S.P.E.A.K’s first open-mic night of the semester

Jailene Escutia • Sep 19, 2018

Thalir Winters reads poetry during S.P.E.A.K. night on September 19th in The Depot. Spoken Poetry Expressed by All Kinds hosted the open mic night where people came on stage to share both poetry and songs. (Mira Laing/Golden Gate Xpress)

S.P.E.A.K will debut its first open-mic night of the semester at The Depot in the Cesar Chavez Student Center from 6-9 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 19.

S.P.E.A.K, an acronym for Spoken Poetry Expressed by All Kinds, is a group on campus whose mission is to allow students from various backgrounds and perspectives to share their ideas through expressive spoken word poetry with peers and guest speakers.

Imani Cezanne, founder of S.P.E.A.K and SF State alumna, said the organization is in desperate need of student involvement so the organization can continue.

“We have brought some of the top spoken word poets to SFSU, including Rudy Francisco, Pages Matam and Javon Johnson, to name a few,” Cezanne said. “S.P.E.A.K is also a great way to learn about event planning, project managing, marketing, leadership and community building.”

Students are encouraged to perform various choices of expressive spoken word, from poetry to rap or interpretive dance. Sign-up sheets will be available half an hour prior to the event.

“We have a ton of really talented spoken word artists and poets that come and perform on stage, and the way that they speak is all a part of the experience,” said Molly Felton, assistant manager of The Depot. “You [students] can expect a lot of really different and cool poets and spoken words.”