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SCENE
| April 22 | Send features
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National Poetry Month
Sankofa serves up spoken stanzas
The art café offers an
open-mic outlet for poets and their fans.
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| The Shorthorn: Jenice Johnson |
| Freelance artist Gabrielle Gray, also
known as G.G., performs freestyle poetry Saturday at Sankofa
Arts Kafé in Dallas. She said she aspires to have
a career in anything related to the arts. Gray currently
takes music classes at El Centro College in Dallas. |
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By Jenice
Johnson
The Shorthorn Scene editor
Drive too fast, and you might miss the
place — even though it has been there for five years. On the
outside glows a neon green sign with modest lettering: Sankofa Arts
Kafé.
Want to see and be seen in the spoken-word circuit? This is the
place to go. Locally, nationally and, in the case of last Saturday,
internationally known poets perform at Sankofa’s every weekend.
Taalam Acey won poetry slams from California to Germany and has
been featured in a BBC radio documentary. He performed Saturday
night to an eager crowd; many knew his every word before he spoke:
“The biggest difference between Donny Hathaway and Kurt Cobain
is don’t nobody give a fuck about a black man’s pain.
So the best way I found to maintain is to heal you.”
In the audience — a book club, aspiring artists, local
talents and their followers. Some of the book club women had requests
— especially for Acey’s more sensual poems.
Gabrielle Gray, also known as G.G., was in the audience and performed
freestyle poetry. Stepping to the microphone in a white crochet
sweater, she seemed timid. Then the words came. Each letter was
totally impromptu — nothing planned.
After she finished, the host, GNO, said everything G.G. does is
completely “off the dome. We have to record that stuff because
you’ll never hear that again.”
Gray wants to do everything — art, poetry, music and acting.
Currently taking music classes at El Centro College in Dallas, G.G.
plays “Vickey” in a film called The Love Hustle, a local
venture by FDI Pictures.
Other talent at Sankofa’s will be featured on “HBO’s
Def Poetry” and on Pass the Mic — a compilation album
of spoken-word poets and music by Madukwu Chinwah, who won a Grammy
for producing Erykah Badu’s “Love of My Life.”
Sankofa’s has a healthy fan-base of UT-Dallas students already.
Time for UTA to step up to the mic.
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