Poetry causes our minds to examine ideas of deep emotion and passion. So it’s not surprising that the medium is used to vocalize the love and gratitude felt toward mothers. Poetry in Motion takes that one step further, daring to blend the measured rhythm of poetry with the visual flair of a fashion show.

At 3 p.m. May 11, the Kingdom Center Ministry will host the Poetry in Motion Fashion show on the Pedestrian Mall stage in honor of Mother’s Day. Though the event is free, donations will be taken, with the proceeds going to the Kingdom Center Ministry to help with the restoration of its building and planning of events, in addition to the Johnson County Crisis Center.

"We’ve done other fundraisers to help raise money for this event [things such as] bake sales and ice cream socials," said Michelle Rogers who organized the event. "We’ve gotten a lot of support from local businesses. The love we’ve seen from our church family and the community is amazing; we couldn’t have done any of it without their support."

Primarily a fashion show, the event will be flavored by a variety of themes ranging from contemporary culture to reggae and including a "Mommy and Me" portion. While looking for models, the crew was very intentional about the level of diversity in the show.

"When finding models and people to get involved, we didn’t want to make it a ‘black’ event," said Rogers, referring to the Kingdom Center Ministry’s dominantly African American congregation. "We wanted it to be an Iowa City community event that might turn into something annual."

Age is another aspect the members wanted to have in larger variety.

"The youngest model we have is about 2 [and appears in] a Mommy and Me part of the fashion show," said Ashley Smith, one of the volunteers who helped bring the event to life.

Because the fashion show coincides with Mother’s Day, it’s appropriate that it should be able to appeal to mothers of all races with children of all ages. It’s even more appropriate that the initial idea came from a mother.

"[My mother is] the one who actually sort of came up with the event; she thought to do an open mike poetry fundraiser," Rogers said. "[Smith] and I started brainstorming and decided to incorporate fashion [to appeal to a wider audience]. [She’s] coming into town for the event and is going to be one of the featured poets."

A published poet, Rogers’ mother, Lisa Rogers, is one of the three poets who will read at the event. Her peers include Kristina Glackin and local hip-hop artist Patric Johnson.

"I’ll be performing two pieces," said Johnson, who also helped organize the event. "One of the pieces is a collaboration with [Rogers’] mother. The title of the poem is ‘Why?’ It comes from my time getting back in the church this past August and asking why I’m getting all these blessings in my life even though I’m not where I need to be with God; something that really struck a chord with me."

To top off the poetry and fashion on display, the event will also have a raffle to give away numerous prizes donated from local businesses.

"I’m looking forward to the turnout," Smith said. "I’m looking to see a lot of families there with their kids. All of our families are coming in [from out of town] for Mothers’ Day."

FASHION