1. I expect to learn a lot from other people's writing and performances. I love attending open mics but am always very apprehensive about performing in them and hope that I can gain confidence as well as help other people with their own fears and worries about writing and performing. I expect that most of the students will be excited about reading and hearing other people's poems. However I expect that some students will not be as excited as others. I am from Seattle, WA and I hope to learn more about the city in which I have lived for almost 4 years. 2. I hope to learn as well as teach. I want to learn how to improve my own poetry as well as my performance skills. I hope to teach other people how to become better, more effective writers as well as how to perform their pieces passionately and effectively. Some of my fears are my own preparedness to act as a mentor or tutor to people about their poetry. I sometimes have a hard time critiquing my own writing and I am not sure how well I will be able to critique other people's writing. I am afraid of offending people because I disagree with them about their works of art, which can be very personal pieces. However, I think that with the right amount of training I'll be able to give useful feedback to writers about their poetry. I am also nervous but excited about performing my own work at BCC. I am afraid of people judging my writing or experiences as insignificant or over-dramatized. However, I think this will also improve with practice. As I become more confident with my own writing, my performances will also become better. 3. I have attended a couple open mics throughout my time here at Cal. Most of them were students and I was blown away by their talents. I attended the Vagina Monologues and was impressed by the spoken word pieces because they were so honest and relevant to many of my personal experiences. I think this is the power of poetry, to connect with other people and realize that I am not unique or strange in my own experiences. By giving voice to things that have happened that seem bizarre or unimaginable, we publicize the fact that these things do happen and are real and need to be dealt with rather than ignored. I also attended some of the Cal Slam's performances and after each performance wished that I had the same sense of confidence and rhythm the performers had while they read their works. I am excited about hosting open mics at BCC because I will be able to hear many other writer's works as well as perhaps learn more about how I can improve my own speaking skills. I am sure that some of the students at BCC have powerful stories to share and I cannot wait to hear them. I also look forward to mentoring or providing advice one-on-one to students about their poetry. -Jennifer
1.What are your expectations going into your ACES project? Being a part of the promotion team, I expect to feel more involved in the community of the bay by attending open mics and poetry slams. I also thought it would be a great way to learn more about the bay since this is my first year in Berkeley, so I still have a lot to explore in San Francisco and Oakland. I thought that it would allow me to interact with more people in the class and interact with folks beyond Berkeley. I expect to feel energized by listening to the poetry of others at open mics and to push myself to perform at one. I definitely felt reinvigorated after I went to Final Fridays, a poetry slam in Oakland. I also expect to learn more about how the youth, communities of color are resisting through poetry and other art.
2. Your hopes & fears? I hope to feel inspired by hearing poetry past the classroom and to make new connections with people. I hope to perform at one or more of the open mics. I haven’t performed enough lately so I am a little fearful of performing. I felt a little intimidated at the open mic I went to in February, but I will definitely see the fierce performers as motivation to encourage myself to take a risk and perform! I also don’t how I feel/how safe I feel about performing poetry related to queer identity. I don’t think it would be the best idea to share a poem about queerness, if people are allowed to record the performance and then possibly put it online. I could always give a disclaimer to people in the crowd. I could also perform a piece not related to it. I hope to improve my performance skills as well and have more bravery.
3. What are some of your assumptions? I assumed that I would be devoting a lot of time to the ACES project and that this is would be a meaningful experience. I think it is really important for poetry for me to experience poetry in different spaces and interact with communities not just in Berkeley. I assumed I would learn more about the bay and racial, gender etc. justice issues. -Preyanka
1. I expected that ACES would provide me with an opportunity to participate in poetry events and visit venues outside of the immediate Cal community. I expected it might expand my understanding and appreciation of the East Bay experience, seeing as I am more familiar with the West Bay.
2. My hopes are the same as mentioned above: an expanded perspective. Also I hoped to enjoy a large range of poetry from a diverse group of poets as well as visit places that I would not otherwise visit. I was a little fearful about performing my own poetry, but when the time came, it was actually quite fun.
3. I assumed that there would be a predominantly 21 and over demographic at open mics and poetry slams. As it turned out, each open mic/slam has had a different age range. I was impressed by the talent of some of the younger performers.
1. I expect to learn a lot from other people's writing and performances.
ReplyDeleteI love attending open mics but am always very apprehensive about
performing in them and hope that I can gain confidence as well as help
other people with their own fears and worries about writing and
performing. I expect that most of the students will be excited about
reading and hearing other people's poems. However I expect that some
students will not be as excited as others. I am from Seattle, WA and
I hope to learn more about the city in which I have lived for almost 4
years.
2. I hope to learn as well as teach. I want to learn how to improve my
own poetry as well as my performance skills. I hope to teach other
people how to become better, more effective writers as well as how to
perform their pieces passionately and effectively. Some of my fears
are my own preparedness to act as a mentor or tutor to people about
their poetry. I sometimes have a hard time critiquing my own writing
and I am not sure how well I will be able to critique other people's
writing. I am afraid of offending people because I disagree with them
about their works of art, which can be very personal pieces. However,
I think that with the right amount of training I'll be able to give
useful feedback to writers about their poetry. I am also nervous but
excited about performing my own work at BCC. I am afraid of people
judging my writing or experiences as insignificant or over-dramatized.
However, I think this will also improve with practice. As I become
more confident with my own writing, my performances will also become
better.
3. I have attended a couple open mics throughout my
time here at Cal. Most of them were students and I was blown away by
their talents. I attended the Vagina Monologues and was impressed by
the spoken word pieces because they were so honest and relevant to
many of my personal experiences. I think this is the power of poetry,
to connect with other people and realize that I am not unique or
strange in my own experiences. By giving voice to things that have
happened that seem bizarre or unimaginable, we publicize the fact that
these things do happen and are real and need to be dealt with rather
than ignored. I also attended some of the Cal Slam's performances and
after each performance wished that I had the same sense of confidence
and rhythm the performers had while they read their works. I am
excited about hosting open mics at BCC because I will be able to hear
many other writer's works as well as perhaps learn more about how I
can improve my own speaking skills. I am sure that some of the
students at BCC have powerful stories to share and I cannot wait to
hear them. I also look forward to mentoring or providing advice
one-on-one to students about their poetry.
-Jennifer
1.What are your expectations going into your ACES project?
ReplyDeleteBeing a part of the promotion team, I expect to feel more involved in the community of the bay by attending open mics and poetry slams. I also thought it would be a great way to learn more about the bay since this is my first year in Berkeley, so I still have a lot to explore in San Francisco and Oakland. I thought that it would allow me to interact with more people in the class and interact with folks beyond Berkeley. I expect to feel energized by listening to the poetry of others at open mics and to push myself to perform at one. I definitely felt reinvigorated after I went to Final Fridays, a poetry slam in Oakland. I also expect to learn more about how the youth, communities of color are resisting through poetry and other art.
2. Your hopes & fears?
I hope to feel inspired by hearing poetry past the classroom and to make new connections with people. I hope to perform at one or more of the open mics. I haven’t performed enough lately so I am a little fearful of performing. I felt a little intimidated at the open mic I went to in February, but I will definitely see the fierce performers as motivation to encourage myself to take a risk and perform! I also don’t how I feel/how safe I feel about performing poetry related to queer identity. I don’t think it would be the best idea to share a poem about queerness, if people are allowed to record the performance and then possibly put it online. I could always give a disclaimer to people in the crowd. I could also perform a piece not related to it. I hope to improve my performance skills as well and have more bravery.
3. What are some of your assumptions?
I assumed that I would be devoting a lot of time to the ACES project and that this is would be a meaningful experience. I think it is really important for poetry for me to experience poetry in different spaces and interact with communities not just in Berkeley. I assumed I would learn more about the bay and racial, gender etc. justice issues.
-Preyanka
1. I expected that ACES would provide me with an opportunity to participate in poetry events and visit venues outside of the immediate Cal community. I expected it might expand my understanding and appreciation of the East Bay experience, seeing as I am more familiar with the West Bay.
ReplyDelete2. My hopes are the same as mentioned above: an expanded perspective. Also I hoped to enjoy a large range of poetry from a diverse group of poets as well as visit places that I would not otherwise visit. I was a little fearful about performing my own poetry, but when the time came, it was actually quite fun.
3. I assumed that there would be a predominantly 21 and over demographic at open mics and poetry slams. As it turned out, each open mic/slam has had a different age range. I was impressed by the talent of some of the younger performers.
Monet