Young spoken word artistes tackle covid19

FOUR young, up-and-coming spoken word artistes received prizes for their entries in the National Library and Information System Authority's (NALIS) online spoken word competition on Wednesday at the National Library in Port of Spain.

The new talent, ranging from ages 16 to 21, wrote covid19-inspired pieces, each from their perspective and experience in dealing with the pandemic. The theme of the competition, “Voices from Isolation. We will get thru dis,” was created to engage youth and allow them to share their experiences with others, said NALIS executive director Paula Greene.

“The competition celebrates creativity amid the covid19 pandemic. Spoken word is an outlet for them to voice their concerns. It is a natural creative expression that allows young people to address issues affecting them.”

Cheyenne Caliste, 16, said the experience was challenging but rewarding.

“My challenges lay in determining the right perspective to approach the topic with. My piece was directed at giving people a sense of assurance.

"I used a line in my piece, ‘life's become a questionable image of chemistry because none of it matters.’ Chemistry is the study of matter and was symbolic for all the sciences.

"We tend to build a world where we result to physical means but here was this big pandemic where we could not explain anything. You're normal for feeling all of these emotions,” said Caliste. Her piece, entitled, A Letter to You, placed second.

Seventeen-year-old Rochelle Rawlins placed first. She said the competition allowed her to look at the pandemic from different angles.

“One way of looking at it was mother nature being fed-up of us destroying her and taking back her power. This was my approach. Some see it as a negative thing, some see it as a blessing, and some see it as both.”

Rawlin’s piece is entitled Officially Broken. She said the pandemic allows everyone to slow down and take a break and decide what matters most.

“It allows you to go within yourself and find a deeper meaning to life.”