North Carolina Miscellany
to highlight the talent and culture of spoken word across the state. They provide honoraria for the winners and the judge, and, as part of the recognition, awardees are invited to present their winning poems before the North Carolina Poetry Society at their fall conference, along with other award-winning poets. Our second- and third-place and honorable mention honorees all presented at the Cary Arts Center on September 13. Dionne D. Hunter received second place. Also from Charlotte, Hunter is a talented author, poet, and spoken word artist, and a veteran of the US Navy. Her military service, experiences as a mother and grandmother, and journey as a Black woman in America deeply enrich her artistic voice. Her poetry has been featured in several anthologies, while her spoken word performances and film series have been screened domestically and internationally. She was named the 2024 AMG Heritage Awards Spoken Word Artist of the Year. Hunter’s performance, entitled “History Lessons Revealed,” moved Bowens, who remarked, “I am impressed by the culmination of Black history and using art and storytelling to connect to why these things need to stay relevant and revealed in a world trying to not acknowledge its contribution.” Her poem
ABOVE Honorees performaning at the North Carolina Poetry
Society’s Fall Meeting, held at the Cary Arts Center in Cary, NC, 13 Sep. 2025; LEFT Dionne Hunter performing “History Lessons Revealed,” CENTER JeanMarie Olivieri performing “Dirty,” RIGHT Marcial Harper performing “Shadow Work”; photographs by Bill Griffin
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was inspired by paintings by Aisha Thomas, reflecting how one art form can inspire works in another. The third-place honoree, JeanMarie Olivieri from Mebane, NC, is a retired business writer now mostly writing poetry. Her poem “Dirty” is lighthearted in tone and Olivieri delivered it with aplomb, calling attention to her muse, her artificial leg and braces. Bowens praised, “how the poem seems to be comedic, but . . . addresses a lot of issues dealing with financial stability, disability, and just trying to make it.” In our first repeat, last year’s thirdplace winner, Marcial “CL Tha Artist” Harper, was given honorable mention for his performance of “Shadow Work.” The poem is quiet and powerful at the same time. Bowens calls it “a poem of a man and his vulnerability” and says he “loved the passion and the wordplay.” Harper is a multifaceted poet, rapper, health coach, and business consultant. He regularly performs in Durham and throughout the Triangle. In its third year, the Jaki Shelton Green Performance Poetry Prize contest has brought several new voices, if not to our pages, to our readers’ ears. We invite you to click on the YouTube graphics to watch each performance. n