Poetry slam rocks Seneca@York’s Hive

Devin P.L. Edwards
Copy & Bulletin Editor
The Sikh Activist network at York needs to be both commended and emulated for their contribution to the arts on campus. Their recent Poetry Slam was electrically charged from the start.
Held at The Hive and filled with students, the air at the event was buzzing. While one might expect an event by a club with “activist” in their name will be charged with anger, the buzzing of the room came from positivity, came from unity and came from hope.

The faces of the room were diverse and smiling. Friendly laughter and strumming guitar music lilted from corners of the space. Students mingled about instead of clustering in segregated groups and everyone present shared free refreshments and conversation. Yes, the artwork, for the most part, contained criticisms of politics and racism, oppression and depression, but the audience nodded, clapped and, most importantly, they listened; they learned.
This is how ideas are shared. That is one of the wonderful aspects of art. We are all drawn to it, and through art we are brought together.
I was asked to open the event and brought two performance pieces. I wish I could say I stole the show, but as the night progressed talent, after talent graced the stage. The Poetry Slam’s venue – The Hive, located in the Seneca@York building – filled with the ashes of intensely burning talent.
If one person could be credited with the most outstanding performance, it would be Taylor Abrahamse. Taylor swept across the stage to a thundering reception and his humble, chipper personality bubbled into the audience. Taylor captured the night’s atmosphere, bottled it and served it back on a musical platter.
Spotlight on Taylor Abrahamse
The performance sounded like folksy children’s music for adults (the kind of music we all secretly crave), and was fun and compelling, drawing in the audience with impossible, nonsensical sing-alongs. Abrahamse’s first song of the night, “Extreme Hit or Miss,” was well known by the crowd. For the event, Abrahamse altered the original lyrics by request; instead of the trademark nonsense, Abrahamse sung what sounded like “Ica Donna,” which is reportedly Punjab for “one grain,” to suit the night’s unity theme. Abrahamse began our interview after the show with an infectious laugh. He described the performed songs as “organic sampling; the blending of songs on the fly.”When asked about inspirations, Abrahamse replied, “Jeez, that’s such a tricky question. Solitude? [laughs] Freddy Mercury, my friends and depression.”