An Interview with Verses Poetry Competition Winner

By Jacob Greene

Radiant Rage stands alone, unblocked by any sort of podium, in the front of a room of spectators and judges. This is where she is best, unobstructed and fully able to display her potent work. When she speaks, there is an attentive silence, the heads can not help but be turned. She reads her work with a powerful cadence that controls a room entirely. She gesticulates about the space, calling the eye back to her words. She pauses, and these silences linger and absorb listeners. What might be the best description of Radiant Rage and her work is this: that everything she does it beautifully intentional, everything performed with a minimum elegance that never falters. After the Greenspring Review hosted its Verses Poetry Competition at 5:30 on April 24th, for which Radiant Rage took home first place and $100, I was able to interview the poet and slam poetry extraordinaire. Our discussion was brief but fruitful, and it is laid out for the reader below: 

Interviewer: Is there a moment that you remember that shaped you and how you approach your art?

Radiant Rage: So I first discovered spoken word specifically in middle school. Prior to that, I was familiar with written poetry, things of that nature, but button poetry was trending at that time and I was like, okay, I want to try. So I did different things like that as it sparked, because that was during eighth grade and then going into high school. So that's kind of like a time where, you know, you're trying to adjust to new experiences, things like that. I can't really pinpoint one specific transformative moment, but I have kind of always had a separate creative avenue. Like, that's why, for example, like Radiant Rage is who I step into. I've always kind of like seen it as a separate Persona and not necessarily in like an insecurity type of way, but more so like, like stepping into like this power, a representation of the power that I have with words, things like that. So honestly, the transformative moment was stepping into that confidence, like allowing the world to hear my honesty. Because poetry is very vulnerable. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's a very transparent thing.

Interviewer: I’ve heard you talk about pinning down experiences, having a spectrum of thoughts and focusing them. Does Radiant Rage, that persona, help you focus your energies, creative or otherwise?

Radiant Rage: I think so because I kind of feel like I have two different brains. Like when I'm thinking Radiant Rage, I'm always thinking about impact, power, how something is received. How can I make this to where it can be honest on my part, but also allow the viewer to hear and interpret it a certain way as well? So I definitely think it allows me to see the world in a certain way artistically, but also in my own life and my own relationships and my worldview and et cetera. So I definitely think it impacts me to show up with my art authentically, but also in other areas of my life as well. 

Interviewer: I am running low on my time. It’s so unfortunate that we’re limited today, but I simply must ask one last broader question to round us out: What is one statement you would give about the power of art? How do you see art as a tool for change?

Radiant Rage: I will start with a quote. Art is nothing if not shared. That’s the beauty of it. To me, art is power. Art is timeless. Art is political. Art is the expression of the soul. There is no beauty of the world without art. I believe that those who are blessed with the creativity, purpose, and drive to articulate artistically are the anchors that hold the world so gracefully. Art is nothing if not shared.