One of the most interesting moment of high school for me was when this duo called Poetry in Motion visited us during one of our weekly assemblies. They were a welcome break from the bombardment of Ivy League vocal groups the school kept pouring in. You can only take so much of “Walking in Memphis” and “Season of Love” sung by groups who believe they’re the first to perform those songs.  

But to be honest about what me and my peers were thinking at that time, we didn’t really give Poetry in Motion much of a chance. They were introduced, and out came a woman in about her twenties, and an older man of about sixty with hair like Larry from the Three Stooges. That right there garnered some initial chuckles from the teenage crowd. The chuckles only continued as the odd couple started their first stanza. They were moving their arms with the words; flailing them above their head, thrusting them out in front of their bodies. It was all very exaggerated. But not nearly as much as the words coming out of their mouth. Every other word seemed to be yelled at us. And for no apparent reason according to our young and, admittedly, ignorant minds.

However, and to our collective surprise, are chuckles and snide remarks turned into silence and deep attention. Poetry in Motion had managed, against all odds, to grasp and enthrall a group of young adults in an art form that most of us didn’t believe existed, including myself. We all started to realize that this show wasn’t two crazy people jumping around all over the stage. They were telling, no showing us a story through their movement. They were making us laugh (with them, not at them). They had managed to combine the talents of actors, dancers, singers, and orators to create an extraordinary piece of entertainment.

From that day forward, I learned of the vastness of poetry as an art form and how it can be found in a multitude of places that no one would think to look. Its inspiration comes in many shapes and sizes, and it is, subsequently, expressed in an unending list of ways; all of which are, dare I say it, cool. It is in that way that poetry is truly the genre of the people. Poetry houses not only the ones who feel the need to get up on a stage and run around while reciting stanzas, but the ones who prefer to keep their work to themselves or a select few. It house the poets who like reading aloud to an audience, as well as the ones who love adding music and turning it into song.

I guess, looking back, that Poetry in Motion provided me and my colleagues with more than a short term respite from vocal groups. It provided me with some long term wisdom and knowledge and expanded my horizons as a writer.