What a big night! It felt like the TYPS really came into its own last night. There were more schools represented than ever before, more workshoppers than ever before, and more poets competing in the slam than ever before. Not only that, but there was a noticeable improvement in the quality of the work performed. TYPS poets take risks on the mic, speaking to the events and issues that effect not only themselves, but also their communities. And of course there is plenty of room to be ridicules, also!
Maya led the workshop at 5pm and made the participants practice performance in the face of the traffic noise of Campbell Ave. No easy feat! Our featured poet was Howard Smith, from Tucson by way of New York. The crowd loved his performance and we hear that he is going to continue to be involved in the TYPS while he’s here in Tucson! Kicking off the night was Sarah Gonzales, who is the director of the Nuestra Voz program at the YWCA of Tucson. Chicana X they call her!
Also, importantly, we had our first TYPS Committee Meeting at 6pm. The TYPS is now transitioning to being completely youth-run and youth-led. Sammy Dominguez volunteered to run the camera at the slam and Trevor Lawrence volunteered to run the TYPS YouTube Channel. The decision was made to continue the TYPS through the summer with youth co-hosts. Starting in May, the TYPS will be held on 3rd Saturdays (instead of 2nd Saturdays as we did this spring). This was all discussed and voted on. The TYPS Committee is going to become increasingly active in the next few months. Come early on Sat. 4/9 to be a part of it.
Saturday 4/9: Last regular season TYPS! Youth poets from Sedona.