The Obsidian: Literature in the African Diaspora, the Africana Studies Program, the African American Cultural Center, and the department of English sponsored and hosted N.C . State’s first spoken word competition at their “Straight to the Mic” event on Wednesday.

The event involved prose and poetry readings by renowned North Carolina writers such as L. Teresa Church, Anjail Rashida Ahmad, Darreli ” SCIPOET ” Stover and many more. These readings were followed by a spoken word competition between N.C . State students who read aloud their own literary pieces. The winner of the competition was selected by audience vote.

The four finalists in the competition included Carley Miller, Norman Johnson, Marissa Morgan and Alexis Teasdell . Johnson received the most number of votes and was thus chosen as winner.

“This is a part of the Obsidian reading series. [In] one of our past issues, we published a double issue featuring North Carolina writers. This reading features some of the writers whose work we published in that issue” Shervan Cassim , managing editor of The Obsidian, said.

He added that this was organized to promote North Carolina writers, and was the first spoken word competition hosted by the magazine.

Sheila Smith McKoy , another organizer of the event and editor of The Obsidian, said that the magazine is a product of the English department at N.C . State and has been published since 1982.

“Obsidian is a journal that is created in the English department and focuses on people of African descent,” Smith McKoy said.

She also elaborated on where the idea for a spoken word competition was born.

“We had a special issue that came out in 2010 and focused solely on North Carolina writers, some of them will be presenting their work from that collection,” Smith McKoy said.

Smith McKoy said they want to encourage young writers and help them connect to professional writers and get a chance to showcase their talent. The “Straight to the Mic” event seemed like the perfect combination of those goals.

To apply for the competition, students had to submit an original piece. The competition was announced on the multiboards placed around the campus and by professors of Africana studies. The reward for the winner includes a trophy and a chance to be published in The Obsidian.

Marissa Morgan, sophomore in communication media, was one of the finalists.

“I live off campus and I don’t get too many opportunities to showcase my talent. That’s why I decided to take part in the competition and I think it is a great opportunity for young writers to really get their work out there.” Morgan said.

Before the competition began, Morgan shared her feelings about presenting her work and the possibility of winning.

“I’m excited and nervous about the competition, as I haven’t read to an audience in a while. It will be great if I win, but I’m just here to share my work.” Morgan said.

Patricia Ekwe , operations coordinator in charge of the event, said that the competition was all about the writers who call North Carolina their home.

“The most exciting part of the competition is that the audience gets to vote on the winner.” Ekwe said. “The goal of the event was to get students to meet the North Carolina writers and to discover some new writers, ” Ekwe said.

The finalists were selected based on their entries, which were selected by a jury of Obsidian staff members.

“The competition was open to students who were connected to African studies or the African Diaspora as we look to promote writing of the people who are of African American descent or those connected to the African American diaspora ,” Ekwe said.

She also shared that The Obsidian hopes to get their new generation of contributors through these sorts of competitions.

Carley Miller, interdisciplinary studies design major and another finalist, loved Africa during her study abroad and so she decided to try her luck and apply to compete.

“I was studying in Caldwell and the TV there showed the details of the competition, and I love Africa since I went there for study abroad. I also like to write, so I thought I would give it a shot.” Miller said. “I read my poem ‘My Heart Beats to Africa,’ which I wrote on my flight back from my study abroad trip there. I had no idea how many great people were going to be here and I’m excited to be a part of it,” Miller said.

Norman Johnson, Africana Studies junior and winner of the event, said that it was a great event and he liked all the poets who came out.

“I read a poem out of my Valentine’s Day collection. I don’t get into competitions where I’m not trying to win.” Johnson said.

The Obsidian encourages students to learn more about their publication and look out for future events.