Corina Robinson
Corina is a junior at UW-Madison double majoring in Environmental Studies and Psychology, and a poet raised in Oak Park, IL. She began writing poetry in high school and is continuing in college through the First Wave Program, the first and only Hip Hop and Urban Arts full tuition scholarship. When she is not studying or writing, she is running the nonprofit hip hop organization The JVN Project, centered on using the elements of hip hop to teach youth.
Corina hopes to work in a career related to environmental injustice and racism, while still keeping the culture of hip hop and art at the center of her impact.
The impact of poetry and the spoken word club
The Spoken Word Club at OPRF has given me the tools to not only write, but collaborate with other artists. Collaboration is key to making any type of impact with your art. In a college setting and in the First Wave Program, I have had the opportunity to mesh my poetry with other artists’ dancing, digital media, producing, and more. The learning curve that comes with making that process as smooth as possible was aided by captaining in the Spoken Word Club, being a member of slam team, and becoming an overall leader for the poets around me. I find that teamwork skills I see my peers struggle with are gaps that I can fill myself thanks to my experience at OPRF.
As a whole, poetry has allowed me to name the power I have as an individual, and to write and perform that power as a reminder to my entire generation of our strength. For a long time I’ve felt that the ideas, opinions, and thoughts of my generation have been brushed off as idealistic and shallow. However, the fact of the matter is my generation is incredibly smart. Poetry is one of many expressions of this. To me, poetry is a vehicle of accessible information. One may not understand the density that comes with a topic like environmental racism, but a poem on environmental racism may be more digestable. In this way, poetry levels the playing field on numerous conversations, and opens more seats at the table for those discussions to be had.
Both the Spoken Word Club and poetry have allowed me to become an impactful director of the nonprofit, Madison based hip hop organization The JVN Project. Working at JVNP requires me to navigate youth and adults simultaneously. Running a poetry workshop at a high school with students looks different than coordinating the logistics of those workshops with principals and staff members. Watching the Spoken Word Club at OPRF adapt to institutional rules, while expressing myself artistically as a member of the club itself, have taught me that it is possible to juggle both and still create a thriving program.
Writing Prompts
Write an epistolary poem (a poem in the form of a letter)
Choose a cause that’s important to you. Write a poem personifying something connected to that cause
Use a “fun fact” to help write a poem
more from corina
Art, particularly spoken word and hip hop, involve mediums that inherently work against the institutions and systems they live in. It is not easy creating this space in any setting. The Spoken Word Club was my first example that, although not easy, it is entirely possible and quite necessary to build and worthwhile future.
Top favorite poets or lyricists
Poets:
Danez Smith - In both their writing and performance, Danez has allowed me to see beyond the world of slam poetry (which is what I grew up with). It is one thing to make a poem sound good, and an entirely different thing to make it look good on a page. Danez has a way with words and poems that make me realize there are many experiences and emotions I did not once have a name for, and I can find those words in their work.
Safia Elhillo - Safia takes the imaginative aspect of poetry and makes it her own. Her poems never fail to transport me to another dimension while keeping me on Earth.
Franny Choi - Franny has mastered the balancing act of being gentle while at the same time speaking impactful truth in her poetry that blows me away.
Lyricists:
Rich Robbins - Not only is he my brother, but he is an example of hip hop being healing and beneficial to all types of growth (mental, physical, etc.). It is a goal of mine incorporate this healing in all of my art, and Rich does it in a way that reminds me it is a goal and standard worth keeping.
Noname - If spoken word were to be translated into rap/lyricism, Noname would be a top example for me. Her ability to tell stories without sacrificing the sonic and musical integrity of her lyrics and music is admirable.
Frank Ocean - Frank seems to embody "show don't tell" in his music. There is something beautiful in being able to get your message across without the literal. It's like walking through an art gallery and understanding the artist's purpose with each painting without ever talking to them.