“This is the most excited I’ve been about any event at De Anza,” said instructor Marshall Hattori as he introduced slam poetry champion Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio to a packed room on May 20. Conference rooms A and B were filled to see the Youth Speaks champion poet that has been featured in HBO’s “Brave New Voices” as well as having performed at the White House for the Spoken Word Poetry Slam. Extra chairs had to be brought in to accommodate the large crowd because it was standing room only. The room instantly fell silent as Osorio’s voice echoed through the area. Cameras and phones were out everywhere to record the event they were about to witness. “I’m here because getting people to share their story is powerful,” said Osorio, “We all have our own truth and it’s important to express that.” “The biggest problem is that people don’t believe in themselves,” she said “This gives me a chance to show people how important they are.” Jamaica Osorio is only 20 years old, but has already had the honor of performing her poem “Kumulipo” at the White House for President Obama and his family at The Evening of Poetry, Music and Spoken Word Event. Osorio attends Stanford University and went to a Hawaiian emersion school when she was younger. She performed “Duty”, a poem about her struggle and journey through school. After Stanford, she wants to go to law school and work with Hawaiian native organizations as a consultant. Many of Osorio’s poems are rich in Hawaiian cultures, but other poems include topics such as Santa Cruz, family tragedy, global warming and the relationship with her mother. “Straight Jacket” tackles a deeper issue. It is a poem she wrote her freshman year of college about what it was like for her to be gay as a new California resident. Cheers reverberated through the room and people stood and clapped after she performed it. Between poems, Osorio shared advice on the importance of writing and what it has done for her. “Writing is a great way to get out of a tough spot,” said Osorio “Especially if you’re the reason that you’re in that tough spot.”Osorio says that her inspiration for writing can come from anywhere and anything. She wrote “1893” while sitting in class one day. She was once inspired to write a poem, while at a stoplight listening to Counting Crows and watching a couple make-out. Recently, Osorio has been focusing on shorter poems, and numbered poems like “Coming Home” which she performed at the event. In the future, she hopes to get into performing over beats. She also has a poetry blog and has written a poem a day for 302 days straight. After presenting her own work, Osorio conducted a spoken word workshop. She started by asking everyone to write down something they would never consider telling anyone and then to come up with a list of 20 memories. The last exercise was to put yourself in one of those memories with as much detail as possible. After 20 minutes of a room quiet, but for the sound of pen to paper, Osorio welcomed and encouraged students to come up and share their work. David Byars shared his poem, “Emily and I” with the group. The poem is about the night he proposed. “I was happy, even though I was terrified when I went up there,” said Byars. Along with a handful of others, Kaylan OBryne made her way up to the microphone to read her story titled, “Toronto!” “I was a little nervous,” OBryne said, “I’m not used to performing, but it’s always good to have new experiences.” OBryne attended the event because she heard of Jamaica and wanted the experience of the workshop. Osorio ended the event by answering questions from the audience. “I’ve been blessed with all these opportunities,” said Osorio “My accomplishments aren’t my own – they belong to other people.”
Go to JamaicaOsorio.com for more information.
