Ms. Heather Boone Educator Vincent Massey Jr./Sr. High School

Ms. Heather Boone

Educator

Vincent Massey Jr./Sr. High School

939 - 45 Street S.W.

Calgary, Alberta

T3C 2B9

Canada

403-777-7870

hboone@cbe.ab.ca

RE:

Wakefield Brewster,

aka: da lyrical pitbull

Poet, Spoken Word Artist,

Inspirational Speaker

After hearing that an individual named Wakefield Brewster would be attending my school for a variety of presentations, I was initially hesitant. It had been recommended that my Grade 12 English class should attend this presentation. However, with several presentations already scheduled throughout the semester and with diploma exams looming for this course, I had difficulty determining whether a presentation I had never seen would be a worthwhile experience for the future graduates. As a result, I gave these students a choice - they could attend the presentation or they could remain in the class while I conducted a review for an upcoming test.

Approximately half of my students decided to attend the presentation.

At lunch that day, one of the students who had attended Wakefield’s presentation came to me beaming with enthusiasm. “Thank-you so much for giving us the opportunity to attend that presentation,” she smiled, “I was so glad I went. It was such a worthwhile experience. You have to see it!”

As a result of this student’s comments, I quickly decided to have a Grade 10 English class attend Wakefield’s presentation later in the day. As these students were making their way to the presentation, I heard one student talking about how their peers had informed them earlier of how great this presentation really was. Even with the feedback from the students, I still had no idea how impressed I would be with Wakefield’s poetry.

Wakefield has a presence that will draw you and your students into his words and his world. From the moment his words begin to flow, they move life and energy to his audience. This vivacity can be measured by the silence of the audience who are often unsuspecting of this perspective on poetry. Wakefield’s words provide a connection from traditional poetry to contemporary music, and allow students the opportunity to reflect on current social, political and cultural issues.

Furthermore, Wakefield accompanies his poetry with personal anecdotes from his own life. These stories of personal and professional challenges relate to the struggles that many students face in their own lives. As a result, his message, through his poetry and these personal stories provide students with an opportunity to reevaluate the importance of words in a variety of contexts.

As an educator, I see great value in Wakefield Brewster’s presentation. I hope to have the opportunity to have Wakefield Brewster speak to future classes and I would highly recommend his presentation to any English class.

Please take the time to check out his website or contact him at www.lyricalpitbull.com

Sincerely,

Heather Boone