US Youth Poet Laureate Salome Agbaroji

The Prose Bowl: A Night of Spoken Word with Get Lit | LAist; Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

I was the first U.S. Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman in 2017 at the White House

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I may not be Amanda Gorman, but I rock.

WHAT HAPPENED? Some high school students each got up to perform a spoken word piece with varying degrees of impact and facility with the language. One jock even tried to rhyme and express emotion all with a lot of support from the friendly crowd, a full house of the sold out event. Then it was time and Salome stepped up to wow the crowd. It was like seeing an old soul, a student from Los Angeles studying at Harvard. She's a natural, trained in her youth at Get Lit. Then she began to sing and rap, for the first time she says, as part of her presentation, laughing, and telling stories between pieces of such complexity and depth that it's a wonder the other poets could remain in their seats. But this is not about comparison. Salome got the live DJ to provide a backbeat and she belted it out. Then, too soon, it was over. She was approachable after the show, giving hugs and conversing. We asked what she was studying in at Harvard. She replied that everyone at Harvard begins with a general education before choosing a major. She had ideas for a future in social justice but was open to all she was studying. One couldn't help but feel she was an "old soul" come to the planet for some greatness. And often when she was performing her pieces without artifice or bombast, it really was like being on a platform in the akasha at a Federation of Worlds gathering (UN style) and hearing a visionary. We couldn't tell her that, but she might have happy to hear it. She has her feet firmly on the ground. What will she accomplish? salomeagbaroji.com

The Prose Bowl: A Night of Spoken Word with Get Lit

It’s a celebration of Los Angeles poetry at LAist with Get LitL: Words Ignite! Get Lit youth poets, standout local artists, and a nationally-renowned featured poet (National Youth Poet Laureate Salome Agbaroji) will get together for a night of spoken word performance hosted by Get Lit’s Mason Granger (he/him).

Come early to enjoy snacks, sips, a DJ set from Austin Antoine, and tons of cool people to connect with in the name of poetry. Drinks, music, and treats from Cinnabon start at 6:00 pm, and the show kicks off at 7:00 pm.

The featured poet this time is U.S. Youth Poet Laureate Salome Agbaroji. This program may contain some mature language or themes.

• Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, 7:00-8:15 PM
• The Crawford (KPCC's broadcasting center)
• 474 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, LA, CA
• $0-$15 GET TICKETS

ABOUT MASON GRANGER Mason Granger is the deputy director at Get Lit. Originally from Philadelphia by way of Willingboro, NJ, Mason is a poet with 19+ years of professional experience on stage, and in classrooms across 49 states and six countries as part of the performance poetry trio, The Mayhem Poets. In 2014, he created SlamFind, a digital platform to connect fans of poetry videos with the poets and live poetry venues where these videos are born. Connecting the poetry community to itself and the rest of the world continues to be the foundation of his work to this day. Between 2016-2018, Mason was the official videographer for Poetry Slam Inc., producing several iconic poetry videos that continue to garner millions of views across multiple platforms. In the spirit of his mission of always keeping the "live" in "live poetry," he also hosted the weekly PoetNY open mic at Bowery Poetry Club in NYC from 2017-2019 while also serving as executive director of Bowery Arts & Science through 2019. Now as a Los Angeles resident in his fourth year with Get Lit, Mason continues to pursue creative projects while helping to shape the future of spoken word poetry education in the state of California and beyond.

I was born in Nigeria, Africa, now in the US.

ABOUT SALOME AGBAROJI Salome Agbaroji is a Nigerian-American poet that has written and/or performed spoken word poetry for the Golden Globes Pre-Show, NFL Rams Halftime Show, an Opening Act on Rupi Kaur's World Tour, the likes of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Black Lives Matter founder Patrisse Cullors, Mrs. Tina Lawson, and many more. This year, she is an ambassador for Vans’ global grand campaign.

Salome was a YoungArts winner in Spoken Word and has been honored by the Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards, among many others. She has been published in NPR's KCRW, Noema Magazine, the Harvard Technology Review, and more.

Salome currently attends Harvard University, studying government and political science. Her focuses outside of poetry are civic engagement and advocacy about issues such as racism towards minority communities, immigrant stories, injustices in the international community, and more.

ABOUT GLPs The Get Lit Players (GLPs) are award-winning performance troupe of youth poets. They’ve performed at the United Nations, Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center, and White House — to name only a few.

Every year they perform live for over 50,000 of their peers, and their videos have been watched online over 300 million times. Each of the Get Lit Players will spend the next year honing their skills and enjoying exciting and unique workshops, paid performance, and networking opportunities, and a lifetime of support from Get Lit’s community.

ABOUT GET LIT Los Angeles-based nonprofit GET LIT ignites student engagement, literacy, and young voices around the globe using the power of spoken word, technology, and community.

• The Prose Bowl: A Night of Spoken Word with Get Lit | LAist

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