Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Edwards.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Sean. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Of course, my childhood had some extremely rough patches, just like anyone else but my journey officially started in my 7th grade English class. We had a talent competition. I couldn’t sing or dance… but my penmanship was exceptional. So, I decided to write a poem. Emotions flowed out of my pen and before I knew it, I had written a piece about my late baby sister. Long story short. I won the competition. And the Levies were broken. I constantly wrote poems whenever I needed to express myself and it did wonders for me, socially, emotionally, mentally and even improved my confidence and self-image. Once I made my way to college, I stumbled across a nonprofit organization that focused on developing student artists through poetry, hip hop and song (W.O.R.D inc.). I became the president of this organization and continued to hone my skills. The founder Jon Lattimore and I Taught poetry and creative self-expression to many children as community service and the experience was so fulfilling. In the process, I sharpened myself as an artist and began to take to the stage and brand myself through, mentorship, performance poetry and message rap. Sadly, I began to put my passion to the side and got engulfed in the “norm,” it took a life-threatening incident that left me bedridden for eight weeks to actually provide me with the time I needed to refocus and view everything through the proper lens. At which point, I decided it was time to make my passion the “norm.” This led to me Taking on the alias and brand name of Wes Lee The Wordsmith. Wes Lee is my middle name broken into two phonetic syllables and A wordsmith being a skilled user of words.. which I was I decided to use poetry and literary arts as a way to tell my story, advocate for those who couldn’t advocate for themselves and inspire those who wanted to speak. I encourage everyone to find their outlet, I know from my own experiences that it can change your outlook on the world for the better.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Believe it or not, I struggled with self-expression. I was always relatively well-spoken, but for some reason, I could never express myself in a way that would leave me feeling relieved. Kind of funny saying that seeing how far I’ve come.
As a performance poet, it’s hard to make a living. A challenge I’ve grown to know all too well. In most cases, people don’t want to pay for art and want to pitch you the event as if they are doing you a service by allowing you to perform. Which could be true sometimes.
I also struggled with finding balance, I am a man of many hats and finding that balance is key. The balance between passion and survival. The balance between purpose and paycheck. The balance between creativity and career. The balance between thinking I was the best and thinking I wasn’t good enough. The balance between highs and lows. You can’t move efficiently when your equilibrium is off. You can hardly think straight.
I struggled with picking my pen back up after almost losing my life to a work accident that left me bedridden for eight weeks, unable to speak or move upon waking up. As a spoken word artist, you can only imagine what that experience was like for me.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am The Wordsmith.
I specialize in free-flowing self-expression including but not limited to:
Free verse poetry, spoken word, music, and creative writing.
I create and lead workshops tailored around the needs of the individual. Whether that entails: memorization, brainstorming, creative process, stage presence, crowd engagement, performance etiquette, vocal projection or even just becoming comfortable with speaking in front of people.
I am most known for captivating audiences with spoken word performances across a variety of collegiate stages. As well as the poetry visual West Best production and I created for my Alma Mater Savannah State University. “We are Rising”
I am most proud that my university still uses the video that we created to bring in the “National Freedom Day” Celebration.
I believe that helping people become the best version of themselves in whatever realm they choose is important. So, whenever I lead workshops or work with people individually, I don’t impose my will on them. I let them tell me what they want and then help them get there. Art is subjective and that’s the beauty of it.
I think that’s what separates me from others.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Honestly, I would’ve participated in more competitions. I often refrained from participating under the notion that I wanted to make sure I was good enough to win first. I also would’ve started branding myself much earlier on. I get salty just thinking about how much further I could’ve been by now.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wesleethewordsmith.com/
- Email: wesleepoetry@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/wesleethewordsmith?igshid=6qneho8nwr6o
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wesleepoetry/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sean_wes
- Other: https://linktr.ee/Wesleethewordsmith
Image Credit:
Lamon Carson, Rebel Kulture Creations
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