Spoken word poet and author Rudy Francisco delivers his poetry in the Student Union Theater. Jonathan Rhodes/The Lion's Roar

Spoken word poet and author Rudy Francisco visited the university and delivered his poetry in a Campus Activities Board sponsored spoken word event. CAB planned the event, held in the Student Union Theater on Wednesday, Jan. 24, as something different than what they usually have for students.

“The reason that we got Francisco is because we wanted to venture out,” said CAB Operations Manager Kirsten Babin. “We usually do night time events like bingo, and we have our usual ‘Strawberry Jubilee’ and ‘Gumbo Ya Ya,’ but we wanted to start branching out. We were gonna do a singer, but she cancelled. So, we got Rudy, and it was such a great turnout.”

Francisco, who is from San Diego, California, uses his own personal experiences to address social issues through his poetry. According to the bio on Francisco’s website, his goal is “to continue to assist others in harnessing their creativity while cultivating his own.”

Francisco has appeared on TV One’s “Verses and Flow.” Francisco got his speaking styles from watching many different poets do spoken word.

“When I first got started, the poetry that really grabbed me was the people who had those kind of levels where they would get quiet and then start raising their voice,” said Francisco. “Having those dynamics really make the performance that much more interesting to watch. After a while, it becomes natural. If I was normally telling this story, this is when I would get amped up, and this is when I would get quiet. So, a lot of it just mimics the way in which we converse anyways. That’s the hardest part: bringing how you normally amp up and how you get quiet and bringing that on the stage. You feel like you are performing, but you really are just having a conversation with the audience.”

Francisco has written three books titled “Getting Stitches,” “Scratch” and the most recent one being “Helium.” Francisco discussed the inspiration for his writing.

“A lot of the inspiration comes from the things that I read and the conversations that I have and the things that I see,” said Francisco. “Life experience is inspirational in itself. I just find a way to capture it all. Writing has always been a temporary escape for me. It’s like nothing else matters and I’m floating on air. That’s why it’s called ‘Helium’ because in a lot of ways poetry is like my helium.”

Francisco believes constantly performing his poems has made it second nature to remember them no matter how long he goes without performing it.

“I perform a lot so that then becomes practice,” said Francisco. “It’s kind of like driving home at the end of the day. You drive home so much that you jump in the car, you turn it on, you leave and all of a sudden you’re home. I think performing is similar to that where after doing it so many times, once you get that first line out, the rest of it just comes out.”

The students enjoyed the spoken word and the new experience and perspective they got from hearing Francisco.

“It’s a sense of realism to where you can definitely relate to his stories and it’s very funny, but it also hits you in the soul,” said sophomore psychology major Kiara Goins. “It’s like genius in a sense, and I really like it. I became a new fan today.”