Allen White
Allen White is an 18 year old poet from Oak Park, IL. His work tends to explore his experiences on race in the suburbs, discovering identity, mental health, and the intersection of mental health with blackness. It’s often told through a fairly casual first-person lens. His team was a 2020 Louder Than a Bomb finalist and scored high. Allen has always had an interest in film, and will major in Writing for Screen and Television at the University of Southern California starting in the Fall of 2021.
The impact of poetry and the spoken word club
All my life, I’ve lived and grown up in Oak Park, IL. Despite my Mother and Father being from the West and South sides of Chicago respectively, I’ve never really felt like I was “from” there. At least, not consciously. A whole lot of my life has been marked by a feeling of not belonging, a whole lot more of it than I’d like. I tried to belong on a swim team when I was younger. Finishing last during practice/competitions during Freshman year didn’t help, nor did getting called the n-word by a teammate in the locker room. That last one drove me over the edge and got me to quit. Quitting is what exposed me to Spoken Word during my Sophomore year. I won’t say that there was an immediate sense of “these are my people.” I didn’t fully commit until the start of my Junior year. But once I was in? I was in. I was in on the funny little jokes, the tea between students, everything. I belonged, and it felt amazing. I don’t think of the past version of myself as a particularly “good person” but maybe I’m a bit too critical of myself. But I know I’m much more self-aware now, much more introspective. I can more easily analyze my flaws and my issues and tackle them, especially through poetry. The times in my high school years where I started loving myself and those around me coincided with how much I was involved with the Spoken Word program. It’s not a coincidence. Every person in that room made me a better guy, and I can’t thank them enough for it. I’m just hoping my future self can make them all proud.
Top favorite poets or lyricists
Poets: Danez Smith, Raych Jackson, Patricia Smith
Lyricist: Tyler the Creator, MF DOOM, Kendrick Lamar
Connect with allen IG
Writing Prompts
Write about the moment you found out your childhood hero was or wasn’t real
What is your superpower? Write about a time you needed to use that power
Write about an inanimate object as if it were a supervillain
Write about a fictional character that has given you/continues to give you hope