"MAKATA"

"A writer should know what are the needs of his listeners. He should know what those people are looking for; what the issues are. At the same time, the pieces should be made with full of emotions so that it can reach people.” an opinion from a poet who is now making his name known in spoken word poetry.

Paul Keno C. Opulencia is an 18 year old BS Human Ecology student of University of the Philippines Los Baños. It's been two years since he became interested in this kind of expressing of art. He started just by watching performances until he realized that he can also write some poem. No one influenced him to be in poetry; it's really his hobby to write poems. No one also taught him about it; he just learned it all by himself; and according to him, maybe, it was by composing more of poems that made it easier for him to write good ones. When he has to write poems, he usually go to places alone; somewhere near the nature and is peaceful; with the accompaniment of music. He writes whatever came first in his mind before he thinks about editing. He just let the ideas overflow. He loves to write poems that can encourage, motivate and open the eyes of people who want to listen; regardless of the gender. He was inspired by his friends' and personal experiences. Also, he idolizes great people in the field like Brian Vee, Jefferson Bethke, and Shane Koyczan. He didn't win the two contests he joined in, but it opened doors for him to have more projects in spoken poetry. One of these is when he performed in front of hundreds of people in 2017 Feb Fair held at UPLB. Also, he was invited by different organizations to show his talent, not only in writing and speaking, but also in touching lives and inspiring people.

For him, spoken word poetry is an instrument used to express ideas which are created by minds. It is also his way of voicing out all his insights about life. As his advice to those people who want to be a good writer and to have wonderful pieces, he said, "Just continue writing and let all your works be heard 'cause we don't know what it can do. There might be people, who are walking through hard times, and your pieces could be a help; that it could be a motivation to those who are thinking of giving up; we don't know. What we should do is to speak out every idea because that is how new knowledge will start.”