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Reflection

 

After constructing my second investigative journalist article I've ever written (titled Anything But Country) I thought of ways to remediate it. I surprised myself when I thought of spoken word poetry.

 

Sarah Kay, Phil Kaye, and Rudy Francisco come to mind when I think of great spoken word poets. Perhaps my frame of reference is small, but in my small world of spoken word poetry, I have big dreams. I had never attempted to write or perform spoken word poetry before. My only exposure to the genre was through watching Youtube clips. But I'd begun to develop a deep appreciation for it. This remediation would give me the chance to dabble in the genre—take a risk, try it for myself.

 

Essentially, my investigative journalist article was remediated three times. It went from a poetic script to a performance (memorized, complete with hand gestures) to a documentary capturing the experience.

 

The piece was performed at the North Quad Open Mic Night—an event hosted by the residential advisers in North Quad where anyone in the U of M community could come and share their talent, poetry, or music. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a lot of growth involved in this remediation project. Through the construction of my own performance, I had to face the obstacles of developing stage presence and finding my own style. I aspire to be great like Sarah Kay, Phil Kaye, and Rudy Francisco one day. But as of now, I've made my first leap of faith—and risk—into the Creative Wild. And sometimes, that is enough. 

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From Investigative Journalist Article to Spoken Word Poetry

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