When Kondwani Fidel graduated with his bachelor's degree in English from Virginia State University, he knew that he had to return to his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland to serve the people: "Baltimore, they cry for help…I was morally obligated. I had to come back… I wouldn't be effective if I wasn't in Baltimore." While substitute teaching at Baltimore City College, a high school, Kondwani was caught on film reciting a spoken word piece to a group of students. The video, uploaded by a student to the blogging platform Tumblr, went viral, garnering thousands of views. This led to Kondwani being featured on mic.com, NY Daily News, CNN and a number of other media platforms in print, online, and on television. When asked about how becoming a viral sensation affected his poetry, Kondwani states that "it added fuel to the fire".
It only makes sense that being pushed into the national spotlight would strengthen his "hustle", given how the poet started writing after being "challenged". During his freshman year at VSU in 2011, he came across an article titled "Black People Don't Read". The article insisted that black people don't read, aren't educated, and spend money wastefully. At the end of the article, Kondwani says that the author boasts about how he/she does not have to worry about backlash from the article, because black people weren't going to read it anyway. The article set Kondwani off: "I started reading the traditional Black poets and writers, you know, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, their poems were world-renowned… I realized that I could write poetry that could do the same thing." From then on, Kondwani started writing too. He used to type up poems under false names and show them to his friends, claiming he found them online. Only after his friends said that they liked the poems did he reveal himself to be the poet. However, the game-changing moment for Kondwani happened in 2013 when he performed his poetry in front of over 200 people at VSU. Right after the successful performance, Kondwani switched his major to English, knowing the major would help him hone the skills he needed to shape his craft.
Even with the formal training, most of Kondwani's biggest poetic influences come from outside of the literary world. When asks which poets influence him, he lists Gil Scott-Heron, Tupac, J. Cole, Nikki Giovanni, and Jay-Z. He admits that "a lot of my stuff is inspired by street poems and rappers." He sees art and poetry everywhere: "Art is the world. When you look at…different buildings, someone had fun drawing that, that's someone's art…I'm not the best speaker in the world, but I can connect with people through my art."
His self-published first book, Asperous Artistry, was released in 2015. It is comprised of 50 poems, written from ages 19-21. "The book is a reflection of me, 50 poems of me." As in the viral video of his spoken word piece, the book features grippingly personal works about his experience with his family and living in inner-city Baltimore. When asked if he ever worries his poems are too personal, Kondwani gives a curt "No," then elaborates, "The more vulnerable you are, the more someone else can relate to you. The one thing you leave out might be the thing that influences someone else."
For Kondwani, his poems are created when they come to him, having no formal, daily method of writing. Depending on the poem or day, he could be working in a notebook, on the computer, on his phone, in the morning, at night, whenever inspiration strikes. Either way, he has figured out how to work the differences between spoken word and written poetry stating "Some things are meant to be read. Some things are meant to be heard. I might have some crazy word play, switching letters out that you could only get if you read it, and it's the same way with performing." Whichever the case, Kondwani knows the power of his words, his art, and plans to make the most of it, influencing Baltimore and the world: "I'm changing lives every day."
It only makes sense that being pushed into the national spotlight would strengthen his "hustle", given how the poet started writing after being "challenged". During his freshman year at VSU in 2011, he came across an article titled "Black People Don't Read". The article insisted that black people don't read, aren't educated, and spend money wastefully. At the end of the article, Kondwani says that the author boasts about how he/she does not have to worry about backlash from the article, because black people weren't going to read it anyway. The article set Kondwani off: "I started reading the traditional Black poets and writers, you know, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, their poems were world-renowned… I realized that I could write poetry that could do the same thing." From then on, Kondwani started writing too. He used to type up poems under false names and show them to his friends, claiming he found them online. Only after his friends said that they liked the poems did he reveal himself to be the poet. However, the game-changing moment for Kondwani happened in 2013 when he performed his poetry in front of over 200 people at VSU. Right after the successful performance, Kondwani switched his major to English, knowing the major would help him hone the skills he needed to shape his craft.
Even with the formal training, most of Kondwani's biggest poetic influences come from outside of the literary world. When asks which poets influence him, he lists Gil Scott-Heron, Tupac, J. Cole, Nikki Giovanni, and Jay-Z. He admits that "a lot of my stuff is inspired by street poems and rappers." He sees art and poetry everywhere: "Art is the world. When you look at…different buildings, someone had fun drawing that, that's someone's art…I'm not the best speaker in the world, but I can connect with people through my art."
His self-published first book, Asperous Artistry, was released in 2015. It is comprised of 50 poems, written from ages 19-21. "The book is a reflection of me, 50 poems of me." As in the viral video of his spoken word piece, the book features grippingly personal works about his experience with his family and living in inner-city Baltimore. When asked if he ever worries his poems are too personal, Kondwani gives a curt "No," then elaborates, "The more vulnerable you are, the more someone else can relate to you. The one thing you leave out might be the thing that influences someone else."
For Kondwani, his poems are created when they come to him, having no formal, daily method of writing. Depending on the poem or day, he could be working in a notebook, on the computer, on his phone, in the morning, at night, whenever inspiration strikes. Either way, he has figured out how to work the differences between spoken word and written poetry stating "Some things are meant to be read. Some things are meant to be heard. I might have some crazy word play, switching letters out that you could only get if you read it, and it's the same way with performing." Whichever the case, Kondwani knows the power of his words, his art, and plans to make the most of it, influencing Baltimore and the world: "I'm changing lives every day."
Diamond Pollard is a Johns Hopkins University senior, graduating with a degree in Writing Seminars & Psychology. You can find more of her work at BrineBlog.com
