in this this pocket here in the DMV.
And yeah, like up the street, we have Baltimore, we have national nationally ranked poets in Baltimore
(20:48):
for winning Women of the World Poetry Slam, Individual World Poetry Slam, Southern Fried Poetry.
All the all of the awards you can think of have all been won in this vicinity.
So there's a lot of really amazing poets that take their craft seriously.
But also we put each other on.
Like you've been to our events at DC scores.
(21:10):
We have the best poets coming through and teaching our kids.
So it's a really awesome community.
We pour into each other.
Yeah, that's very cool.
Good either of you just tell us what DC scores is.
I'm vaguely familiar with it because of Ashley, but I'm sure there are listeners that don't know what you're talking about.
I think you mentioned it two or three times.
Could you tell us what it's all about?
(21:32):
If you don't mind?
For sure.
I'll start us off.
Go ahead.
I'm wearing my DC score shirt today because I thought it was appropriate.
But anyway, DC scores is a after school nonprofit program for kids to develop confidence through poetry, soccer and service learning.
(21:54):
And we have over 3000 poet athletes.
Is that correct?
Yes.
I've been to enough events now where Charity and Katrina and Tony where I'm listening to their pitches,
you know, so that I can make sure that I'm repping but I'm on the board of DC scores.
I originally got introduced to DC scores when I started playing for the Spirit and I just really enjoyed going to all their events.
(22:16):
Their poetry slams soccer when I first got introduced to it.
It's kind of like you don't really understand how like soccer and poetry and service learning like how they all belong together.
But it's honestly it's this beautiful combination that I feel like allows the kids to express themselves through soccer,
through poetry and also learn to give back to the community and to just learn good habits such as service and in their community and to care for their community.
(22:46):
And it's just been a really cool organization to be a part of.
It's been a blessing in my life for sure to be a part of the organization.
Every time at an event like I get to rub shoulders with people like Charity and Tony and Katrina and everyone on staff,
like everyone truly cares for the DC community and just helping these kids develop and live their best lives.
(23:07):
I mean, I think the future is going to be great because of these kids that go through the DC scores programs.
But that's kind of a snapshot.
What did I miss Charity?
You were spot on.
You have definitely been practicing your pitch, but that was that was amazing.
That was great.
Thanks.
I appreciate it.
Well, I feel like this would be a good natural transition then to talk more about your work with DC scores.
(23:31):
And I read in one of your bios or maybe a video because I was stalking you obviously before this
that you first got introduced to DC scores when you were at Trinity University.
Is that correct?
Correct.
Correct.
Yes, I was actually in my senior year for undergrad and I was working as a front desk manager of our athletic center.
(23:57):
And around that time, we DC scores was doing their fall frenzy at Trinity.
Nice.
And so they happened to do it a day that I was working.
And I remember going outside and just thinking to myself, oh my goodness, all these kids, all this trash.
I have to pick up.
(24:18):
And I was just like going back in like, oh my goodness, I'm going to need support.
I'm going to need help.
And they're like, yeah, yeah, that's DC scores.
I'm like, who's DC scores?
They're like, oh, this is soccer, poetry, and service learning program.
You should check them out, Charity.
They're like, you're lying, soccer, poetry, service, sounds like me.
What are we talking about?
So then I did look it up and it was real.
(24:39):
And I was like, what?
And it was so timely because at that time, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do after college.
I was current.
I was in government, but I didn't really like it.
I was at the Census Bureau.
I was interning there.
Now had an opportunity to continue there.
But I wanted to do a little bit more direct impact work.
(25:01):
And this was right up my alley.
And there were things that I love.
So they had a position open at the time for soccer program coordinator through AmeriCorps.
And so I applied and then I got the job.
So I served there just for one year through AmeriCorps.
And I loved it, adored it.
And then I left and went back to government because I finished my one year.
(25:26):
And I was then finishing up my last year in my master's program.
And so after I finished the master's program, I stayed in government for maybe like two more years.
And then they had another opening up at DC Scores.
But I stayed involved with DC Scores when I left because I love the organization, love the program.
And just full transparency, the money wasn't right at the time.
(25:49):
So I needed to, you know, so I went back.
That's why I went back into government.
So then when the position opened up, that seemed up my alley and, you know, work that I was definitely passionate about doing for the organization.
And that was which at the time was director of programs.
(26:11):
And I applied for that.
And I remember Bethany, she was an ED at the time.
She called me and was like, we want to hire you for you want to hire you.
But we want to bring you on for just like oversee all of poetry.
I was like, OK, cool.
Is this how you're going to say this thing?
But anyway, it didn't matter.
It was all good.
Everything worked out.
So I came on as director of writing.
(26:33):
Then over the years, my role kind of transitioned from like being directly directly working with programming to kind of overseeing the arts component and the culture and the DEI work.
So I was director of writing, then director of creative arts and education.
And then in 2020, I transitioned over to senior of arts and culture.
(26:55):
And then as recent as two years, I've been the chief of arts and culture chief of arts and culture at the organization.
And so I still oversee all the poetry component of what they do, as well as leading the people work, the culture and diversity, equity, inclusion work at the organization.
So that's my journey of getting into DC scores.
(27:17):
And I love it.
I have to there have to be like something really wild to pop up for me to leave.
It's an amazing, amazing organization.
And I was just like you.
I was skeptical.
I was like, I like all these things, poetry, soccer, service, learning.
But I'm not sure how this all goes together.
(27:38):
But working through at the organization for a full year and being on the ground, going into insight business, going into all the schools, all like all over DC.
I'm over in Southeast.
I'm in Northwest and Northeast.
I'm seeing the reach that our organization has and the power that poetry is pouring into our kids experiences as well as the soccer and the leading and service learning projects.
(28:00):
It was just mind blowing for me.
So I'm super happy and honored and blessed to be a part of this organization.
Yeah, that's really cool.
Thanks for sharing that.
And so part of the for those that don't know part of DC scores, like we obviously have soccer.
Camps, after school programs.
They play lots of soccer and games.
(28:21):
But the poetry side was something for me that was completely new.
Like I learned poetry in school like everyone else and I absolutely hated it because I didn't fully understand it.
And I don't think I was having fun with it.
I think it was just like my teachers were teaching me to like check it off the list of things to learn.
So that that part of DC scores like I didn't fully understand, but I was obviously all on board with the soccer side.
(28:46):
So I've learned a lot about poetry and I've come to greatly appreciate it so much since my time at DC scores.
But can you give us a little bit of insight into the power that poetry has for these kids and their ability to express themselves?
(29:07):
Because I've been to some of these poetry slams and for those kids to stand up on stage with that mic and they don't have a paper in front of them.
They stand up there.
Really?
Yes, it's so impressive.
I I stood up there on stage and I had to have my paper and I was like shaking and I had to have Charity standing next to me.
(29:29):
I had to do it with her.
But yeah, these kids they stand up there.
They perform their poetry and not only did they perform it.
They do it with just like so much like authority and passion or just like you can or even if they're nervous, you can like feel it.
And it makes it even that much more genuine.
Like can you just speak to your experience with these kids and like how you've seen it transform their lives and like maybe give them confidence or whatever it is.
(29:57):
Absolutely.
Hundred percent.
Yes.
Well, most of our kids are kind of similar to your experience.
They a lot of kids come into our program skeptical about poetry.
They're drawn in by the soccer and then the poetry it feels like somewhat of an add-on.
But then when they go into the classroom and when they get into the writing workshops and then they see other spoken word artists that look like them with passions,
(30:21):
the same passions as them doing really, really good poetry, really, really good spoken word.
You can see kind of the switch happen.
And it's not this boring art form that is in no no shade to, you know,
Nikki Giovanni and Maya Angelou, but the writing component is one thing, right?
(30:45):
But then the performance is another thing.
And I think what is beautiful what I see blossom from the poet athletes that we serve is you'll see different kids that have their preference in writing and whether that's the ones that don't really want to be up on stage and performing.
But they create beautiful poetry.
They're able to really, really get their emotions out on the page.
(31:08):
And sometimes we have kids that get on stage and they're not the lead role.
They're not the individual poet, but they're still finding their voice with themselves.
And that's the thing that's most powerful.
And I think and then you do have those kids are getting up there that, you know, as you've seen at our words, I see they may be that Carter or, you know,
or that Asher or that kid that just really, really stands out and they find their voice and they may have found a passion or an art form that may carry them to other things in life.
(31:38):
Whether that's through poetry, whether that's through public speaking, who knows.
But I do think we're teaching kids to be able to process their emotions, process their feelings, to put that on paper,
then also be able to articulate that, share that in a beautiful, creative way with people that they trust, mentors that they trust in a community that they trust,
(32:04):
which I think is really, really powerful.
And so beyond what we do at DC Scores, I hope that we are just scratching the surface for them to begin to use these tools as use poetry as a tool to take them through,
(32:24):
taking care of themselves through life and hopefully carrying them through whatever they decide to do beyond what our organization has to offer.
I wish DC Scores could go all the way up through high school, through college and be, you know, supportive in those spaces.
But I do think we are giving kids tools to be healthy and emotional, emotionally, mentally, and learning how to lean in on their community, which I think is really, really powerful.
(32:53):
Because poetry begins with self. But I do think there is power in community.
So, yeah, that's where I see power, for sure.
Charity, that's amazing.
I mean, I didn't realize kind of this regulatory emotional process that exists within, I mean, DC Scores specifically, but just expanding that to the masses that don't have access to DC Scores, right?
(33:20):
How could a person like myself who hasn't ever done it, how could poetry facilitate that human experience?
How can one engage with it and hopefully, like you were mentioning, acquire or maybe experience some of those experiences of learning more about your emotions in a really healthy way and expressing them via poetry?
(33:45):
How can someone, again, outside of DC Scores, engage in something like that, like poetry?
Oh, well, I'm not trying to plug anything here, but I'm not trying to plug.
If the door is open, I'm walking in.
So I think that what is, and this is where it was kind of full circle for me because I feel like what is created in open mics in trusted, safe and brave spaces like a bus boys and poets open mic,
(34:20):
is kind of the same like community and culture that I see created in our kids' workshops with their peers and their coaches.
And so I think for those, for folks who are not a part of DC Scores, and the beautiful thing, especially if you're in a space like DC or New York or Boston, who has a very heavy poetry scene, and if you don't, that's okay.
(34:45):
I have something else for you, too.
I suggest going to these spaces and checking out places that have open mics, that have safe and brave communities where they are encouraging people to be vulnerable, to be open, to listen, to write, and to be in community with each other.
(35:06):
At Bus Boys and Poets, I host every Tuesday and second Friday, I have people who return every single time I host because they like the community that is built in there.
And we're very intentional about the spaces that we say.
We don't welcome any hate speech, or offensive speech.
We don't welcome anybody putting anyone down.
(35:31):
There's no bullying.
We are open to any and all art forms, and we're here to be supportive, and we're here to root everyone on and give them encouragement in their process and their journey through writing.
So I think having community like that is really important because that is the type of support that you'll need.
You don't want to, it's not like comedy where you go and they're going to bully you and be like, man, you suck.
(35:54):
The poetry space is very warm and welcoming so I've been to open mics and spaces all over the US and I haven't been to one where I was like, this is cringe.
I think that is pretty consistent across the board.
Another thing that's been beneficial since COVID, since the pandemic, because COVID still exists.
(36:16):
Since the pandemic lockdown, a lot of virtual spaces have come to have blossomed from that and continue to do so.
I know a bunch of free online workshops, online open mics, online slams where you can compete, where I think is really cool.
(36:37):
So there's so many opportunities for folks to find where they fit in and there's something for everyone.
You got the hardcore slam poets that have their spaces.
You have the lover boy folks that want to do the little romantic stuff.
You got people who want to talk about grief and trauma.
There's something for everyone out there.
So I just encourage folks to get out there.
(36:59):
Just, you know, put yourself, just explore and I guarantee you will find community somewhere.
Well, maybe you can put some of those in the show notes or in the comments.
Yeah, we can definitely share.
Because I know I'm interested in, I'm sure people like myself who have never been to something like this would be interested as well.
(37:20):
So that would be great.
Yeah, I definitely needed to come to Busboys and Poets.
It's been on my list and just haven't been able to make it out, but I've heard so many great things.
So yeah, for sure.
Thanks for sharing that with us.
OK, another question that I have about DC scores and these poet athletes is so I've been to Poetry Slam where a poet athlete is standing up there and they start their poem, but they freeze because they forgot their line.
(37:52):
And then they take a deep breath.
They're very calm and they start over.
Sometimes they'll do it two or three times.
Sometimes they'll pause for a solid minute, but they just are so calm, so collected.
And I mean, you can you could tell that they're nervous, but they're keeping their composure and they continue.
I've never seen a poet athlete quit and walk off the stage without finishing their poem.
(38:19):
And oftentimes it's those poems that don't go as smoothly as they would have hoped that I feel like are the most powerful.
And I'm just always in awe.
I would love if you could give us a sneak peek behind the scenes of what that looks like when you are preparing your poet athletes to stand on stage and perform a poem that's about themselves or something that's very special and near and dear to their heart.
(38:41):
And they forget their lines.
As an educator, as a teacher, how have you prepared your poet athletes to do that?
Because I think it's so fascinating.
Oh, wow.
Yeah, those are some of it sounds weird, but I want to say some of my favorite moments and poetry slams where you know you can and I've been there myself where you can prepare as much as you want, and you can still just blank blank out.
(39:10):
And it's just been so amazing and powerful for me to see where the teammates are cheering them on and telling them to keep going. Everyone in the crowd even though it's a competition they're still clapping them up telling them to keep going.
What we encourage our coach, what our, our coach mentors to do in their sessions is to make sure that they are very clear, as much as this is a competition. This is supposed to be a community event.
(39:41):
And when we say that like someone yes someone's walking out with first, second, third place but this is supposed to be a celebration of everything that all our kids have learned is supposed to be a celebration of each other.
Everyone all the coaches all the kids so even though we make this competition we encourage our coach mentors to be very clear that this is more so about our kids overcoming their fears, our kids, trying something that may be scary.
(40:12):
It may be challenging, but pushing through and persevering whether we get first place second place third place that doesn't matter with the ready. What matters is that you get up on stage, and you push through and you get through something that is challenging with
your team backing you with your community backing you and supporting you. And so that's from the beginning, how we have that embedded in our curriculum and how we're teaching that throughout the season, as we call it, all the way up to the slam where we're in the back room
(40:39):
and we get on stage and we have our staff back there talking to the kids hyping them up, letting them know hey, go out there do your best it doesn't matter if you mess up. It doesn't matter if you forget just keep pushing and keep going.
And so I think that what's what really encourages our kids is that, yes, it's a competition and it's supposed to be competitive but the, what I feel like pushes them through is that they are there to just face their, their biggest fear which is themselves,
(41:09):
which is getting through something that all of them I don't care if they are in a youth word project and they're practicing poetry every day it is scary, I still get scared going on stage.
I've been at this for about 15 years and so it's, it's a big deal for them to just do it to just show up and to, and to get through their poetry.
(41:44):
Yeah, Ernie, there's so many beautiful things in there. Have you seen that experience alone translate into other areas of their life, relationships, education, sports, whatever it might be I mean that getting up there and that resiliency and bravery and discipline to practice
there's so many things to pull from that that I would, in theory, imagine translated in other areas have you had that experience with some of these kids.
(42:09):
Yeah, I think that's what's beautiful about our program where it kind of clicked for me because it's not a la carte, the team moves as a unit so the same team that's out there playing soccer, that entire same team is the same one that goes on the stage and does a group poem
all together, and individual poem, the same team that then moves into the next season leading a service learning project together. So, you can't do just the poetry, or just the soccer, or just the poetry and the service learning you have to do all three.
(42:37):
We think that you're having to keep that same team dynamic that you have on the soccer field on the poetry stage and lean and learning and leaning that into that into your service learning project so that same attitude of, we got to keep going I know we're tired I know
we're down six points. It's not six. I know we're down three but we still got to push through. We're still going to have fun. Where I know that I'm tired but I'm going to hustle as fast as I can as hard as I can at least finish this game strong.
(43:10):
I may have missed that last goal but I'm not going to walk off the field I'm going to keep moving that same mentality transitions over into the poetry space. Yeah, I may not feel too confident in my memorization but I'm going to try to do my best today, and even if I mess up, I'm going to keep going.
I'm not going to let my team down. I'm not going to let myself down, not going to let my coach down so I do think the structure of our program makes it easy for you to see how that translates in different spaces.
(43:37):
But I do see our kids especially ones that we work with. I'm from my lens because I work heavily with the poetry side, but the kids that do our enhanced poetry which is called Youth Word Project so we have our core programming which is our second to third,
second through eighth grade programming, which is elementary all the way up through middle school. That's our core programming, which is soccer service learning poetry.
(44:04):
So we have our enhanced programming for alumni or kids who just want to continue to poetry, they get that those extra workshops in and get to do like special performances.
I get to see those kids and work with them more one on one, and I've seen how DC scores in the poetry has impacted their lives and how they're continuing to excel in different areas of their lives we've had two kids get accepted to Duke Ellington the last two years
(44:29):
of our program so I've seen a whole generation go through college that gone through our program so it's, it's, it's easy to see. It's easy for me to see from that lens on the poetry side but absolutely just honestly just watching our program in the different sectors
that our kids move through, you see it show up in just those different spaces as well in real time.
(44:52):
That's so cool. It's so powerful and if any of our listeners are local DC people like you have to go out and watch these poet athletes on stage.
It's super powerful honestly life changing.
I really enjoyed it and I think it's also really cool from a teacher coach educator perspective like when I was watching it and they would, you know, those poet athletes would maybe forget their line and have to start over like you want to just like go up there and
(45:19):
like help like shade them from like, you know, the embarrassment or you just want to help them you want to bring them off stage and make it's okay or try again or whatever.
But like you guys do a really good job of resisting the urge and letting them like grow through it and grow through the experience and I think that's where you see it translate into their lives because they're actually learning it you're not just telling them these things
(45:41):
like okay, if you mess up do this but you're like, giving them the opportunity to do it and live it out and live it through. And I just think it's so powerful.
So thank you so much for sharing that.
To wrap things up. I would love to ask you if you would, if you're working on any poetry or have a favorite poem that you could maybe share with us or even our audience who have never been exposed to poetry.
(46:11):
I know it's putting you on the spot. So you can say no, but you're just so good.
I'm so talented I would be so mad at myself if I didn't ask. Okay, all right, let's see. Let's see. So we're doing what you've already done before. Whatever you need to do. Well this is good I need some practice, I have to do this poem, I have an event actually.
(46:36):
I'm going to Florida next week is a security conference it's a three day conference around opening up poetry for cyber security experts for GSX it's pretty dope.
So I wrote a poem for them that kind of talks about AI. So, oh, nice. We'll see. Let's go through this poem so this is new new new new new, and I need to practice this. Anyway,
(47:07):
so bear with me friends. So the title of this is home.
Okay.
(47:29):
Okay.
This poem is titled blank screen canvas.
Like I said, bear with me on fresh, fresh. Okay, blank screen canvas charity blackboard.
(47:57):
What I believe makes art.
Art is its uniqueness to its manifest art can be inspired by others.
Reimagined, but never completely duplicated because there's only one you who can genuinely do what you do and it can be scary to think to comprehend to fathom that something beyond human can make art and possibly be more capable I found out the other day
(48:26):
could just be replaceable a group of poets and I discuss the use of AI and poetry we talked about how it, how it can stretch its pin game to the likings of my angel who how it is cracked the code of Edgar Allan Poe, that there is an algorithm, more
sophisticated than me and I didn't want to believe it until I witnessed it myself. I typed into the black, dark screen black like a dark hole that travels into the unknown I commanded right, a high cool in the voice of Langston Hughes about the fear of AI.
(49:00):
The AI responded.
Machines hum softly dreams and circuits, cold and bright man's soul fades tonight.
My initial thought was, that's not creepy at all. My second thought was that's actually not bad at all and if this machine that hum softly can write about itself in the voice of Langston Hughes who do I think I am who needs a poet like me to write witty rhymes to posture my pen, crafting truths
(49:32):
metaphors, alliterations, how can I compete with something that's always right when I'm full of so many errors. If I were a program, I probably had not have the latest update, probably lag because my Wi Fi is not fast enough, probably be hard to get into because my password is too hard to remember or too easy to access because I wear my heart on my sleeve, you know human stuff.
How can I compete with something that's always available, present, committed and ready at the command of the user's fingertips we artists can be aloof at times, and you can only access us when our schedules allows but what I do believe makes art, art is its uniqueness to its manifesto.
(50:10):
And I also believe that the greatest art is pulled from the core of our souls, I may not have all the answers, what I do have is me, what I do have is my experiences, what I do have is my loved ones, my beliefs, my fear, my knowledge, my joy, my wins, my losses and what is this and what this screen that sits before me cannot compete with is my truth.
It needs me more than I need it. It is nothing but a blank screen unless I pour myself into it. And even with AI in this world, I am absolutely 100% all human, undoubtedly fully capable I asked the AI.
(50:45):
Do you think you are me?
It responded.
No, I don't think I'm you. I'm here to assist you.
I then asked, can you replace poets.
It responded.
I can't replace poets. Poets bring unique creativity and emotion that I can can mimic but not truly replicate, because what I believe makes art, art is its uniqueness to its manifesto.
(51:14):
That's that poem.
So good.
That was powerful. That was charity. Wow. Yeah, thanks so much. What a treat. That was so cool. Appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Awesome. Thanks for sharing that.
No, thank you for pulling that out. I needed to get that out there.
(51:37):
I mean, that was amazing. Cool.
Well, I mean, I feel like they just need to like mic drop in there.
Thank you. Yeah, thank you so much for just sharing your story and sharing just your knowledge and all the experiences that you've had with DC scores.
I mean, I think we could probably talk for hours about all the experiences and the lessons that we learned from these poet athletes and just being a part of them in their lives and their community and we just really appreciate your time.
(52:07):
And I'm just happy that I get to see you around every time I go to DC scores. So, well, thanks for having me, Ashley. You asked me to be on your podcast. I said, come on, Ashley. You already know. I got you. I got you. This has been awesome.
It's nice to meet you as well, Matt. This has been a really awesome conversation and I really love what y'all are doing. So definitely keep this up for sure. Thanks. Appreciate it. Really appreciate you.
(52:31):
All right, Matt. Quick debrief on our conversation with Charity. What were your thoughts? What were your takeaways?
Sheesh. It's hard to like condense that all into just a few thoughts. I was really inspired.
Like not only from her last poem that she just gave us that we were all gifted. She hasn't even like sent it out to anybody yet. But just like the creative process for me is so foreign, like music and writing.
(53:03):
And my writing is very academic. And so my creative muscle is really small and really weak and isn't flexible. And so like to talk to these people that are engaged in this and it's inspiring, you know, and to pull resiliency and confidence and bravery and organization and collective community all from this.
(53:28):
I think there's just so much that we can learn. And I was pleasantly surprised, honestly, coming into this. I was like, she seems great, but I don't know what we're going to talk about. Here we go. But it was amazing.
And so again, my ignorance was that and now I'm leaving very inspired. So there we go.
Well good. Yeah, I mean, I feel the same way, but I knew it was going to be great because I know charity. So I was super excited. I trust you, Ashley. So I'm glad I do that.
(53:59):
But yeah, two things that really stood out to me initially in the beginning when she was talking about her poem, like not being quote unquote finished. And then she shared it with a friend and that friend said, it's finished.
And the conversation that we talk about a lot about acceptance and being non-judgmental about where you're at or whatever it is that you're creating or if you're wanting to make a change, you have to accept where you're at before you can move on.
(54:31):
And that was really cool. And I feel like that's a huge part of the process of poetry, especially like she said, when your poetry, your story is you. And in order to be able to tell that story, you have to be very non-judgmental and you can't compare to other people's stories because that's not your story.
And so I thought that was really powerful and I thought it was really cool to see a topic that we talk about a lot of awareness and being non-judgmental express itself, reveal itself in the process that she uses for poetry. So I thought that was really cool.
(55:06):
And then also just the emphasis on community was really cool as well. And just the importance of community. I think like some of the questions that you had about like how does one like start poetry or how does one explore this creative side of themselves.
I definitely think it's possible to do it alone, but like it's also really cool and helpful to be a part of a community that does it because you watch other people stand up on stage and be vulnerable and share their stories or just working with others and collaborating with others.
(55:37):
Being a part of a community that isn't going to judge you, that's warm and welcoming and empowering and that encourages you to keep trying to be your best self. I think that's just really important.
I think it's a good reminder for all of us to take a step back and see what communities we are a part of and are those communities doing those things for us and are we contributing to communities like that.
(56:01):
And if we're not then maybe we need to switch communities. But I think that was also a reoccurring theme and the things that she was sharing. And just with DC scores in general the community that aspect that they have is just so important and so powerful.
So I also really enjoyed that aspect of it. Yeah, thanks for for inviting her on. That was all you and I was very inspired and I think there were a lot of beautiful things that we can pull from that.
(56:28):
So DITTO. Hey to end, can I share a joke that's been on my mind the last like 48 hours and then we can wrap this up. Yeah, for sure. You ready? Yeah. All right. I got to get it right. So let me play a moment.
Okay. What is Whitney Houston's coordination? What coordination does Whitney Houston rely upon?
(56:59):
I have no idea.
And I.
That was beautiful.
All right. Bye everybody. Bye.
For us individuals that haven't exercised this creative muscle in writing and writing songs and lyrics and poetry,
(00:06):
what's the process like?
And how do you know when you're done?
Like, how do you get better at it?
One thing that inspires me is that I write about me.
I write about my true experiences.
I focus on my story, my truth.
What I like to tell other poets who've asked this question is that only you can tell your story.
And your story is always right because it is your story.
It's always unique.
(00:27):
It's a powerful message because who's going to question me?
You can't tell me what my truths are, my background, my lived experiences are.
I don't think I have all the answers, so I continue to go to workshops.
A lot of times when I talk to poets where I feel like they get stumped,
they feel like they've learned everything that they can learn.
They've taken all the workshop.
They're not trying to stretch themselves.
So just continuing to learn and study the craft of poetry, study the craft of spoken word,
(00:52):
going to open mics, just knowing that I don't know everything,
I think also keeps me fresh and keeps me inspired.
I would love to ask you if you're working on any poetry that you could maybe share with us.
Okay, blank screen canvas, Charity Blackhead.
(01:15):
Hey everyone, Ashley Hatch here, another special episode of Ditto.
We are super excited for our episode today.
We have the one and only Charity Blackwell here with us on our episode of Ditto.
Matt, Charity, how are we doing today?
You guys good?
I'm excited.
(01:35):
Thanks for having me.
I'm super excited to be sitting here with you and Matt.
Us too.
It's a conversation.
Yeah.
We are excited for sure.
Good.
All right.
Well, I'm going to give our guests a little bit of background on who Charity is.
Charity is a DEI practitioner, spoken word artist, host, MC, and poetry specialist.
(02:02):
She's the chief of collective arts of, oh sorry, chief of culture and arts at DC Scores,
which is where we made our connection.
Obviously, shout out to DC Scores.
She is a Trinity University grad where she got her bachelor's and master's for communication.
(02:23):
She also got her certificate for executive leadership for diversity, equity, and inclusion
from Georgetown University.
And I think one of my favorite titles of yours is you're the dope, the director of poetry events
at Busboys and Poets, which I feel like that title was made and named just for you.
(02:50):
But anyway, welcome Charity.
We're super excited to talk to you about a lot of things, but especially your experience
with DC Scores and poetry, something that I couldn't find on Google,
but I wanted to make sure that I was correct.
You're originally from South Carolina.
Yes.
And you played soccer at Trinity University.
(03:11):
Correct.
What part of South Carolina, Charity?
We're in South Carolina.
It's a small, small town called Rock Hill, South Carolina.
It's very, very northern, approximately like 15, 20 minutes,
depending on who's driving from Charlotte.
So it's right there on the northern border.
Oh yeah, we lived in Columbia for a little bit.
(03:32):
Oh, nice.
I got some family out there.
Yeah, we love South Carolina.
Charleston and South Carolina, Greenville, there's so many wonderful places in South Carolina.
100% love it.
Yes, yes.
Nice, cool.
Well, I think it'd be really interesting for you to kind of tell us a story of like why poetry?
(03:54):
Like how did poetry become such a big part of your life?
When was it first introduced to you and how did it evolve into, you know, your livelihood is now poetry?
Word, word. So great question.
I try to keep it short.
I try to get better at answering this.
So poetry kind of came about on accident.
(04:17):
So I grew up, I was born in Arizona.
Then my dad was in the Air Force.
So that's why we moved to South Carolina.
And my mother met in Sumter, Fort Sumter.
And so we were stationed in Arizona.
Then we drove our van from Arizona to South Carolina.
(04:39):
If you were to ask my dad, he would say that we visited all these places.
I was like, I was three years old.
I don't remember any of these places.
But we drove from Arizona to South Carolina.
And that was where I was raised.
I grew up in a Catholic elementary school, then went to public middle school and high school.
And in elementary school, we only had two sports.
(05:04):
We had soccer and softball.
I saw, I went to both tryouts, both the softball tryout.
I saw a girl get smacked in the face with a softball.
I made that option of sports that I would try to do very easy.
So that's where soccer kind of got introduced into it.
But the poetry component, as I, you know, went through elementary school,
(05:26):
we then transitioned into public school, which was very different.
I felt like I didn't fit in in elementary school because I was like one, no,
me and my sister were two of like four black kids at the school.
And then when I went to public school, I was then there with more diverse crowd.
(05:46):
But I was looked at as the outside kind of girl that just came from elementary,
came from a Catholic school, talk proper, all these different things.
So I was looking for things that would naturally allow me to make connections with people.
And I had, I loved hip hop.
I love rapping and I love sports.
(06:08):
And so I started battle rapping kids in middle school.
And that's kind of where the flow and the rhythm came into play,
not thinking anything about poetry.
That's just where I loved writing.
I would write raps.
I would go out battle folks and I was pretty good.
You know, kids were like, oh, she got bars.
And so that was a way that I actually used it to become, you know, to build community
(06:32):
and to build connection to find something that people who I couldn't relate to in other spaces,
we all had at least something that we liked or something in common with that piece.
High school, I needed another creative arts class.
So I took poetry and started writing.
I got feedback that, oh, this is really cool.
(06:53):
But more importantly, I just enjoyed it for myself.
So I just began writing just to write.
Then for Black History Month, we had to do a project on a famous historic black figure.
I did Langston Hughes and fell in love with Langston Hughes poetry.
So the writing, the written form, I just fell in love with in high school on accident.
It wasn't like I was out searching for poetry.
(07:14):
It just became a thing.
And I just kept writing ever since.
Then when I moved from South Carolina to Washington, D.C., I came up here for college.
That was when I was introduced into spoken word.
So poetry, that's the written form.
That's where you just write it and put all your feelings on the paper,
all the poetic devices going into that.
(07:36):
Spoken word is when you take that and you actually use that as a way of expression
through performance, kind of theatrical performance, if you will.
And that's when folks were like, hey, you know, I took another creative writing class in college.
Professor said, you're awesome.
You should go to Busboys and Poets.
(07:57):
What's Busboys and Poets?
What are you talking about?
So I checked it out and it's like being introduced to poetry and spoken word around.
It was like around a time where imagine being introduced to spoken word around the same time
like you were introduced to basketball when Michael Jordan was in his prime.
(08:18):
This is when poetry was really popping in D.C.
I mean, we had this is when Clint Smith was starting to do poetry in Busboys and Poets.
Poets like Elizabeth Acevedo, Pages Matan, Jason Reynolds, all these folks that have really big names for themselves in poetry.
I was introduced into spoken word by seeing them at Busboys and Poets.
And so I fell in love with spoken word at that point.
(08:40):
So I started slams at my college, started performing.
My pieces got really inspired.
And then after I graduated, I stopped writing for a while because I was just kind of dealing with just a lot of trauma that happened.
My mother got sick and then she passed away.
And then, you know, my father, he two years later, I'm a firm believer people can die of a broken heart.
(09:04):
He passed away.
And I remember my teacher at the time, the one that made me go to Busboys and Poets,
my creative arts teacher in college, she wrote me on Facebook and was like,
Charity, whatever you do during your pain and your trauma, always write.
I know. And I still have this Facebook message.
She unfortunately passed during COVID, but I still have this Facebook message on my Facebook page where she said,
(09:28):
whatever you do, your power is writing.
And so I picked up writing again.
And honestly, that was what helped me get through some really, really, really tough situations.
So that's how I was introduced into poetry.
It has guided me all the way up to now to where I work at an organization where I'm serving youth that through poetry,
(09:50):
through spoken word, through service, which is kind of full circle because that's like my life story.
I feel like DC Scores was created for me personally to work there because it's just everything that I believe in and love and passion about all in one that I'm able to pay it for to things that have been to these these passions of mine that have really carried me through life.
Yeah. Yeah.
(10:12):
Wow. No, that was awesome.
Thank you so much for sharing that.
I think that's really powerful.
And Matt and I obviously have a lot of conversations around mental health, mental performance and something that we often refer to and exercise.
We like to encourage everyone to do is to write or to journal and not only for like the mental performance side, but just for life.
(10:34):
Like it's so important to be able to have that time with yourself, with your pen and your paper and to just reflect.
And I feel like I learned the most of myself or from myself or from my situations when I'm writing.
And I think when you look back on those hard times or even the good times, I love looking back in my journal and like seeing how far I've come and seeing how I've like navigated certain situations.
(10:58):
And so it's really cool to hear that you found your passion for poetry through writing and through others, like encouraging you to do that.
I think that's really awesome.
Hundred percent. Yes. Yes.
But yeah, that's interesting because I've done this thing now recently where I used to I used to get really stuck in finishing a poem.
(11:21):
And I would go back and just be looking through poems and like, wow, this I can't find a perfect ending for this.
I can't find a perfect ending for this.
And then it dawned on me that I was actually talking to this this poet, legendary poet from Baltimore named Gail.
She I was interviewing her during when I was doing some some type of panel discussion over covid on virtually.
(11:48):
She and I don't know how it happened, but how somehow the interview then flipped on me because she just, you know, just savvy like that.
And she was asking me, like, what's the latest poem I wrote?
And I was telling her, well, it's not done. But, you know, this is what I'm working on.
She's all right. We'll share it. And I shared it.
She's like, oh, you know, it's finished.
And I was like, what do you mean? It's like it's no happy ending here.
(12:09):
It's like she's like she's but then she explained to me that sometimes that is the poem like poetry writing is a snapshot of your your lessons, your life.
And sometimes the poem is done.
Sometimes you got to look back and be like, dang, I was going through it then.
But look at where I am now.
You shouldn't you shouldn't feel like you have to go back and change anything.
What you've written is just like a still moment of that emotion and that feeling.
(12:33):
So, yeah, I think it's that is healthy to look through whether that's just journaling poetry, whatever, just so you can have that reminder of, oh, this is this was a really beautiful time.
This was a really tough time.
This was a really confusing time in life, you know, so you can have those times of reflections and learn from them.
So I love that in relation to that, I have a question for you.
(12:57):
Sure. My experience of writing is academic, which is really boring and nobody reads it.
For being honest, like journal articles, it's like, come on.
Like, why are we publishing this?
And so like with that in mind, like I'm fascinated by like I'm reading a sci-fi book right now and I'm just like, how do you come up with this?
(13:20):
And make it cohesive and align and there's themes and make it interesting and engaging and then writing songs like that creative process is so beyond me.
But I know, you know, if I were to be deliberate about it, I could get better at it and actually do some of this.
Anyways, I guess my question is for us individuals that have an exercise, this creative muscle in writing and writing songs and lyrics and poetry, what's the process like?
(13:52):
And how do you know when you're done?
Like you just mentioned. And then how do you get better at it and, you know, create more poetry and create more songs?
I know there was a ton of questions in there.
So if you need me to rephrase any of that, please let me know.
That's really awesome.
So, yeah, so there's a couple of things there.
(14:14):
One thing that for me as a poet that is helpful for me and I think in the in the recent years, I've gotten I've just studied poetry more.
So I feel like I'm better at creating outside of things that I just love.
But one thing that like inspires me is that I write about me. I write about my true experiences.
(14:38):
I focus on my story, my truth and what is so powerful.
What I like to tell other poets who ask this question is that only you can tell your story and your story is always right because it is your story.
And when I think when it comes to like academics and other works, you know, you're writing about.
(15:03):
I mean, let's just you know, your biography or something like that.
I don't know, but you know, mostly write about other things.
But what I like and what helps me is when I write about me and I write about my experience or things that impact me or things through my eyes.
It's it's always unique.
It's it's my own and it's it's and it's the truth.
(15:24):
It's a powerful message because who's going to question me?
Like this is like you can't tell me what my truths are, my background, my lived experiences are.
Another thing is, is like, I don't think I have all the answers.
So I continue to go to workshops.
I continue to. There she goes.
(15:45):
There's the cat. I continue.
I continue to read poetry books that have different types of writing workshops in them.
I have actually share one with you that's one of my favorites.
But I continue to get, you know, a lot of times when I talk to poets where I feel like they get stumped, they feel like they've learned everything that they can learn.
(16:10):
They've taken all the workshops.
They have they're not trying to stretch themselves anymore.
So just continuing to learn and study the craft of poetry, study the craft of spoken word, going to open mics, just knowing that I don't know everything,
I think also keeps me fresh and gives and keeps me inspired.
Even when I'm thinking about my lived experiences, I might hear someone else talk about their lived experience and go, hmm, that's something I've kind of can relate to.
(16:37):
Or I see this. I can or I might see this from a different perspective.
That might be something I want to write for right about. But from this angle and yeah,
I think that's in practice, like, you know, and get feedback, practice, learning and get feedback from folks, I think has been helpful.
(16:59):
But biggest key thing for me is just sticking to what I know and not trying to write other people's stories,
but write my own has been helpful for me in my journey in poetry.
Well, we can learn a lot just about that last phrase alone, I think, in any domain in life.
Anyways, beautiful. Thanks for sharing that.
(17:21):
I guess I need to gain more insights into my own story and figure out how I can put it on paper.
I've never attempted to do it. And so it's again, the idea of writing a poem or a story just coming from my own brain sounds so difficult.
I need data to support what I'm writing and I need to see others experience, right?
(17:45):
Like you were just saying. And so it's fascinating to me.
But I think that idea, like you mentioned, is beautiful.
So thanks for sharing. I love it.
Yeah. And I think another thing that one poet, her name is Simply Sherri.
I told her, because in April we have 30 for 30 where I don't do it.
I like to watch people do it.
But people get 30 prompts for each day and are supposed to write a poem every single day.
(18:10):
And so I remember asking, what are folks favorite prompts?
And this poet, Simply Sherri, she was saying, well, there's one way to not necessarily a prompt,
but a way to address writing, to approach writing that is that kind of stretches you,
but kind of makes you think about your lived experiences in more of a creative way.
(18:36):
So like talking about. Using an object to explain an experience that you went through.
So for instance, a book, the chapters of my life from beginning to end,
I'm turning a page of a new leaf or something like that.
(18:56):
So, you know, it's also helpful to just get like starters, like a starter pack, if you will.
Like some prompts and stuff are also helpful. Sorry. Just wanted to add that to.
Yeah. No, thank you.
You know, that's really cool. I think it's really cool to see like this is your craft.
And like you say, like you have to practice it.
(19:17):
You have to be exposed to it. You have to learn from others.
But correct me if I'm wrong.
The poetry like community just seems very welcoming and not very like not competitive or combative
because like you're all like you said, telling your own stories.
You're all on your own journey and you're all helping each other through life,
but also through this craft of poetry.
(19:39):
Is that is that the right pulse?
So like because like all the poetry people that I've come across, especially in DC scores seem that way.
But I could be wrong.
No, you're right. You're right.
So here's the cool thing.
So you're right.
Yes. The poetry community is very, very welcoming and also extremely competitive.
So just like you see in DC scores, the poetry component of our program is extremely welcoming.
(20:02):
But then if you go to a slam, it gets pretty intense.
And that's from the coaches down to the students from the community members, the family members.
So using poetry as a way to compete, I definitely see it get I see the competition come out,
but it's friendly competition.
(20:22):
Yeah.
And but overall, overall, essentially the poetry community in DC, I would say the DMV area is very tight knit.
We have some of the best poets, I would say in the US in this bucket in this this pocket here in the DMV.
And yeah, like up the street, we have Baltimore, we have national nationally ranked poets in Baltimore
(20:48):
for winning Women of the World Poetry Slam, Individual World Poetry Slam, Southern Fried Poetry.
All the all of the awards you can think of have all been won in this vicinity.
So there's a lot of really amazing poets that take their craft seriously.
But also we put each other on.
Like you've been to our events at DC scores.
(21:10):
We have the best poets coming through and teaching our kids.
So it's a really awesome community.
We pour into each other.
Yeah, that's very cool.
Good either of you just tell us what DC scores is.
I'm vaguely familiar with it because of Ashley, but I'm sure there are listeners that don't know what you're talking about.
I think you mentioned it two or three times.
Could you tell us what it's all about?
(21:32):
If you don't mind?
For sure.
I'll start us off.
Go ahead.
I'm wearing my DC score shirt today because I thought it was appropriate.
But anyway, DC scores is a after school nonprofit program for kids to develop confidence through poetry, soccer and service learning.
(21:54):
And we have over 3000 poet athletes.
Is that correct?
Yes.
I've been to enough events now where Charity and Katrina and Tony where I'm listening to their pitches,
you know, so that I can make sure that I'm repping but I'm on the board of DC scores.
I originally got introduced to DC scores when I started playing for the Spirit and I just really enjoyed going to all their events.
(22:16):
Their poetry slams soccer when I first got introduced to it.
It's kind of like you don't really understand how like soccer and poetry and service learning like how they all belong together.
But it's honestly it's this beautiful combination that I feel like allows the kids to express themselves through soccer,
through poetry and also learn to give back to the community and to just learn good habits such as service and in their community and to care for their community.
(22:46):
And it's just been a really cool organization to be a part of.
It's been a blessing in my life for sure to be a part of the organization.
Every time at an event like I get to rub shoulders with people like Charity and Tony and Katrina and everyone on staff,
like everyone truly cares for the DC community and just helping these kids develop and live their best lives.
(23:07):
I mean, I think the future is going to be great because of these kids that go through the DC scores programs.
But that's kind of a snapshot.
What did I miss Charity?
You were spot on.
You have definitely been practicing your pitch, but that was that was amazing.
That was great.
Thanks.
I appreciate it.
Well, I feel like this would be a good natural transition then to talk more about your work with DC scores.
(23:31):
And I read in one of your bios or maybe a video because I was stalking you obviously before this
that you first got introduced to DC scores when you were at Trinity University.
Is that correct?
Correct.
Correct.
Yes, I was actually in my senior year for undergrad and I was working as a front desk manager of our athletic center.
(23:57):
And around that time, we DC scores was doing their fall frenzy at Trinity.
Nice.
And so they happened to do it a day that I was working.
And I remember going outside and just thinking to myself, oh my goodness, all these kids, all this trash.
I have to pick up.
(24:18):
And I was just like going back in like, oh my goodness, I'm going to need support.
I'm going to need help.
And they're like, yeah, yeah, that's DC scores.
I'm like, who's DC scores?
They're like, oh, this is soccer, poetry, and service learning program.
You should check them out, Charity.
They're like, you're lying, soccer, poetry, service, sounds like me.
What are we talking about?
So then I did look it up and it was real.
(24:39):
And I was like, what?
And it was so timely because at that time, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do after college.
I was current.
I was in government, but I didn't really like it.
I was at the Census Bureau.
I was interning there.
Now had an opportunity to continue there.
But I wanted to do a little bit more direct impact work.
(25:01):
And this was right up my alley.
And there were things that I love.
So they had a position open at the time for soccer program coordinator through AmeriCorps.
And so I applied and then I got the job.
So I served there just for one year through AmeriCorps.
And I loved it, adored it.
And then I left and went back to government because I finished my one year.
(25:26):
And I was then finishing up my last year in my master's program.
And so after I finished the master's program, I stayed in government for maybe like two more years.
And then they had another opening up at DC Scores.
But I stayed involved with DC Scores when I left because I love the organization, love the program.
And just full transparency, the money wasn't right at the time.
(25:49):
So I needed to, you know, so I went back.
That's why I went back into government.
So then when the position opened up, that seemed up my alley and, you know, work that I was definitely passionate about doing for the organization.
And that was which at the time was director of programs.
(26:11):
And I applied for that.
And I remember Bethany, she was an ED at the time.
She called me and was like, we want to hire you for you want to hire you.
But we want to bring you on for just like oversee all of poetry.
I was like, OK, cool.
Is this how you're going to say this thing?
But anyway, it didn't matter.
It was all good.
Everything worked out.
So I came on as director of writing.
(26:33):
Then over the years, my role kind of transitioned from like being directly directly working with programming to kind of overseeing the arts component and the culture and the DEI work.
So I was director of writing, then director of creative arts and education.
And then in 2020, I transitioned over to senior of arts and culture.
(26:55):
And then as recent as two years, I've been the chief of arts and culture chief of arts and culture at the organization.
And so I still oversee all the poetry component of what they do, as well as leading the people work, the culture and diversity, equity, inclusion work at the organization.
So that's my journey of getting into DC scores.
(27:17):
And I love it.
I have to there have to be like something really wild to pop up for me to leave.
It's an amazing, amazing organization.
And I was just like you.
I was skeptical.
I was like, I like all these things, poetry, soccer, service, learning.
But I'm not sure how this all goes together.
(27:38):
But working through at the organization for a full year and being on the ground, going into insight business, going into all the schools, all like all over DC.
I'm over in Southeast.
I'm in Northwest and Northeast.
I'm seeing the reach that our organization has and the power that poetry is pouring into our kids experiences as well as the soccer and the leading and service learning projects.
(28:00):
It was just mind blowing for me.
So I'm super happy and honored and blessed to be a part of this organization.
Yeah, that's really cool.
Thanks for sharing that.
And so part of the for those that don't know part of DC scores, like we obviously have soccer.
Camps, after school programs.
They play lots of soccer and games.
(28:21):
But the poetry side was something for me that was completely new.
Like I learned poetry in school like everyone else and I absolutely hated it because I didn't fully understand it.
And I don't think I was having fun with it.
I think it was just like my teachers were teaching me to like check it off the list of things to learn.
So that that part of DC scores like I didn't fully understand, but I was obviously all on board with the soccer side.
(28:46):
So I've learned a lot about poetry and I've come to greatly appreciate it so much since my time at DC scores.
But can you give us a little bit of insight into the power that poetry has for these kids and their ability to express themselves?
(29:07):
Because I've been to some of these poetry slams and for those kids to stand up on stage with that mic and they don't have a paper in front of them.
They stand up there.
Really?
Yes, it's so impressive.
I I stood up there on stage and I had to have my paper and I was like shaking and I had to have Charity standing next to me.
(29:29):
I had to do it with her.
But yeah, these kids they stand up there.
They perform their poetry and not only did they perform it.
They do it with just like so much like authority and passion or just like you can or even if they're nervous, you can like feel it.
And it makes it even that much more genuine.
Like can you just speak to your experience with these kids and like how you've seen it transform their lives and like maybe give them confidence or whatever it is.
(29:57):
Absolutely.
Hundred percent.
Yes.
Well, most of our kids are kind of similar to your experience.
They a lot of kids come into our program skeptical about poetry.
They're drawn in by the soccer and then the poetry it feels like somewhat of an add-on.
But then when they go into the classroom and when they get into the writing workshops and then they see other spoken word artists that look like them with passions,
(30:21):
the same passions as them doing really, really good poetry, really, really good spoken word.
You can see kind of the switch happen.
And it's not this boring art form that is in no no shade to, you know,
Nikki Giovanni and Maya Angelou, but the writing component is one thing, right?
(30:45):
But then the performance is another thing.
And I think what is beautiful what I see blossom from the poet athletes that we serve is you'll see different kids that have their preference in writing and whether that's the ones that don't really want to be up on stage and performing.
But they create beautiful poetry.
They're able to really, really get their emotions out on the page.
(31:08):
And sometimes we have kids that get on stage and they're not the lead role.
They're not the individual poet, but they're still finding their voice with themselves.
And that's the thing that's most powerful.
And I think and then you do have those kids are getting up there that, you know, as you've seen at our words, I see they may be that Carter or, you know,
or that Asher or that kid that just really, really stands out and they find their voice and they may have found a passion or an art form that may carry them to other things in life.
(31:38):
Whether that's through poetry, whether that's through public speaking, who knows.
But I do think we're teaching kids to be able to process their emotions, process their feelings, to put that on paper,
then also be able to articulate that, share that in a beautiful, creative way with people that they trust, mentors that they trust in a community that they trust,
(32:04):
which I think is really, really powerful.
And so beyond what we do at DC Scores, I hope that we are just scratching the surface for them to begin to use these tools as use poetry as a tool to take them through,
(32:24):
taking care of themselves through life and hopefully carrying them through whatever they decide to do beyond what our organization has to offer.
I wish DC Scores could go all the way up through high school, through college and be, you know, supportive in those spaces.
But I do think we are giving kids tools to be healthy and emotional, emotionally, mentally, and learning how to lean in on their community, which I think is really, really powerful.
(32:53):
Because poetry begins with self. But I do think there is power in community.
So, yeah, that's where I see power, for sure.
Charity, that's amazing.
I mean, I didn't realize kind of this regulatory emotional process that exists within, I mean, DC Scores specifically, but just expanding that to the masses that don't have access to DC Scores, right?
(33:20):
How could a person like myself who hasn't ever done it, how could poetry facilitate that human experience?
How can one engage with it and hopefully, like you were mentioning, acquire or maybe experience some of those experiences of learning more about your emotions in a really healthy way and expressing them via poetry?
(33:45):
How can someone, again, outside of DC Scores, engage in something like that, like poetry?
Oh, well, I'm not trying to plug anything here, but I'm not trying to plug.
If the door is open, I'm walking in.
So I think that what is, and this is where it was kind of full circle for me because I feel like what is created in open mics in trusted, safe and brave spaces like a bus boys and poets open mic,
(34:20):
is kind of the same like community and culture that I see created in our kids' workshops with their peers and their coaches.
And so I think for those, for folks who are not a part of DC Scores, and the beautiful thing, especially if you're in a space like DC or New York or Boston, who has a very heavy poetry scene, and if you don't, that's okay.
(34:45):
I have something else for you, too.
I suggest going to these spaces and checking out places that have open mics, that have safe and brave communities where they are encouraging people to be vulnerable, to be open, to listen, to write, and to be in community with each other.
(35:06):
At Bus Boys and Poets, I host every Tuesday and second Friday, I have people who return every single time I host because they like the community that is built in there.
And we're very intentional about the spaces that we say.
We don't welcome any hate speech, or offensive speech.
We don't welcome anybody putting anyone down.
(35:31):
There's no bullying.
We are open to any and all art forms, and we're here to be supportive, and we're here to root everyone on and give them encouragement in their process and their journey through writing.
So I think having community like that is really important because that is the type of support that you'll need.
You don't want to, it's not like comedy where you go and they're going to bully you and be like, man, you suck.
(35:54):
The poetry space is very warm and welcoming so I've been to open mics and spaces all over the US and I haven't been to one where I was like, this is cringe.
I think that is pretty consistent across the board.
Another thing that's been beneficial since COVID, since the pandemic, because COVID still exists.
(36:16):
Since the pandemic lockdown, a lot of virtual spaces have come to have blossomed from that and continue to do so.
I know a bunch of free online workshops, online open mics, online slams where you can compete, where I think is really cool.
(36:37):
So there's so many opportunities for folks to find where they fit in and there's something for everyone.
You got the hardcore slam poets that have their spaces.
You have the lover boy folks that want to do the little romantic stuff.
You got people who want to talk about grief and trauma.
There's something for everyone out there.
So I just encourage folks to get out there.
(36:59):
Just, you know, put yourself, just explore and I guarantee you will find community somewhere.
Well, maybe you can put some of those in the show notes or in the comments.
Yeah, we can definitely share.
Because I know I'm interested in, I'm sure people like myself who have never been to something like this would be interested as well.
(37:20):
So that would be great.
Yeah, I definitely needed to come to Busboys and Poets.
It's been on my list and just haven't been able to make it out, but I've heard so many great things.
So yeah, for sure.
Thanks for sharing that with us.
OK, another question that I have about DC scores and these poet athletes is so I've been to Poetry Slam where a poet athlete is standing up there and they start their poem, but they freeze because they forgot their line.
(37:52):
And then they take a deep breath.
They're very calm and they start over.
Sometimes they'll do it two or three times.
Sometimes they'll pause for a solid minute, but they just are so calm, so collected.
And I mean, you can you could tell that they're nervous, but they're keeping their composure and they continue.
I've never seen a poet athlete quit and walk off the stage without finishing their poem.
(38:19):
And oftentimes it's those poems that don't go as smoothly as they would have hoped that I feel like are the most powerful.
And I'm just always in awe.
I would love if you could give us a sneak peek behind the scenes of what that looks like when you are preparing your poet athletes to stand on stage and perform a poem that's about themselves or something that's very special and near and dear to their heart.
(38:41):
And they forget their lines.
As an educator, as a teacher, how have you prepared your poet athletes to do that?
Because I think it's so fascinating.
Oh, wow.
Yeah, those are some of it sounds weird, but I want to say some of my favorite moments and poetry slams where you know you can and I've been there myself where you can prepare as much as you want, and you can still just blank blank out.
(39:10):
And it's just been so amazing and powerful for me to see where the teammates are cheering them on and telling them to keep going. Everyone in the crowd even though it's a competition they're still clapping them up telling them to keep going.
What we encourage our coach, what our, our coach mentors to do in their sessions is to make sure that they are very clear, as much as this is a competition. This is supposed to be a community event.
(39:41):
And when we say that like someone yes someone's walking out with first, second, third place but this is supposed to be a celebration of everything that all our kids have learned is supposed to be a celebration of each other.
Everyone all the coaches all the kids so even though we make this competition we encourage our coach mentors to be very clear that this is more so about our kids overcoming their fears, our kids, trying something that may be scary.
(40:12):
It may be challenging, but pushing through and persevering whether we get first place second place third place that doesn't matter with the ready. What matters is that you get up on stage, and you push through and you get through something that is challenging with
your team backing you with your community backing you and supporting you. And so that's from the beginning, how we have that embedded in our curriculum and how we're teaching that throughout the season, as we call it, all the way up to the slam where we're in the back room
(40:39):
and we get on stage and we have our staff back there talking to the kids hyping them up, letting them know hey, go out there do your best it doesn't matter if you mess up. It doesn't matter if you forget just keep pushing and keep going.
And so I think that what's what really encourages our kids is that, yes, it's a competition and it's supposed to be competitive but the, what I feel like pushes them through is that they are there to just face their, their biggest fear which is themselves,
(41:09):
which is getting through something that all of them I don't care if they are in a youth word project and they're practicing poetry every day it is scary, I still get scared going on stage.
I've been at this for about 15 years and so it's, it's a big deal for them to just do it to just show up and to, and to get through their poetry.
(41:44):
Yeah, Ernie, there's so many beautiful things in there. Have you seen that experience alone translate into other areas of their life, relationships, education, sports, whatever it might be I mean that getting up there and that resiliency and bravery and discipline to practice
there's so many things to pull from that that I would, in theory, imagine translated in other areas have you had that experience with some of these kids.
(42:09):
Yeah, I think that's what's beautiful about our program where it kind of clicked for me because it's not a la carte, the team moves as a unit so the same team that's out there playing soccer, that entire same team is the same one that goes on the stage and does a group poem
all together, and individual poem, the same team that then moves into the next season leading a service learning project together. So, you can't do just the poetry, or just the soccer, or just the poetry and the service learning you have to do all three.
(42:37):
We think that you're having to keep that same team dynamic that you have on the soccer field on the poetry stage and lean and learning and leaning that into that into your service learning project so that same attitude of, we got to keep going I know we're tired I know
we're down six points. It's not six. I know we're down three but we still got to push through. We're still going to have fun. Where I know that I'm tired but I'm going to hustle as fast as I can as hard as I can at least finish this game strong.
(43:10):
I may have missed that last goal but I'm not going to walk off the field I'm going to keep moving that same mentality transitions over into the poetry space. Yeah, I may not feel too confident in my memorization but I'm going to try to do my best today, and even if I mess up, I'm going to keep going.
I'm not going to let my team down. I'm not going to let myself down, not going to let my coach down so I do think the structure of our program makes it easy for you to see how that translates in different spaces.
(43:37):
But I do see our kids especially ones that we work with. I'm from my lens because I work heavily with the poetry side, but the kids that do our enhanced poetry which is called Youth Word Project so we have our core programming which is our second to third,
second through eighth grade programming, which is elementary all the way up through middle school. That's our core programming, which is soccer service learning poetry.
(44:04):
So we have our enhanced programming for alumni or kids who just want to continue to poetry, they get that those extra workshops in and get to do like special performances.
I get to see those kids and work with them more one on one, and I've seen how DC scores in the poetry has impacted their lives and how they're continuing to excel in different areas of their lives we've had two kids get accepted to Duke Ellington the last two years
(44:29):
of our program so I've seen a whole generation go through college that gone through our program so it's, it's, it's easy to see. It's easy for me to see from that lens on the poetry side but absolutely just honestly just watching our program in the different sectors
that our kids move through, you see it show up in just those different spaces as well in real time.
(44:52):
That's so cool. It's so powerful and if any of our listeners are local DC people like you have to go out and watch these poet athletes on stage.
It's super powerful honestly life changing.
I really enjoyed it and I think it's also really cool from a teacher coach educator perspective like when I was watching it and they would, you know, those poet athletes would maybe forget their line and have to start over like you want to just like go up there and
(45:19):
like help like shade them from like, you know, the embarrassment or you just want to help them you want to bring them off stage and make it's okay or try again or whatever.
But like you guys do a really good job of resisting the urge and letting them like grow through it and grow through the experience and I think that's where you see it translate into their lives because they're actually learning it you're not just telling them these things
(45:41):
like okay, if you mess up do this but you're like, giving them the opportunity to do it and live it out and live it through. And I just think it's so powerful.
So thank you so much for sharing that.
To wrap things up. I would love to ask you if you would, if you're working on any poetry or have a favorite poem that you could maybe share with us or even our audience who have never been exposed to poetry.
(46:11):
I know it's putting you on the spot. So you can say no, but you're just so good.
I'm so talented I would be so mad at myself if I didn't ask. Okay, all right, let's see. Let's see. So we're doing what you've already done before. Whatever you need to do. Well this is good I need some practice, I have to do this poem, I have an event actually.
(46:36):
I'm going to Florida next week is a security conference it's a three day conference around opening up poetry for cyber security experts for GSX it's pretty dope.
So I wrote a poem for them that kind of talks about AI. So, oh, nice. We'll see. Let's go through this poem so this is new new new new new, and I need to practice this. Anyway,
(47:07):
so bear with me friends. So the title of this is home.
Okay.
(47:29):
Okay.
This poem is titled blank screen canvas.
Like I said, bear with me on fresh, fresh. Okay, blank screen canvas charity blackboard.
(47:57):
What I believe makes art.
Art is its uniqueness to its manifest art can be inspired by others.
Reimagined, but never completely duplicated because there's only one you who can genuinely do what you do and it can be scary to think to comprehend to fathom that something beyond human can make art and possibly be more capable I found out the other day
(48:26):
could just be replaceable a group of poets and I discuss the use of AI and poetry we talked about how it, how it can stretch its pin game to the likings of my angel who how it is cracked the code of Edgar Allan Poe, that there is an algorithm, more
sophisticated than me and I didn't want to believe it until I witnessed it myself. I typed into the black, dark screen black like a dark hole that travels into the unknown I commanded right, a high cool in the voice of Langston Hughes about the fear of AI.
(49:00):
The AI responded.
Machines hum softly dreams and circuits, cold and bright man's soul fades tonight.
My initial thought was, that's not creepy at all. My second thought was that's actually not bad at all and if this machine that hum softly can write about itself in the voice of Langston Hughes who do I think I am who needs a poet like me to write witty rhymes to posture my pen, crafting truths
(49:32):
metaphors, alliterations, how can I compete with something that's always right when I'm full of so many errors. If I were a program, I probably had not have the latest update, probably lag because my Wi Fi is not fast enough, probably be hard to get into because my password is too hard to remember or too easy to access because I wear my heart on my sleeve, you know human stuff.
How can I compete with something that's always available, present, committed and ready at the command of the user's fingertips we artists can be aloof at times, and you can only access us when our schedules allows but what I do believe makes art, art is its uniqueness to its manifesto.
(50:10):
And I also believe that the greatest art is pulled from the core of our souls, I may not have all the answers, what I do have is me, what I do have is my experiences, what I do have is my loved ones, my beliefs, my fear, my knowledge, my joy, my wins, my losses and what is this and what this screen that sits before me cannot compete with is my truth.
It needs me more than I need it. It is nothing but a blank screen unless I pour myself into it. And even with AI in this world, I am absolutely 100% all human, undoubtedly fully capable I asked the AI.
(50:45):
Do you think you are me?
It responded.
No, I don't think I'm you. I'm here to assist you.
I then asked, can you replace poets.
It responded.
I can't replace poets. Poets bring unique creativity and emotion that I can can mimic but not truly replicate, because what I believe makes art, art is its uniqueness to its manifesto.
(51:14):
That's that poem.
So good.
That was powerful. That was charity. Wow. Yeah, thanks so much. What a treat. That was so cool. Appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Awesome. Thanks for sharing that.
No, thank you for pulling that out. I needed to get that out there.
(51:37):
I mean, that was amazing. Cool.
Well, I mean, I feel like they just need to like mic drop in there.
Thank you. Yeah, thank you so much for just sharing your story and sharing just your knowledge and all the experiences that you've had with DC scores.
I mean, I think we could probably talk for hours about all the experiences and the lessons that we learned from these poet athletes and just being a part of them in their lives and their community and we just really appreciate your time.
(52:07):
And I'm just happy that I get to see you around every time I go to DC scores. So, well, thanks for having me, Ashley. You asked me to be on your podcast. I said, come on, Ashley. You already know. I got you. I got you. This has been awesome.
It's nice to meet you as well, Matt. This has been a really awesome conversation and I really love what y'all are doing. So definitely keep this up for sure. Thanks. Appreciate it. Really appreciate you.
(52:31):
All right, Matt. Quick debrief on our conversation with Charity. What were your thoughts? What were your takeaways?
Sheesh. It's hard to like condense that all into just a few thoughts. I was really inspired.
Like not only from her last poem that she just gave us that we were all gifted. She hasn't even like sent it out to anybody yet. But just like the creative process for me is so foreign, like music and writing.
(53:03):
And my writing is very academic. And so my creative muscle is really small and really weak and isn't flexible. And so like to talk to these people that are engaged in this and it's inspiring, you know, and to pull resiliency and confidence and bravery and organization and collective community all from this.
(53:28):
I think there's just so much that we can learn. And I was pleasantly surprised, honestly, coming into this. I was like, she seems great, but I don't know what we're going to talk about. Here we go. But it was amazing.
And so again, my ignorance was that and now I'm leaving very inspired. So there we go.
Well good. Yeah, I mean, I feel the same way, but I knew it was going to be great because I know charity. So I was super excited. I trust you, Ashley. So I'm glad I do that.
(53:59):
But yeah, two things that really stood out to me initially in the beginning when she was talking about her poem, like not being quote unquote finished. And then she shared it with a friend and that friend said, it's finished.
And the conversation that we talk about a lot about acceptance and being non-judgmental about where you're at or whatever it is that you're creating or if you're wanting to make a change, you have to accept where you're at before you can move on.
(54:31):
And that was really cool. And I feel like that's a huge part of the process of poetry, especially like she said, when your poetry, your story is you. And in order to be able to tell that story, you have to be very non-judgmental and you can't compare to other people's stories because that's not your story.
And so I thought that was really powerful and I thought it was really cool to see a topic that we talk about a lot of awareness and being non-judgmental express itself, reveal itself in the process that she uses for poetry. So I thought that was really cool.
(55:06):
And then also just the emphasis on community was really cool as well. And just the importance of community. I think like some of the questions that you had about like how does one like start poetry or how does one explore this creative side of themselves.
I definitely think it's possible to do it alone, but like it's also really cool and helpful to be a part of a community that does it because you watch other people stand up on stage and be vulnerable and share their stories or just working with others and collaborating with others.
(55:37):
Being a part of a community that isn't going to judge you, that's warm and welcoming and empowering and that encourages you to keep trying to be your best self. I think that's just really important.
I think it's a good reminder for all of us to take a step back and see what communities we are a part of and are those communities doing those things for us and are we contributing to communities like that.
(56:01):
And if we're not then maybe we need to switch communities. But I think that was also a reoccurring theme and the things that she was sharing. And just with DC scores in general the community that aspect that they have is just so important and so powerful.
So I also really enjoyed that aspect of it. Yeah, thanks for for inviting her on. That was all you and I was very inspired and I think there were a lot of beautiful things that we can pull from that.
(56:28):
So DITTO. Hey to end, can I share a joke that's been on my mind the last like 48 hours and then we can wrap this up. Yeah, for sure. You ready? Yeah. All right. I got to get it right. So let me play a moment.
Okay. What is Whitney Houston's coordination? What coordination does Whitney Houston rely upon?
(56:59):
I have no idea.
And I.
That was beautiful.
All right. Bye everybody. Bye.
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