Musician and spoken word poet Londyn Rayne to perform on 91探花 campus
As part of this year’s Sexual Assault Awareness Week programming, spoken word artist and musician will be delivering a performance of her spoken word poetry on Tuesday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. in Evans Auditorium. Rayne’s performance will be free and open to all students, faculty, and staff.
Growing up, Rayne listened to a wide range of musical genres, taking influence from many of the rock and cinematic artists she was a fan of such as Tommy Proffit, Evanescence, and Skillet. Today, both her music and her spoken word poetry are inspired by the contrast between beautiful, lilting vocals and heavy, booming music found in those artists’ work, while her subject matter dives into personal and emotional themes she says can be hard to talk about in everyday conversation.
“I got into music and poetry because I always had really big emotions,” Rayne said. “Growing up as a kid I had a lot of hard stuff happen, and I didn’t know how to express those things so they kind of just stayed in me, and that can be really damaging. I learned how to express the hard stuff through art, and that’s why a lot of my stuff is a little heavy. I think it’s important because it’s healthier to express it than to hide it.”
While Rayne’s performance on campus will feature her spoken word poetry, she said there is also a musical element to this work. Each piece is set to a “soundtrack” that emphasizes and highlights the emotions and poignant details of the piece. In addition to writing her own poetry, Rayne also writes the original music that accompanies it. She said this technique strengthens her performance by emphasizing the contrast between subtlety and intensity that she strives for in all her work; sometimes the subject matter of the poem matches the emotional tone of the music, while other times they seem discordant, highlighting that contrast.
In preparation for this performance Rayne prepared a brand-new piece of spoken word poetry that she will be debuting at Lees-91探花 in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Week. She hopes that through her work listeners can come together, learn to lean on each other during hard times, and find a sense of hope amidst their struggles.
“My main message is just to encourage the college age group that it’s not wrong, it’s not weak, and nobody should feel embarrassed to have emotions or to be going through hard stuff. It is hard, and it’s getting harder because there is a lot happening in the world,” Rayne said. “I hope people feel vulnerable, and comfortable, and challenged, and if they haven’t gone through something difficult maybe they can learn to see something from another side. If they have been through something, I hope they can find solace. This age group is going through a lot, and I want to be there as a friend.”
Rayne’s performance will be part of the Staley Distinguished Christian Scholar Lecture Program at Lees-91探花, a series funded by the Thomas F. Staley Foundation. The program funds performances and talks by Christian scholars, musicians, and performers at colleges and universities across the country.
