Today’s seminar class was part two of our poetry readings and despite the snowstorm everyone attended. Unfortunately, I still didn’t present my two poems yet, but by observing my classmates’ performances, I feel a little uneasy and wary. Public speaking is an art, that if not mastered can be nerve-racking and worrying. Most of my friends today, remained composed, and spoke with confidence. However, there still were some who let it get the best of them, and lacked emotions or feelings.

When I do present, my history of the two poets will be very concise because little information was present on the computer, due to their age and other such factors. However, I admire Michael Cirelli because he combined hip-hop culture and poetry. At first, when I researched him and found about this duality within his poetry, I was a little skeptical and unsure how it would turn out. But, after I read Birthplace, my whole viewpoint was altered greatly. Not only did I respect him, but began to wonder how creative as well as difficult it must be to combine the hip-hop and poetry world together.

Pertaining to today’s class, I specially enjoyed Naomi’s performance and Andrew’s presentation of the poem he wrote. Both were spoke with such emotion and enthusiasm I truly understood the meanings behind each of the poems. I was taken back when I heard Andrew’s poem, because I never knew he was capable or even into that type of writing. It was marvelous how he just sat down one day and wrote this heartfelt and ingenious poem. If he hadn’t had told us that he wrote it, I would definitely have thought some famous author wrote it back in the early 1900s. Also, Naomi’s presentation was empowering and vivid in nature. She used a lot of feeling and passion, making it enjoyable and pleasant to witness. I felt as if, I was in the poem acting out what was being said.

All and all, I learned different techniques to public speaking as to what works and what doesn’t work. Everyone has their own way of doing things, and as an individual, I must find what works best for me. I am looking forward to finally presenting my poems on Monday, and I hope I can be half as good as some of the performances earlier today.