Poetry artist Medina to read at Pub

Spoken-word artist Gabriela Garcia Medina artistically identifies most closely with traveling West African poets called griots. Griot is a French word for travelling West African poets and musicians who kept oral tradition and spirituality alive. Medina writes and performs poetry, writes books, acts in theater and has even designed her own line of clothing. On Nov. 8, Social Board is sponsoring a poetry event in Peirce Pub. At 9:00 p.m., there will be an open poetry reading by all Kenyon poets who wish to participate. Afterwards, there will be a reading by Medina.

Medina was originally born in Cuba, but moved to London as a child. During a fifth-grade field trip to a soup kitchen, Medina saw homelessness for the first time. "I was so shocked, I wrote a poem about it," she said. That was the first poem she ever wrote, and she has been creating ever since.

According to Medina, her early poems were very angry. "Writing was my tool to express my frustrations over what was going on around me," she said, but her work has evolved into something more concerned with healing wounds and divides. "I knew I was angry, but what could I do about it?"

Medina said that her poetry evolved into "something used to inspire, to empower." Her personal style also constantly evolves, she said. Her style and intentions are one and the same; Medina writes poems that she can use to create connections and "to heal myself and to heal others." According to Medina, "everything" inspires her.

Medina's poetry has led her to several prominent venues, including the World Social Forum in Brazil and numerous colleges and festivals. She has also performed on television, radio and the Internet. In keeping with her history of spirituality and activism, she has also performed for several non-profit organizations, such as the Los Angeles Youth Conference.

Poetry, however, is not the only art form Medina uses. She has published two books, "Ink-Scribing Oshun" and "In the Wake of Oya." She was the lead actress in the movie "Students Like Us" and has been a member of the Latino Theatre Company Lab in Los Angeles. On top of that, she has her own clothing line called "Labor De Amor," which is Spanish for "Labor of Love." Medina is also a founding member of the WISE Collective, or Womyn Inspiring Spiritual/Social Expression, a program of workshops and performances intended to uplift women in the Los Angeles area through art.

Gabriela Garcia Medina will begin her reading at around 10:00 p.m. Kenyon poets and poetry lovers are encouraged to come to the Peirce Pub at 9:00 p.m. to read their own work.