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Verbal Blend, a spoken-word poetry program coordinated by the Office of Multicultural Affairs within the Division of Student Affairs, will host its secpnd annual Spoken Word Poetry Institute on Oct. 23 and 25. Toni Blackman, creator of Freestyle Union, will perform and facilitate a workshop.

Toni Blackman

“The Spoken Word Poetry Institute is an excellent platform for students to deepen their scholarship, appreciation and best practices of raising awareness of social issues through spoken word,” says Cedric Bolton, coordinator of student engagement in the Office of Multicultural Affairs. “The campus and community get to see how scholarship and the arts have no boundaries by allowing the student performers to stretch their imaginations and create a new world through dramatic wordplay.”

The two scheduled events are:

Thursday, Oct. 23, 7: 30 p.m.
The institute will open with a live performance by Blackman in the Schine Underground. Tickets are free with SU I.D. and are available at Schine Box Office.

Saturday, Oct. 25, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Blackman will facilitate “The Wisdom of the Cipher” day writers and performers workshop in 228B Schine Student Center. Students must register for this workshop by emailing Bolton at ctbolton@syr.edu. The workshop is free. This workshop is also open to the public with prior registration.

Freestyle Union uses oral improvisation as the basis for the human and creative development of emerging and establish artists by providing artist development workshops. These sessions emphasize freestyling, writing, speaking and performance as well as ego management, holistic health care, the study of hip-hop history and the rapper’s role as storyteller and historian.

In addition to founding Freestyle Union, Blackman authored “Inner-Course,” a book of poetry and inspirational prose. Her next book, “Wisdom of the Cipher,” will be released in spring 2014, along with music from her Hip Hop Meditation project, and her book “Travels of a Lyrical Ambassador.” Blackman has performed, led workshops and spoken in 34 different countries, including at ASPEN Institute’s World Summit on Creativity in Oman, the World Social Forum in Barcelona, as a featured speaker at Chicago Ideas Week, TEDx UMass at Amherst, Urban Voices Festival in South Africa and Cutting Edge Festival in Germany. She has appeared on BET, VH1, MTV, FOX News and other outlets.

The Spoken Word Poetry Institute is sponsored by Verbal Blend, with support from the Poet’s Learning Community and Nu Rho Poetic Society.

To attend, register in advance by contacting Bolton at ctbolton@syr.edu or 315-443-9676. If you have questions or need more information, contact Bolton.