'Slam' Star at Ithaca College

The star and cowriter of Slam, the 1998 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize– winning film, will give a performance at Ithaca College on Monday, February 15, at 7:00 p.m. in the Emerson Suites, Phillips Hall. Saul Williams will perform his "spoken word" poetry and discuss his work, as well as host an open mike, at which audience members will be welcomed and encouraged to perform. Part of the College’s Black History Month celebration (see story), the presentation is free and open to the public.

Williams, who was also voted best actor by the Independent Film Council for his role in Slam, has been described as "the hip-hop generation’s Kahlil Gibran." His incredible imagery and mesmerizing manipulation of language bring together the spiritual world and everyday life. He is featured in the new film Slam Nation: The Sport of the Spoken Word, which showcases the thriving culture of performance poetry. He recently published his first collection of writings, The Seventh Octave: The Early Writings of Saul Williams.

Praised for its passionate use of poetry as an antidote to violence, Slam tells the story of small-time drug dealer/rapper Ray Joshua (Williams), jailed for a murder he didn’t commit. Behind bars Joshua meets a volunteer writing teacher, played by fellow poet Sonja Sohn, who recognizes his talent and forces him to consider his options. One of the most controversial scenes in the film features Ray calming violent inmates by reciting rap poetry in the prison yard. Some critics found the scene unbelievable, but Williams claims it happened almost exactly that way while he and director Marc Levin were filming at a Washington, D.C., prison.

Williams’s appearance at Ithaca College is sponsored by the Diversity Awareness Committee with the African-Latino Society, Kuumba Repertory Theatre, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Office of Opportunity Programs, Office of Residential Life, Student Government Association, and Department of Theatre Arts. For more information, call Jeff Claus at 274-1342.