With his poem “Tondu: The Tragicomedy of the Black Boy,” Edward Mabrey has won the second annual Jaki Shelton Green Performance Poetry Competition sponsored by the North Carolina Literary Review and the North Carolina Poetry Society. “This poem is so nuanced and layered. It is educational and full of beautifully intentional craft. The extended metaphor and the meaning it carries is powerful,” said contest judge Dasan Ahanu. “The performance of it is a seasoned performer at work. A commitment to embody the poem, not just deliver it.” Mabrey’s performance will be released via NCLR Online Fall 2024, published on NCLR’s YouTube channel, and the North Carolina Poetry Society will provide the poet with the $250 top prize.
As a prolific poet and slam poetry performer, Mabrey has 4 World Championships, 7 Regional Championships, and over 500 other wins to his name. During over a decade living in North Carolina, Mabrey participated in countless open mics and poetry slams and taught workshops throughout the state. An NAACP Image Award Nominee, Mabrey has been on TV One, as well as ABC, FOX, HBO, CNN, Crackle, CBS, and NBC and has performed at over 400 colleges. A Cave Canem fellow, Watering Hole graduate fellow, and Scioto Retreat Cohort, Mabrey is a Pushcart nominee and was commissioned to craft a speech encompassing the Freedom Award recipients for 2017-2021 on behalf of the National Civil Rights Museum. Mabrey is a choreopoet, screenwriter, and actor. Most recently, he is a 2023-2024 Grammy Voting Member and proud member of Phi Theta Kappa.
In second place, Ahanu selected Jess Kennedy’s “Foundations.” About the poem, he said, “This was great use of narrative. You could see the story and feel the impact. The vulnerability in the poem grabs you. The pacing and tone work perfectly with the topic. It is a well written and delivered piece.”
Jess Kennedy, now a resident of Washington, NC, is an Ohio native. She was introduced to slam poetry in high school where she competed in her school district’s annual poetry slam and has pursued it since, including attendance at Ravensun’s Wellspring of Imagination youth writing retreat in 2018.
Third place goes to “Hey America” by Marcial “CL” Harper. “The approach to this poem aids is what makes it stand out,” Ahanu said. “It is part epistle and part dramatic monologue, an intersection of literary and performance forms. The structure and concept allows for harsh and necessary truths to be spoken.”
Harper, who performs under the name “CL Tha Artist” is a multifaceted poet, rapper, health coach and business consultant. CL has performed poetry at various events across the Southeastern US and Virgin Islands.
Ahanu chose three other poets for Honorable Mentions: Alessandra Nysether-Santos’ “Marvelous Marble Jesus,” Brenda Bailey’s “Just Like Black,” and Regina YC Garcia’s “My mother was a tree.”
Alessandra Nysether-Santos is a Brazilian American writer and educator who now lives in Florida after eight years in North Carolina. In addition to their 2023 Applewhite finalist poem in NCLR, their work can be found in Sad Girl Review, SOUP CAN Magazine, the lickety~split, and more.
Brenda Bailey, artistically known as Loc’d, is an educator and performance artist. Her artistic passion ranges from dance to theater to spoken word to song. She has performed in various local theatrical productions, appeared in award winning short films, competed in poetry slams, hosted poetry events, headlined with bands, and recorded critically acclaimed music.
Regina YC Garcia is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill and ECU and has served as an English Professor and the Global Programs Coordinator at Pitt Community College in Greenville, NC since 1999. Regina is a DAR American Heritage Poetry Award winner, a two-time James Applewhite Semifinalist, a finalist in the Charlotte Lit/South Award, and a Pushcart Nominee. She has been published in Up the Staircase Quarterly, South Florida Poetry Journal, Amistad, The Elevation Review, Black Joy Unbound, and numerous other reviews and anthologies. Her recent book, The Firetalker’s Daughter, was released in March 2023 by Finishing Line Press.
The Jaki Shelton Green Performance Poetry Competition is a collaboration between NCLR and the North Carolina Poetry Society, developed in 2022. The NCPS will provide these poets honoraria, and NCLR will release the performances via NCLR Online Fall 2024, due out in October. Current NCPS President Alana Dagenhart notes, “To have a performance poetry prize that honors our vibrant Poet Laureate, Jaki Shelton Green, and gives a stage to new voices is thrilling. It makes me feel like we are on the cusp of dynamic growth in North Carolina poetry, and The North Carolina Poetry Society is delighted to be a sponsor.”
The Jaki Shelton Green Performance Poetry Competition is a new collaboration between NCLR and the North Carolina Poetry Society, developed in 2022 by then NCPS President Celestine Davis. The NCPS will provide these poets honoraria, and NCLR will release the performances via NCLR Online Fall 2023, due out in October. Current NCPS President Alana Dagenhart notes, “To have a performance poetry prize that honors our vibrant Poet Laureate, Jaki Shelton Green, and gives a stage to new voices is thrilling. It makes me feel like we are on the cusp of dynamic growth in North Carolina poetry, and The North Carolina Poetry Society is delighted to be a sponsor.”
The NCPS was founded in 1932 as an all-volunteer organization for poets and friends of poetry, now having over 560 members from North Carolina and around the globe. The NCPS hosts four meetings at Weymouth each year and various offerings around the state and online. They also have three other competitions for NC poets as well as a newsletter and poetry journal.
Produced since 1992 at East Carolina University, the North Carolina Literary Review has won numerous awards and citations. The mission of NCLR is to preserve and promote North Carolina’s rich literary culture. NCLR introduces new and emerging writers; reintroduces forgotten authors; showcases work in literary criticism, interviews, book reviews, fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry; and reports on the state’s literary news.
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