April is National Poetry Month, established in 1996 by Academy of American Poets with the following objectives in mind:

• highlight the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets,
• encourage the reading of poems,
• assist teachers in bringing poetry into their classrooms,
• increase the attention paid to poetry by national and local media,
• encourage increased publication and distribution of poetry books, and
• encourage support for poets and poetry

Poetry writers celebrate the month by writing a poem a day, or at least we try to. We ask everyone else to support poetry by reading, watching videos or attend a poetry event in your area.

Poets/Spoken Word artists find inspiration from superheroes, comic book, science fiction and anime. They wrap words into poems about Black Lives Matters, hero worship, mental illness, love, or whatever the artist wishes to discuss at that time. Poets are unapologetic nerds, which is why I would like to share some of their work with you this month.

Omar Holmon spent many years competing in poetry slams across the country. He has been a member of the Nuyorican Poetry Slam (NY) and LoserSlam (NJ) team. From his bio “A Rutgers graduate, Omar Holmon started out doing poetry just to see what he could get away with saying at upscale events.” Omar is also one of the founders of blacknerdproblems.com, a website dedicated to black nerds. Omar celebrates being a nerd in the poem:

Ten Things I’d like to say to a Black Nerd as recorded in 2014 by Button Poetry.

Holmon has written and performed several poems about being a nerd. Including I am a Nerd and Open Letter to Black People in Horror Movies performed with Anthony Ragler. He has also hosted a Ted Talk called For nerds who considered cool: Omar Holmon at TEDxUMKC.

Stay tuned to Pop Culture Uncovered, as we spotlight more dynamic poets/spoken word artists who pays tribute to their brand of nerd this month!