By Grant Terwilliger
Spoken word poet Lyrical Faith, brings activism and engagement to the Warren Ballrooms.
Lyrical Faith is a graduate of the public relations program at Syracuse University, an educator, an award-winning international spoken word poet and activist who has traveled all over the world performing poetry.
On Feb. 19, Lyrical Faith performed at the Angell College Center Ballroom at SUNY Plattsburgh.
“I’ve traveled all over the world, and I’ve gotten to do poems in a lot of different places, but wherever I go, and I haven’t lived in the city for a while, like several years now, but wherever I go, I feel like New York City was a very integral part of who I am as a person,” Lyrical Faith said.
Lyrical Faith interacts with the audience and brings enthusiasm to those in attendance through a call and response performance with sounds such as key jingling and snaps.
“In the world of spoken word, we like energy, we like excitement. You know what I’m saying, and so I love call and response,”Lyrical Faith said.
Although Lyrical Faith performs original material; she takes inspiration from songs such as “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar as well as more spiritual books on prayers and meditations to guide her work.
Her poetry features all aspects of black culture and deals a lot with identity, perseverance and self-empowerment as well as social injustice and staying true to oneself.
“I realized that no matter how on top of the world I felt with all of my accomplishments and degrees or whatever, that nobody saw that when I was walking down the street and just saw a black woman. That’s just the reality, so I wrote this poem to inspire myself and to inspire others, that when the waters get murky to just keep swimming,” Lyrical Faith said.
“I think spoken word is a very powerful tool for social justice and raising awareness about critical issues and helping people to spark conversations,” Lyrical Faith said.
