Broadside Poets entertain, educate at Detroit Mercy

*snap* *snap* *snap* *snap* - the cliché conclusion to a poetry reading. Not here. Here they are met with thunderous applause.
The Broadside Press Poets' Theater held its monthly meeting in the Commerce and Finance Building Sunday, maybe one of the only times that building has been filled with liberal arts enthusiasts.
The session showcased the talent and passion of the writers and performers of the evening.
Cassie Poe is a Detroit poet and mother. She began with readings of the highest caliber, readings that demonstrated her status in the city's poetic hierarchy. Amongst many other accomplishments, she was a member of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Detroit Poetry Slam Team, Slammaster, and coach of the 2006 and 2008 Detroit ByteThis team, and is serving once again as Slammaster for the 2009 ByteThis team.
La Shaun Phoenix Moore, who performed second, is a Detroit performance poet and activist for the Prison Creative Arts Project.
She is proud host of the ByteThis Poetry Series, which runs every Monday at Cliff Bells in Detroit. She was a member of the 2006 Detroit Slam Team and coaching assistant for the 2008 Detroit ByteThis Slam team. She is the co-Slammaster of the 2009 ByteThis Team and another high-ranking figure in the city's realm of poetics.
These two talented women kicked off the night's events.
A question-and-answer segment followed the first two readings. Students and other participants inquired about writing styles, formats and experiences before volunteering to read their own works before the seasoned audience.
Six eager artists volunteered, including juniors Alex Jones, Alexis Ellison and Deonte Osayande.
"If you're a good writer, you need to be here," said Jones. "This is an opportunity you won't always get, to speak in front of published poets who are there to give you feedback."
Aurora Harris, another literary light in the city and featured speaker at the November meeting, concluded the session with another question-and-answer segment and a reading of her own.
Though UDM has attracted experienced and inspired writers, the events have yet to reach their potential.
"It's a really good series," said Jones. "It's well done, but underplayed. It's a surreal experience that isn't appreciated as it should be."
The Broadside Press Poets' Theater is four decades strong in cultivating and promoting the arts within the city and nationwide.
The past twenty years have witnessed writing workshops, presentations by writers, thinkers and artistic performers who have impacted the Detroit literary world and open-mike sessions for metro Detroit's community.
Broadside Press embraces and promotes the vital importance of the written word as an art form. It has used the publishing of literature to build communities and promote cultural critique.
Broadside's mission continues to be to "identify, cultivate and promote the talents of a large cadre of writers and to foster within our community a passion for African American literature and culture."
The organization has its roots firmly planted in the Detroit community, but continues to develop the talents of writers throughout the African diaspora.
Broadside has developed numerous community projects through strategic partnerships. These include the Shout out! Young Poets Rising! competition and Dudley Randall Center for Print Culture at UDM.
Hosted by the Randall Center, the Broadside group meets every third Sunday of each month.
For more information, go to www.broadsidepress.org and www.myspace.com/broadsidepress.