Bold. Brazen and Fierce, repeat Poetry Slam winner Phoenix is a lyrical force. Just like her name Phoenix her poetry speaks to love, struggle and how one can rise from the ashes like the Phoenix. After personally seeing and being blessed to hear her go to sudden death and win at a recent poetry slam, I knew a sit down with her for National Poetry Month would be an honor:
City.Life.Style: How did you get started in poetry?
Phoenix: I started writing at a young age; I’ve always been a lover of poetry. I was introduced to slam poetry in 2005 when I saw Jamal May aka Versus perform at an open mic spot in the Detroit. I started my journey with slam poetry in 2013, battling in competitions around Detroit. In 2015 I competed and earned a spot on the Detroit poetry slam team FreshWater Wordsmiths. Traveling to different cities and competing against other teams with such diverse talent; made me fall in love with poetry even more. I can’t imagine doing anything different.
City.Life.Style: What inspires your poetry?
Phoenix: Poetry always finds me through social injustices, life experiences, relationships and music. It’s like I’m a conduit, I allow it to flow through me naturally.
City.Life.Style: Your stage presence is amazing, does it come naturally or with practice?
Phoenix: I channel the energy of the poem and tap into the emotion I had when I wrote the piece. I believe I’m naturally inclined with the gift of poetry and performance. My pieces are written from raw spaces, so because they are so personal to me its just natural.
City.Life.Style: How do you feel about the Detroit poetry scene?
Phoenix: I absolutely love my poetry community! We have a rawness about our craft that keeps our sound original. We have a very diverse community; singers, rappers, musicians, comedians, sketch artist, and painters. We are a collective but individuals at the same time. I love that we have black entrepreneurship in our community. I love that our community has black men mentoring other young black men. It goes deeper than just poetry in Detroit poetry scene. The poetry is just the spirit of it all, but we got soul.
City.Life.Style: Any advice for upcoming artists?
Phoenix: Always push through your fear. Don’t become complacent with your writing ability. Always be authentic. Always perform the piece the way you felt it when you wrote it. Write the verse down soon as it comes to you. Don’t get stuck at just being an open mic poet, reach beyond Detroit opportunities.
City.Life.Style: What’s up next?
Phoenix: I was invited to compete in a slam at the Charles H. Wright Museum on April 20th. We will be competing for first place $500 and second place $250. I’m also competing in the midwest regional slam Rustbelt in June; which will be held in our own backyard right here in Detroit, Mi.
You can follow her on Facebook @poetrypossedphoenix
About Post Author
