His name is Terry Moore. At age 39, visiting Yuba College from Sacramento, he works in the Genetics Department at UC-Davis. Meanwhile Moore commits to about 70 performances per year.
On October 13 as part of the ongoing Crossing Borders and Building Bridges series, sponsored by the Yuba College Foundation, Moore wooed the women as well as educated men on how to treat women.
This was not his first performance at Yuba College, however. He was also on campus last year with a poetry reading similar in style, although this time around he seemed more reserved. His voice still boomed in the auditorium-styled room 521, sparsely attended. Moore was not jumping in people’s faces as he did last year, but his raw energy and passion could be felt from the words that came from his lips.
His type of poetry, which can be described as a hybrid between prose poetry and modern rap, with a little of Southern Baptist gospel in the mix. Moore writes about a variety of things, but his favorite theme to perform is how to treat your woman.
His performance only lasted about thirty five minutes due to an issue of getting him a parking permit to avoid a ticket. He did manage to get five of his pieces in and also one from a significant poetic influence, Langston Hughes.
He began his sermon-styled delivery with a poem meant to be a disclaimer on his type of poetry. “I’m a grown man poet, and a grown man poet talks about grown man things,” Moore said.
The poem was entitled “Old School,” which was readily obvious by the repetitive style he uses to reiterate his point.
His second poem dealt Hurricane Katrina and the way the media covered it. The poem involved a man sitting on a rooftop waiting for help but who died because the media helicopter remained only an observer, without offering any help.
The rest of his poetry dealt with topics regarding relationship among the sexes. The poetry seemed to directed toward men as an advocate for women. He said his mission was to “motivate, educate and inspire people” to treat women with the respect they want and need.
At the end of his performance, he sold his spoken poetry CDs and his laminated poetry cards. Moore has sold 15 books, made three CDs, and has been writing poetry since his days in the military in his 20s. He has performed at the Temptations, a dance club in Illinois and has opened for famous poets such as Maya Angelou.
Moore is also the host of the Guild Poetry Series, one of Sacramento’s premier poetry venues.
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