The One Word Poetry Festival returns to Rock Hill with various events for Winthrop students to take advantage of.
The five-day event will kick off with a creative writing showcase at Dina’s Place on March 30 and end with a poetry brunch in Richardson Ballroom on April 3.
“The festival includes various workshops, Creative Writing Showcase by Winthrop University students, a youth open mic, [and an] adult open mic featuring music by Rock Hill Hall of Fame band Mellogroove, where there will be a food truck and beverages for sale from the Rock Hill Bottle Shop,” said Ephraim Sommers, assistant professor of English at Winthrop and coordinator of educational activities on the festival’s planning team.
On Saturday, April 2, the finalists for the Youth Poet Laureate position will perform, and Rock Hill’s next Youth Poet Laureate will be named.
Author of “Pink Elephant” and 2009 Women of the World Poetry Slam champion, Rachel McKibbens, will lead a poetry workshop and host a keynote reading and Q&A at the poetry brunch on Sunday, April 3.
The One Word Poetry Festival planning team is made up of all community volunteers who give great insight into the event’s schedule, programmatic offerings, promotion and other details that ensure the festival “happens without a hitch,” according to Angelo Geter, festival director/founder and Poet Laureate of Rock Hill.
In addition to Geter and Sommers, the other members of the festival planning team are the coordinator of community service Joya Holmes, coordinator of public outreach Abbie Towson, and coordinator of event programming Debra Heintz.
“When I created the One Word Poetry Festival, my intent was to highlight the importance of poetry, writing and creative expression in Rock Hill. The arts are important to the community but are often overshadowed by sports, finance and other industries. I wanted this festival to make a statement and show how valuable poetry is and can be to the city. I want those who attend to be exposed to the various types of poetry, learn more about the art form, and show that everyone can be impacted and inspired by it in different ways.” Geter said.
Last year’s festival was pushed to a later date, during Winthrop’s summer break.
“So the first thing that changed was last time, we kind of kept having to push the event back for different reasons to later in the year. And what ended up happening was we were a month outside of Winthrop being in class,” Sommers said. “And so by that time, everybody at Winthrop has gone home.
“So one of the major changes we wanted to make was having it happen during the Winthrop school year so that we could have those events be cultural events. And I also wanted to have a kickoff event with Winthrop poets. And so that’s going to be we didn’t have that last year.
“I’m really excited about that, obviously, because Winthrop gets to be represented, right, because this event just isn’t about Winthrop. It’s really about the community of Rock Hill.”
Embracing Winthrop’s artistic community, as well as the Charlotte, York County, and Columbia areas, Sommers sees the festival’s impact as a reminder to the community of the greater artistic world around them.
Rock Hill native Alexandra Aradas, now a senior at the S.C. Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, was named the inaugural Rock Hill Youth Poet Laureate at last year’s festival.
Aradas says her experience in creative writing originally started as a form of therapy.
“And that was basically the thing that I used to keep myself alive — because I suffer from depression. And that would, that’s what I use. And so I have a lot of experiences from that of, like, being in the hospital and writing. And that really motivated me. And that encouraged my passion for writing.” Aradas said.
Taking an interest in social justice, Aradas realized she wanted to use her writing and be a civic poet.
“When I first started my term, I had, like, the SpeakUp Youth Conference that I went to, and I read it. And that was really cool because I got to read poems, like, about Black Lives Matter and about voting to, like, children. And that was really cool,” Aradas said. “I think the significance of [my role] is that I have gained the confidence to talk about those issues. And my role, my platform, it like, it gives me the ability to talk about it.”
As Rock Hill Youth Poet Laureate, “Perks include a monetary stipend, a reading and performance tour, a mentorship from the current Rock Hill Adult Poet Laureate, and opportunities for having your work highlighted throughout the city,” according to the York County Library website.
Before the announcement of Aradas being named winner of the Rock Hill Youth Poet Laureate title during last year’s festival was made, Aradas’ mother prepared her for the worst outcome.
“And she was, like, prepping me already, before we even left the car to lose. And it’s not that she doesn’t believe in me, but she just knows how the world works. And so when I won, like, that was probably one of the greatest moments of my life because I finally realized the power that my poetry had.”
To view the One Word Poetry Festival’s full event schedule, visit https://onewordpoetryfestival.com/.
