News Release

Heard on campus – Ursula Rucker

February 19, 2009

Acclaimed as one of the premiere spoken word recording artists in the music industry today, Ursula Rucker brought her feminine views of urban reality to Penn State Harrisburg February 17.

The final installment in a series of spoken word and poetry events on campus arranged by junior Communications major Jade Lauren Johnson from Philadelphia, Rucker’s hour-long performance ranged from upbeat, songlike selections to dark laments and several poems that appeared to tell her own story.

Rucker began writing poetry as an adolescent, but kept her writings to herself until she read poetry in 1994 at Philadelphia’s Zanzibar Blue, which is credited as her public debut. That same year, she was invited to collaborate with numerous recording artists and producers including King Britt, 4hero, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Josh Wink, and most notably The Roots, quickly garnering a reputation for unique poetry techniques and stage presence described as "strong, vulnerable, wounded, and raging."

Although successful in clubs and on campuses throughout the nation and the world, Rucker told the student audience, "My most important role is as a mother of four boys" even though she’s been recording for 16 years.

She encouraged the students in the audience to "plug into poetry" and even gave an endorsement to "old, dead poets who have a lot to say." She went on to point out, "Poetry is highly accessible and is adaptable to many venues including music, comedy, and writing."

In her performance, "Read Between the Lines" was highly personal with the statement "people think they know you, but they don’t" and she admonished students to "seek the truth" in "Ever Heard of It?"

Of "What a Woman Must Do," Rucker said, "I get easily bored, but I never tire of this one." The selection is about changes in the life of a woman including abuse, death, birth, victimization, lack of appreciation, equal pay, and labels. Another poem profiled a crack-addicted mother and her child.

"I have to do this (poetry performances)," she told the audience. "It’s multipurpose for me and it’s a great perk to make a living from it. I have a great life that’s very enriching and challenging at the same time."