Camp leaders Bryan Hancock and Adria Cintron hope to inspire teens to write their own poetry at the Melrose Library’s Teen Speak Poetry Camp on August 3, 10, and 17.
Sixteen middle and high school aged-students filled a meeting room at the Melrose Library the evening of Thursday, August 3. These kids could have been anywhere else — the mall, a friend’s house, visiting family. Instead, they chose to go to the library. Some said it was their favorite place to go.
The evening began with dinner — Domino’s pizza boxes were stacked high. There was more than enough to feed everyone in attendance. Cintron and Hancock, local poets and camp leaders, handed out notebooks. They encouraged attendees to write their names on the pads of paper and leave them at the library, saying, “We’ll see you next week, right?”
The students crowded around tables, doodling on their notebooks, checking their phones, and chatting with each other. Some started writing before the prompts were even given.
For Hancock and Cintron, they just want the kids to show up and give it a try.
“It is essential to developing self-esteem,” according to Hancock, who explained that the program supports reading and literacy initiatives in the community.
Hancock and Cintron make a good team. He is a spoken word artist. She started writing traditional poetry and then developed a knack for spoken word at a later age.
Hancock is founder and president of Soul Sessions, a Roanoke-based poetry and creativity organization that holds weekly open mics. Cintron is the Soul Sessions vice president.
Hancock is a Carilion Clinic artist-in-residence, helping people explore wellness through writing. Cintron is a Roanoke City middle school teacher and was recently named Teacher of the Year.
Both care about their students. Both seek to inspire creativity and authenticity. Both want the kids who come to their program to feel welcome and to come back time and time again.
Cintron greets each young person with a smile and a nod, leaning close to take note of their name or treasured story. Hancock starts the class with an icebreaker, adding an upbeat song to bring the room together for that evening’s lesson.
The topic? Spoken word poetry.
As a creative writing teacher in North Carolina, Cintron’s students introduced her to spoken word. They sent her videos and showed her what it was all about.
“I said yes, we definitely need to do this,” she said, remembering her first experiences with spoken word.
Spoken word is like rap without the music, Cintron explained to the Thursday night participants. The words create the rhythm and make listeners pay attention to what the poet is saying, she said.
On Thursday night, Cintron and Hancock showed a video of “America’s Got Talent” winner and spoken word poet Brandon Leeke to their campers. In the poem, Leeke reveals the pain that followed after his baby sister passed away when they were both children.
Campers reacted. They felt the sadness that Leeke was describing. Hancock explained that they were feeling empathy.
“Empathy is a bridge to action. Sometimes, if you don’t know what to do, you can listen,” Hancock says. “Poets are gatekeepers to truth. They are telling their truth.”
The campers seemed to get what he was saying. They were captivated by Hancock and Cintron’s lesson. They were ready to write.
Melrose Library branch manager Antinette Beane looked on from the back of the room. As more campers arrived, she greeted families and handed out even more pizza. Presenting a welcoming library space for these families is important to Beane.
“The community loves this library,” Bean says.
Regarding the importance of having youth engage with the library, she said, “They can connect. This is a safe space. It is a learning space. The library connects you with some great people.”
“We care,” Beane adds.
The level of care that Beane inspires in her library staff and patrons is apparent. While the Teen Speaks program was occurring, other areas of the library were also full of activity. One staff member worked with elementary-aged students to build rockets. Another helped a patron complete computer-related tasks in a separate space. More visitors milled around, looking through the stacks.
“The library has been amazing. They’ve made this thing happen in an incredible way,” Cintron says, regarding the Teen Speak camp.
Hancock launched the Teen Speak program at Melrose Library with the help of a Roanoke City Art Matters Grant. Cintron soon came on board.
The poetry camp is the basis for the city’s youth poet laureate program. Roanoke City’s first youth poet laureate will be named at the city’s Rhythm and Rhyme poetry festival on October 21, according to Cintron. The festival will be held in conjunction with the annual Melrose Fall Festival. Campers will also have the opportunity to perform their work onstage at The Grandin Theatre in September.
The library program isn’t only concerned with identifying a poet laureate, however. “It’s about every young person who wants to express their voice, learn about poetry, and have another way of engaging with the world around them,” according to Douglas Jackson, Roanoke City’s arts and culture coordinator.
Most of all, the program gives the kids something to be proud of. “It has its own heartbeat,” Hancock says.
The poetry camp will meet two more times, on August 10 and 17 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Melrose Library, located at 2502 Melrose Ave. NW. Dinner is provided. Middle and high school-aged youth are welcome to attend one or both sessions. The camp is free of charge.
