RC Davis
RC Davis is now a senior at Oak Park and River Forest High School. He is the 2021 National Student Poet of the Midwest and has been published in various print and online journals. He works as an apprentice poetry editor for BreakBread Literary Magazine, which focuses on the publication of writers under 25.
The impact of poetry and the spoken word club
When I joined Spoken Word club, I had no idea what I was doing. I endured the first few meetings with my hands literally dripping with sweat as I read my rough draft to a group in the hallway. I kept coming to meetings, because despite the constant anxiety surrounding that lecture hall, people told me I was talented. (I suppose my entire poetry career can be summed up as a battle between ego and anxiety). For the showcase, I wrote a poem that would out me as trans to the entire audience. I chose to read that poem because I was proud of it, despite sweat and tooth grinding that speckled the weeks leading up to the showcase.
After the showcase, I planned to try out for Slam Team, figuring that it was a total long shot. I spent almost a month writing and revising my try-out poem. It was the most effort I'd ever put into a single page of writing. Despite now being a nationally recognized poet, I still count the day I found out I made Slam Team as the highlight of my writing life. It was the first time I knew I really belonged with these poetry people in this poetry thing.
Poetry is one of the ways I dissect my thoughts. If I have a worry rolling around in my head I often pick it apart in a poem. I began writing poetry, admittedly for the purpose of impressing other people, but over time it has become much more personal. Over the course of the pandemic it was through poetry I came to terms with coming out as a trans guy (as opposed to my previous nonbinary identity), the death of my grandmother, and bizarre neurological issues. My conversations I have with the page are some of the most real conversations I have.
Top favorite poets or lyricists
Poets: Sam Sax, Hieu Minh Nguyen, and Danez Smith
Lyricists: The Mountain Goats, Noname, and The Front Bottoms
Writing Prompts
Write about an important piece of yourself that you’ve had to say goodbye to?
What is something about you that would surprise most people?
Write about a time you went against family expectations (for better or for worse)
Write a poem that uses a bug or insect as a metaphor