S

c r o l l
cr i be
creen
&
Written and produced by students in FSUs Department of English
Winter/Spring 2014
transitions
The English department embraces change
on institutional and personal levels
Emeritus professors discuss their lives post retirement
page 4
From biology to English: a grad students academic journey
page 8
The editing, writing, and media track continues to grow
page 12
Remediation takes hold in an evolving technological world
page 24
Winter/Spring 2014 25
SCROLL, SCRIBE & SCREEN
24 Winter/Spring 2014
SCROLL, SCRIBE & SCREEN
N
ot only is poetry in the name of this or-
ganization, but poetry is at the heart of
Poetic Lyricism.
Poetic Lyricism is a spoken word perform-
ing arts organization at Florida State University
that attracts English majors and other poetically
and lyrically inclined individuals. Andra Johnson,
current president of Poetic Lyricism, says that
he joined the group because of [his] passion for
self-expression through writing.
I always kept a journal growing up, but I
never knew that there was a place where I could
publicly express myself so freely no matter how
outrageous, inappropriate or ridiculous, says
Johnson, who is concentrating in literature for
his English degree. I found this kind of expres-
sion to be a healing like nothing that Id ever felt
before.
Poetic Lyricism was founded in the spring of
2005 by Sybille Berrouet and Christine Fairbanks.
Fairbanks graduated from FSU with a bachelors
in English (creative writing) and a second major
in business.
FSU was the only place where I could com-
pletely express myself creatively and fne-tune
my craft simultaneously, says Fairbanks, who is
currently the CEO of Airris Publishing and the
author of Trickery and Healed Women Dont Cry.
Fairbanks says that former English graduate
student Edward Tarkington inspired her as a
writer during a non-fction workshop course that
she took as an undergrad.
The idea that he was so impressed by my
writing boosted my confdence phenomenally
and of all things that is priceless, she says. You
can teach anyone to do anything, but confdence
cannot be taught. He did that for me without
knowing it.
Fairbanks adds say that the professors within
the English department were key to
shaping me as a writer; these were peo-
ple who were serious about the craft,
and instilled the same seriousness and
appreciation within their students, and
Im fortunate to have been infuenced
by them.
Poetic Lyricism started as a Facebook
group an open forum for people
who love the craft, according to Fair-
banks. Now, Poetic Lyricism is among
the fve hundred or so other recognized
student organizations at FSU, and one
of the most active groups, according
to Matt Watson, the director of FSUs
Oglesby Union Guest Services.
Along with general body meetings,
the group also hosts writing and per-
formance workshops, seminars, open-
forums, and other events such as: PL
Cares; Death of Ignorance; The Annu-
al Tallahassee Collegiate Poetry Slam;
The Indie Slot Slam; Language of Lin-
gerie; and the newly added Page Poets
Need Love Too.
Students of the English department,
such as recent graduate in literature and
active member of Poetic Lyricism Brit-
tany Strong, facilitate many of the workshops.
Monique Henry, a vocalist, musician, writer, and
also a member of PL, is a tutor in the depart-
ments Reading-Writing Center.

Speaking out
Why is it there is a scarcity of food in the kitch-
en / Why is it that the homeless / population
is continuously rising / They say, Im hungry,
can you spare some change to change my life,
Gerrell Lewis says, during his performance in
Death of Ignorance, one of the organizations
most controversial events of the year. When
he fnished his spoken word performance, the
audience broke out in an uproar of applause.
He says the inspiration for his poem is that
I wanted to know why people did what they
do and educate people on what I see going on
through my eyes and my mind . . . It was the
controversies of life and thats what [Death of
Ignorance] was about, so I brought it.
This was Lewiss frst time performing in
front of a large audience as a spoken word
poet. Not only has he begun to develop his
writing, he also changed his major to English
with a focus on creative writing a few months
after joining Poetic Lyricism.
I could not see my life without writing in-
volved because it is my outlet, and [I] speak
even louder on paper, says Lewis, who credits
his cousin Jenai Hicks for introducing him to Po-
etic Lyricism.
Hicks served as the 2012-2013 vice president
for the group. She refers to her administration as
a family business, expressing Poetic Lyricisms
motto: Spoken Word for Words Unspoken
spoken word being the genre of poetry they
focus on, and words unspoken meaning that
they speak for the voiceless, saying what other
people are afraid to say.
Her performances are honest, unexpected,
and some might even say risqu.
You speak to them in public like nothing
ever happened, like there is no history of what
you two had in Gods storybook, reads one of
the lines from Hicks poetry. She enjoys work-
ing with love poetry, explaining that FSUs cre-
ative writing workshops helped her to sharpen
her writing techniques, introducing her to dif-
ferent styles of poetry.
A place of healing and growth
Members of Poetic Lyricism say they appreci-
ate the energy that is present at their general
body meetings, and they add that the group of-
fers a place where individualism and tolerance
is held just as high as the quality of a poem.
At the time that I joined and many times
since then, I was in desperate need of healing,
of growth, of comfort or closure; I was always
healing or growing but never quite healed or
grown, Johnson says. Poetic Lyricism helped
me to reach both a growth and healing peak
over the years and has been my foundation for
a journey in something bigger than manhood
or adulthood. Poetic Lyricism became my rite
of passage to embracing life as Andra John-
son.
He says that the organization has a place for
any craft or talent or lack thereof simply
because PL believes that everyone is a canvas
waiting to be flled with artistic integrity.
If an individual would like to contact Poetic
Lyricism for more information, the organization
has a Facebook page under Poetic Lyricism: Spo-
ken Word for Words Unspoken.. They can also
be found on YouTube and FSUs student groups
site under the same name. Twitter users can fol-
low them @poeticlyricism, or e-mail contact is at
poeticlyricism@gmail.com.
Gerrell Lewis
performs
at a recent
Poetic
Lyricism
event.
Poetic Lyricism: spoken word
for words unspoken
By Kendra Jones
All photos courtesy of Poetic Lyricism
Poetic Lyricisms motto: Spoken Word for Words
Unspoken spoken wordbeing the genre
of poetry they focus on, and words unspoken
meaning that they speak for the voiceless, saying
what other people are afraid to say.