On the last Friday of June at the art gallery in the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building in Harlem, an intimate group gathering celebrated the work of some remarkable students.
Generation Verb, a spoken word scholastic program that uses poetry, prose, and performance to encourage self-expression, better communication, and confidence, hosts an inaugural book release and student showcase. The 2025 book entitled “Inspire Greatness” is an anthology, featuring work by more than 30 students from three schools: the School for Classics High School, Frederick Douglass Academy II, and Transit Tech Career and Technical Education High School.
Started in 2015, Generation Verb was initially intended to be a spoken word and performance poetry program. In 2018, founder Kraal “Kayo” Charles wanted to bring his vision into public schools, “because I grew up in public schools,” he said. “There were certain things that I didn’t know that I was capable of doing until I started going out into the world and performing. I realized that a kid from Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, could accomplish more.”
Now a seasoned poet in his own right, Charles has performed on the stages of the Def Poetry Jam and in 1998, held the title of the youngest Grand Slam Champion at the Nuyorican Poets Café.
Over the past seven years, Charles, with the support of his creative community, has partnered with 16 schools across New York City and Long Island. Generation Verb boasts reaching and teaching more than 1,000 students, from third graders to high school seniors.
Video by Rashidah Bernay Fowler
Staff of Generation Verb include artists from all over New York City, such as actor and spoken word artist David Roberts, aka D-Black; poet and musician Bonfide Rojas; and award-winning poet and author Ramya Ramana. A program facilitator for five years, Ramana is now a program manager for Generation Verb and editor of the anthology.
The program runs for the entirety of the school year, with poetry slams throughout giving students the opportunity to practice and compete among their peers. The slams are Generation Verb’s Write Speak Inspire League (WPIL), where students form teams of up to five members and compete in a four-round format. The more rounds they win, the more points they accumulate. Judging is based on originality, content, and delivery. Judges include members of their creative and academic communities.
Brooklyn native and poet Christine Gilliam, better known as the “verbal arsonist” Phya Startah, had the opportunity to judge one of the WSIL competitions. A friend of Charles, Gilliam said she was excited to judge the competition, which was a change of pace from always being judged herself. Surprised by the complexity and spectrum of these students, she said a program like this is important because “they need to be heard. They need to express themselves in ways besides being stuck in the gadgets. They get to do the writing, do a lot of exploring, self-exploration.”
WSIL prepares students for the culminating event, which this year was the showcase and book release. The importance of that is so “we develop them as great voices for our time, both on the page and on the stage,” said Ramana.
On the page, students explore a wide range of ideas, thoughts, and emotions; on the stage, a few were courageous enough to speak their words aloud. In “Ars Poetica,” Keisha Alexander paints a dainty world of pastel hues and frilly things to empower Black girls. Joshua Aguilar, accompanied by string ensemble Fiery Strings Company, grapples with the barren land of his lineage and the dream to leave for new beginnings in “A Dream Out of Reach.”
In “The Garden,” Andres Villon evokes a quiet, lush environment to feel and be at peace with God. Villon, 15, a freshman at the Transit Tech Career and Technical Education High School, said during his second semester, he was put in a class that Generation Verb was part of. When asked if he thought he’d ever write poetry, he responded with a strong “No,” adding, “I just did it for the extra credit. I didn’t expect to be doing shows or anything.” He said his poem took about a week to write and was built upon an “I Am” poem that he had done previously but wanted to make more metaphorical.
“Each section of the garden represents different parts of my life — different parts of my personality and how different things represent a different part of me,” said Villon.
The two-hour event was hosted by award-winning Nuyorican poet and performer Erik Maldonado, most notably known by his stage name of Advocate of Wordz, who let the audience know early on that “there’s nothing quiet about poetry.” State Senator Cordell Cleare was in attendance to support and give each student a certificate of accomplishment.
In addition to surprising themselves with their achievements, these students have inspired the community around them. Charles recalled a moment when a student went to perform during a slam, forgot her words, and left the stage. He was concerned that she would never find the courage to do it again — but the very next month, that same student went on stage and “the whole place erupted when she performed,” said Charles. “Watching these students conquer their fears, look adversity in the face and overcome it, that’s what inspires us.”
To learn more about Kayo Charles and Generation Verb, visit www.generationverb.com. To inquire about copies of “Inspire Greatness,” email info@generationverb.com.