Glenis Redmond mesmerises guests in Oman with her poetry

MUSCAT: With her unique performance style poetry, and some very emotional and universal themes, Glenis Redmond mesmerised audiences with her eloquent and unusual style at the Cultural club in Qurum.
Redmond, who has been writing poetry for 22 years now, recited poems on her mother, and her poor upbringing which according to her never felt poor because of her mother’s love.
She also recited a poem each on her grandmother, who died aged 109 years, and her great-grandfather who was brought as a slave to the United States (US) from Africa in the 1800s.
“I come from an oral southern tradition where we speak with our hands and our bodies, we are storytellers; I always just wanted to be just who I am. Twenty-two years ago, I left the counselling field to pursue poetry and today I teach people around the world through my poems,” said Redmond, who is of Afro-Carolinian descent.
The poems evoked huge response among the audience which consisted of a mix of Omanis, Americans and Black Americans. Audiences were moved by Glenis’ poems, something which was reflected in a question and answer session which followed the poetry slam session.
Kristi Willie, also an African American who lives in Oman, was delighted to witness the special session.
“My name is Kristi Willie, and I thought it was an extremely moving and poignant particularly with it being black history month, and I was moved. Personally I could relate a lot to what she was saying, they are my own childhood experiences and from back home. I really enjoyed it.”
The brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson, the black history week has been celebrated since February 1976 to mark the contributions of the African American or Black American population in the United States. Initially marked only for a week, the activities were later extended to a month’s time.
On January 29 this year, US President Barack Obama said during a presidential proclamation, “During National African American History Month, we recognise these champions of justice and the sacrifices they made to bring us to this point. We honour the contributions of African Americans since our country’s beginning, and we recommit to reaching for a day when no person is judged by anything but the content of their character.”
“The great thing about black history month is that it is a celebration of the contributions that African-Americans have made to the US. It is bigger than that I think. It has really more to do with our cultural fabric and what that is made of,” said Christy Watkins, public affairs officer, US embassy Muscat.
Redmond will speak about how poetry helps explore history, at Sultan Qaboos University’s Auditorium on February 11 from 12pm to 2pm and is open to the public.