James Tokley remembers the night poetry became cool.
It was 1979. The jukebox was jumping at Grace's Place in West Tampa, now Cotton Club South. In walked Tokley and a few poet friends, and owner Grace Sherman pulled the plug on the jukebox.
"It went der, der, der, derrr," said Tokley, now 58. "Then they started cussin'."
Sherman shushed the crowd. Tonight they would get some culture, she told them. Tonight they'd listen to poetry.
Tokley's friend Otis read first. The crowd scoffed. Then came Tokley's turn. He pictured himself being tossed out the door, with a chair behind him. Still, he recited a few lines of his poem, Red Talk Jive at Five, and the place erupted into applause.
After that, Tokley found steady gigs doing public poetry readings.
"I can almost say that it started there at Grace's Place," he said, "where all of a sudden, the people said, 'Hey, is that poetry? I didn't know that was poetry. I like that.'"
Poetry was alive and well in Tampa Bay. Now, nearly three decades later, Cotton Club South is one of many venues to catch live spoken-word poetry, and since 1996 Tampa has even had its own poet laureate - Tokley.
We picked out a handful of up-and-comers who represent the next generation of performance poets, the Def Poetry generation. If you like what you see, catch them in person.
LIZZ STRAIGHT, 26, of Tampa
Day job: Legal secretary
I write about... "Whether it be an episode of Winnie the Pooh or what's going on in Lebanon right now, whatever moves me to write, I'll write about it."
I write because... "I have to."
If I weren't writing poetry, I'd be... "Maybe in somebody's mental institution, or dead maybe."
Sample line: "I was sent this, didn't plan it. One of the few vessels on this planet. Opening wide to reveal insides of digested suggestions of what everyone thinks I should be, 'cause they're afraid of what I could be." - from Mud Pies
Poem everyone should know: Substances by Jack McCarthy
Proudest moment: Returning to the National Poetry Slam in Austin, Texas, in August as a volunteer after competing in the 2003 slam on the Pensacola team.
On the Web: www.wmnf.org, www.myspace.com/lizzstraight, www.lizzstraight.com
Catch me at: Soulstice Lounge, Black on Black Rhyme and hosting Poetry Is.
FORGE
a.k.a. Mike Browning, 25, of Tampa
Day job: Social rehabilitation counselor at Mental Health Care in Tampa
I write about... People. "I don't really do a lot of topics that you'll find other poets do a lot. I don't talk a lot about politics or about women's rights. Not that I'm against politics or women's rights or anything, it's just not what I go for."
I write in order to... "Expand people's awareness, give people some of the perspective I see on humans and humanity. I tend to focus more on the individual to make an inference about the whole. ... Before I started doing poetry I was doing hip-hop, 'cause I thought I could rap. Eventually I found poetry and decided I liked that better."
If I weren't writing poetry, I'd be... "Writing stories."
Sample line: "So as long as this weak heart keeps makin' blood flow in me, I will catch that s--- like an underhand pitch and turn it into some poetry." - from I'm Still Here
Poems everyone should know: The Rebel by Charles Baudelaire and Atonement to Heal by 13 of Nazareth.
Proudest moment: Winning the inspirational category at last fall's Black on Black Rhyme annual poetry contest. The winning poem, She's Running, is about a homeless girl Forge knew. Shortly after that, Forge was asked to help host and DJ Black on Black Rhyme.
On the Web: www.myspace.com/forgetampa
Catch me at: Black on Black Rhyme
L.I.F.E. (LIVING IT FOR EVERYONE)
a.k.a.: The 31-year-old Tampa resident says he uses his birth name " just for police and government stuff."
Day job: "I'm the only full-time poet in Tampa." He's also a husband and father of two.
I write about... "Everything that interests and affects African people - music, money, social stigmas, sex, love, struggles with relationships. Just everything. But if I had to be pegged as a poet, I would probably be pegged as a political poet."
I write because... "I don't write things on paper, so poems are always just working in my head. So I guess I have to write. It's always there."
If I weren't writing poetry, I'd be... "Dead. It's all I know. I had a lot of opportunities when I was younger, and I just kinda trash-canned them all. I could've been a doctor, lawyer and all that, but I'm 31 years old. I don't have no options no more!" (laughs)
Sample line: "I am the visible essence of our ancestors' rhythm and message." - from Worth It
Poem everyone should know: Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
Proudest moment: His first poetry slam victory for $1,000 in October 2005 at the Tampa Improv.
On the Web: www.lifeizpoetry.com, www.myspace.com/lifeizpoetry
Catch me at: Black on Black Rhyme
WALLY B
a.k.a.: Walter Jennings, 29, of Tampa
Day job: Facility manager and public events coordinator for USF Gibbons Alumni Center, husband and father of a 3-year-old daughter
Biggest inspiration: Ordinary people. Wally B grew up in a two-parent household and has a college degree. He uses poetry to let everyone know that seemingly well-adjusted people have problems, too.
I write about... "I'm the voice of the working-class common man."
I write because... "If I don't say it, then there's no guarantee that it will ever be said."
If I weren't writing poetry, I'd be doing... "Nothing constructive."
Sample line: "This poem is for those of us that make the world go 'round, but our stories are not found in rap and rock music because the lives of ordinary people don't move enough units." - from Between the Lines
Poem everyone should know: None. "I'm of the opinion that there's a poet in everyone and there's a voice in everyone that needs to be heard."
Proudest moment: As a poet, it was getting a perfect score at the Southern Fried Regional Slam after leaving out a part of his poem in 2004 in Miami. His proudest moment as a host was seeing nearly 200 people attend Black on Black Rhyme's first anniversary night in September 2002 at Blue Ship Cafe, now Good Luck Cafe.
On the Web: E-mail at wallybclark@hotmail.com
Catch me at: Black on Black Rhyme and SAMAR
ASIA
a.k.a.: Asia Elliot, 16, of Tampa
Day job: Drama major at Blake High School and server at Good Luck Cafe in Ybor.
I write about... "Anything intense enough to inspire me."
I write because... "I was born with that condition. I don't even think I can tack a reason to it. It's more of a natural thing. I have to. It's like speaking, like why would you talk? I write for the same reason that I talk."
If I weren't writing poetry, I'd be... "I just probably wouldn't be."
Sample line: "But even in a paralyzed state of meditation, we would intertwine, panting psychologically and hearts beating just to ensure that we would stay a part of this realm." - From Untitled
Poem everyone should know: A Rant For Marsupials While PMSing by Samantha Raheem.
Proudest moment: Observing her first poetry reading at age 13. "I felt so womanly and complete. I felt proud, I felt full of me. I think probably my walk changed or something. (laughs) I knew I was missing it."
On the Web: www.myspace.com/asia_e, www.nationofpoetry.com
Catch me at: Soulstice Lounge, Black on Black Rhyme and occasionally The Lobby.
Want to hear some poetry? Check out Mayhem Poets at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. $10-$15. (727) 791-7400.
VENUS JONES, 32, of Tampa
Day jobs: Actress, model, voiceover artist and wife
I write about: “All the senses, as well as a reflection on what is good, what is divine, and I try my best to focus on those things, but sometimes I’m motivated and inspired by what I see. If I see something that makes me angry, I write about it. If I see something that I want to change — whether it be racial or social issues, social justice issues — sometimes I write about those things. I don’t even perform them or recite them. I write them for my own healing and/or for therapy. But at the same time, I do a lot of Pollyanna-type stuff where I’m just writing about trees and rivers and lakes and nature and things that I hope to be that have nothing to do with what is.”
I write because... “I write to inspire and to spread proof. I write to heal. I write to make things tangible and real. I write to recite, and I write to receive.” — from Why I Write
If I weren’t writing poetry, I’d be... “Just listening more.”
Sample line: “I will run across country and you will track my steps.” — from I Run
Poem everyone should know: We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Proudest moment: Sharing a stage with Nikki Giovanni at a luncheon in 2003. “She was of course an inspiration for me with Ego Trippin’. When I first heard that in college, I was just like, 'Oh my gosh, she’s bold. I want to write like that.’”
On the Web: www.venusjones.com
Catch me at: Sacred Grounds Coffee House
PURPLE BUBBLE
a.k.a.: Improv spoken-word duo Pedro Jarquin, 23, and Jeffrey James Skatzka, 24; both of St. Petersburg
Day jobs: Jarquin coordinates spoken-word events. Skatzka is a literature student at USF and works at the USF St. Pete bookstore.
Biggest inspiration: “I would say women and music,” Skatzka said.
We speak about... “What we know,” Jarquin said. “We dwell on experiences and stuff that we go through that you can pass on to someone else that might relate to or learn from it, or might want to disregard it. Either way.”
We perform because... “No other choice. It’s what we’re good at,” Skatzka said. “Just don’t ask us about grammar.”
If we weren’t performing poetry we’d be... “I have no f------ idea. Not a clue,” Skatzka said.
Poem everyone should know: Seekin’ the Cause by Miguel Pinero
Proudest moment: Getting booed off stage at The Lobby, where they perform regularly, for “messing with the audience’s head,” Jarquin said. Their attempt at off-beat performance art wasn’t a hit with the crowd, but they give themselves props for sticking to it.
On the Web: www.nationofpoetry.com
Catch us at: The Lobby, Spit Tsunami and The Studio @ 620
