The Global Scholars Hall Great Room was packed with chairs, and nearly all were full. Onstage, were a chair and a single microphone: a modest setup for what proved to be a captivating evening of poetry.
Thursday night, renowned slam poet Anis Mojgani performed for a mesmerized crowd of UO students and Eugene community members.
The event began with performances by five members of the UO Slam Poetry team. These poems, some of which were competed at the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI) competition in March, included an emotional and likely symbolic rant about Jurassic Park and a fast-paced discussion of ‘sexting’ in public.
Alex Dang, author and performer of the latter, was the last team member to perform, and introduced Mojgani as someone who had come “all the way from Texas to change most of your lives.”
With this high praise ringing in the audience’s ears, Mojgani took the stage and began to perform. Sometimes he would offer some context for his poetry, or tell a short anecdote. Other times, he simply launched into words.
Some of Mojgani’s poems fit comfortably into slam poetry’s common rhythms and themes. Other times, his metered monologues broke away from expectations and into loosely linked phrases that conveyed more loose emotion than finite thought. In either case, it was obvious that Mojgani is a master.
The room was incredibly responsive to Mojgani’s relaxed onstage presence. When he encouraged laughter, it flowed freely. When he stared intently forward and poured vocal vulnerability into the microphone, all focus was on the stage.
For “Baltimore,” one of his newer poems, the silence in the room was broken only by appreciative snapping. Minutes later, the same audience clapped and laughed loudly at a goofy poem titled “Razi’s Lemon Tree.”
More than a few times, loud cell-phone notifications broke the respectful silence. Mojgani, however, was unperturbed. Even the occasional memory lapse didn’t affect his collected and confident presence.
After the performance, the line to buy one of Mojgani’s four published poetry collections snaked down the hall. Even longer was the crowd of people waiting to speak with him and get their books signed.
In his last poem, a particularly famous piece entitled “Shake the Dust,” Mojgani declared that his writing has never been a selfish endeavor. He told the audience: “This is for you.”
As he stood calmly in a sea of inspired students, shaking hands and posing for photos, the truth in that line was clear.
For more information on Anis Mojgani and his work, visit his website.