Midway through my first semester at Penn State, I attended a W.O.R.D.S. (Writers Organized to Represent Diverse Stories) general body meeting for the first time. There were about 15 students gathered together at a classroom in Osmond, each of us sitting in our own desks facing the front where the executive board sat together. The executive board started the meeting with icebreakers, allowing all of us to get to know each other, and then transitioned to everyone sharing their art. My first impression of W.O.R.D.S. when I was looking into organizations on campus was that it was simply a spoken words club. I thought that people would just gather together and read their poetry, and that was it. In my first meeting, I learned it was much more than that.
People shared more than their poetry; they shared other forms of art, like music, films, or paintings. There were even people that came to the meetings just to share about their days, whether they were going through something difficult and personal, or they had great news they wanted everyone to hear. People were very supportive of each other and their work, listening attentively and providing each other with the best comments and sweetest compliments. W.O.R.D.S. created an atmosphere that was overall very welcoming, making my timid freshman self feel like I belonged.
From Instagram @wordspennstate
W.O.R.D.S. is an organization that provides artists the opportunities and platforms to perform their craft, mainly catering towards spoken word. This was a common goal that many people wanted when they originally joined W.O.R.D.S. Haniel Tracey, President of W.O.R.D.S, emphasizes how tightly knit the people in the organization actually are, almost a family, something that she wanted to maintain in W.O.R.D.S. during her time on the executive board.
“Everyone helped each other in other areas, just being supportive with each other, so that’s what really led me to stay in the organization, and I wanted to do the same for other students too.”
Haniel Tracey, President of W.O.R.D.S. From Instagram @wordspennstate
Haniel joined W.O.R.D.S. her freshman year in college as I did, and now as a senior she is in a position to maintain and make additions to the organization.
Although it was a challenge to continue the same spirit when the pandemic began and we all transitioned to Zoom, W.O.R.D.S. adjusted to better cater to the open, family dynamic and safe, brave space that the organization typically provided. They limited the amount of poetry slams, showcases for people to perform their poetry, and they put more energy into their general body meetings, making additions like writing prompts for people to do.
“We [the executive board] noticed… a lot of people aren’t writing as much anymore, which is common. There is a lot going on in the world, and sometimes we don’t have the time or we don’t make the time to write. So one thing we incorporated was writing warm ups in the beginning of GB [General Body meetings] just to give us time to sit down for five or ten minutes and write together. I love it.”
They have also incorporated more discussions into general body meetings, allowing all of us to still interact with each other safely and socially distanced.
If you have poetry you would like to share or are just interested in hearing others’ poetry, feel free to stop by and attend the events below:
- On March 20th, there will be an in-person memorial poetry slam in remembrance of Osaze Osagie that anyone is welcomed to sign up for and attend.
- On April 8th, members of W.O.R.D.S. will be performing and accepting submissions for Lambda Theta Alpha’s “Take Back The Night” event regarding awareness of sexual assault.
- In addition, there will be a group performance with W.O.R.D.S. members for Lion Ambassadors in mid March.
- W.O.R.D.S. hosts general body meetings every Tuesday from 7-9pm through Zoom.
To read more about W.O.R.D.S., see these past Klio features-
https://klio.psu.edu/2019/11/14/spoken-word-poets-compete-and-connect/
https://klio.psu.edu/2016/11/15/w-o-r-d-s-we-live-by-poetry-at-penn-state/
By: Aliyah Rios, Poetry Coordinator
Born and raised in Philadelphia, reading and writing was always a part of Aliyah Rios’ life . From her days of writing Austin Mahone fan-fiction and rereading all of John Green books to performing for spoken words and working with a couple literary magazines, her love for literature was embedded in everything she’s done. She is an English major with a Business minor, displays her writing skills for W.O.R.D.S’ shows while also staying in touch with her ethnic roots as a member in PRSA. After graduation, she intends to go after a career in book editing at a publishing firm.