Rudy Francisco

You may be wondering, “Who is Rudy Francisco?”. Well, Francisco is a marvelous, most recognizable names in Spoken Word Poetry. He was born in San Diego, California, where he also grew up. He completed his B.A in Psychology at the age of 21; he then continued his education by getting a M.A in Organizational Studies. His knowledge of psychology is probably one of the main reasons his poetry that he writes is so beautifully put together with imagery from within the mind. His work promotes social change and healthy dialogue. Francisco also makes very conscious efforts to get the youth exposed to Spoken Word Poetry. He coaches, uses workshops, and performs SWP at schools and community centers. He has many of awards and nominations for his poems that he speaks, including, but not limited to; “Scars,” “My Honest Poem,” “To The New Boyfriend,” “The First Time She Said Hello,” and “To The Body.” Rudy Francisco is one of my favorite poets, and the reason being is that he speaks with so much emotion within his words. My favorite poem, if i had to choose, would be “To The Girl Who Works At Starbucks” because it’s funny, relatable, and just really down to earth. It is also one of the first poems I heard from Francisco. I enjoyed the feeling I got when listening to it; it made me feel as though “Wow, this could happen to me” and “I’d love to hear someone speak so highly of me.” Poetry has always had some type of impact on my life, and I enjoy how you can put on paper how you feel rather than trying to say it to someone else. Poets are the type to put their hearts on their sleeves, tears on a paper, and laughs in our ears. That’s exactly what Francisco does for the poetry world. He’s not afraid of people not liking him, of there being judgment from his words, and he’s definitely not scared of stepping on people’s toes. A quote from one of his poems is, “Some say don’t burn your bridges. I say, if necessary, let the kerosene kiss it on the lips, and watch it turn to ash. There’s always more than one way to cross the water.” This has a huge impact on me just because when you grow up, the world tells you, “Don’t burn your bridges, you may have to cross them again.” That’s not always exactly true, though, and Francisco makes a very valid point. You can always find another way over water whether it’s the bridge you were told not to burn, or if you take a boat, or if you merely just swim. You can always get back to what you want regardless on how you do it. Francisco speaks words that should get more recognition that they do. He recently just released his full length poetry book, Helium, and although it just came out, its sold out of Amazon, Barns and Noble, and Books-A-Million. For a rising artist, Francisco is shaping up to be one of Americas greatest poets, with many great works yet  to come.