Although the room was filled with people, silence surrounded Kyle McCormick as he walked over to the microphone. He looked down at a piece of paper before a burst of poetry erupted from his mouth.
Among the pristine, white walls of the Thomas Center, poets like McCormick, a Gainesville High School senior, gathered to voice their innermost emotions, humorous ramblings or freestyle rhymes.
The Friday event featured the Gainesville High School Collective, a group of GHS students who attended after-class poetry workshops run by Lacey Nagy, the co-founder, producer and host of ThirdEyeSpoken in Gainesville.
ThirdEyeSpoken is a spoken-word production team that tries to organize poets and provide them with paid venues.
"When it all comes down to it, poets will show up and do it for free," Nagy said. "I set out with the intention to change that conversation."
Nagy has been working with the GHS students for months.
She also brought in local artists to give the students a chance to learn a variety of poetry styles.
McCormick said the workshops, besides being fun, helped him develop his talent with rhyming.
"My name is Kyle, as you might already know. Let's give it up for spoken word, right after the show. All of my stuff rhymes, in case you weren't aware. Does that make me a poet? I'm not sure, but I don't care," McCormick said while performing his poem, "Thomas Center Thing."
He said he originally got into the GHS program because it was offering extra credit. However, when he started learning about spoken word, he developed a taste for it.
"When in a jam, rhyme any way you can," McCormick said, adding that he intended on starting a spoken word club next year with the help of other students.
Asia "Asia E." Elliot from Tampa, who is going to attend the University of Wisconsin on a spoken-word scholarship, headlined for the Thomas Center event.
Elliot, 18, has been working with Nagy since she was 13 and said it is always a pleasure being involved in one of Nagy's events.
"Anything that she touches just ends up turning into this epic, beautiful thing that touches so many people," Elliot said.
Nagy said she wanted to create the event to reward students who had given up their free time and worked so hard on their poetry.
With the help of city officials and a list of other sponsors who provided catering for the event, Nagy was able to provide a paid venue for the students to come out and perform.
She said the students need to feel supported so they will keep performing their spoken word poetry.
"We wanted to start creating this, creating a fever for poetry," she said.
