Introduction Essay

Good afternoon students and faculty. Welcome to Baker College's first annual poetry writing workshop. I’m sure you will enjoy the many speeches and activities we have planned for you today. We will be turning our attention now to the art of freeform poetry.

Nikki Giovanni’s poem entitled Poetry says, “we poets tend to think our words are golden though emotion speaks too loudly to be defined. By silence sometimes after midnight, or just before the dawn, we sit typewriter in hand, pulling loneliness around us. Forgetting our lovers or children who are sleeping, ignoring the weary wariness of our own logic to compose a poem. No one understands it.”

Our next speaker’s speech is entitled “Even if no one understands it.” She has spent many late-night hours composing poetry in freeform. You may have read her poems in Ferris State University’s anthology entitled The Acorn, or have heard her reading her poems at open mic night at Club Uniques or Dreamers. Over the past twenty years, she has perfected the skill of freeform poetry, writing on subjects such as love, life, children, and all that is influential around us. Maya Angelou said, “There is no greater agony than bearing the untold story inside you.” This is exactly what the next speaker does. She writes her untold story through the art of freeform poetry even when no one understands it.

Though she has no awards boasting her skill of mastering the art of poetry, she has proven that she will not only be an influential role model to her children, but also that soon she will be added to list of influential African-American women poets along with Alice Walker, Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni, and Maya Angelou. Let’s prepare ourselves to learn how to write our untold story through the art of freeform poetry even if no one else understands it. Join me in giving a warm welcome to the CEO of Creative Poets, Carolyn D. Harris.