IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK

Douglas Powell, known in the community by his stage name Roscoe Burnems, is currently wrapping up his tenure as Richmond’s first poet laureate.

Burnems, 36, is a poet, published author, spoken-word artist, comedian and teacher. During his time in the position, he launched two major poetry outreach programs. “If These Walls Could Talk” Burnems teamed up with Mending Walls RVA, a public art project headed by Richmond muralist Hamilton Glass that launched a series of murals around Richmond touching on issues of social justice.

Burnems selected 10 poets and himself to write in the voice of 11 murals they picked from the project.

“We wrote to those murals, had the poets memorize the poem and filmed those pieces,” Burnems said. The project was released on social media and the Mending Walls website at www.mendingwallsrva.com. QR codes to the videos were also added to the murals.

“It offered an interactive, multi-sensory component to the murals. Now, there’s this poetic portion that speaks to the message of the mural,” Burnems said.

The second project was a youth poetry slam tournament that he launched with Richmond public high schools. A National Poetry Slam Champion himself, Burnems is well-versed in the art and power of slam poetry.

Except from Richmond Times Dispatch

Author Colleen Curran