Spoken word poet Deneka Thomas will be hosting her first solo show, entitled PreMature, on Sunday, February 24 at the Little Carib Theatre. Thomas, who is the 2018 First Citizens National Poetry Slam defending champion, will also be launching her first ever EP at the event.

Disclosing that the name of the show was chosen for its relevance in her life, Thomas said: “I was in fact born prematurely but it’s also this entryway into me really exploring myself with the show. The show is a personal project which I’ve written and curated. A lot of the pieces in PreMature explore personal experiences from my childhood, and they speak about a lot of things that we as people have to experience before our time, a lot of things I would have had to experience as a child growing up and transitioning from one state to the next, before I was even prepared to, before I was old enough to know those things, so it’s really self-exploration.”

Thomas is the programme manager at Girl Be Heard T&T, a poet and teaching artist at the 2 Cents Movement, and a 2018 Women Deliver Young Leader. She said she wanted to see what she could do with spoken word poetry that was new.

“I’ve added the element of music and art to that expression.

The executive producer is Isaac Cozier, he’s a young up-and-coming producer and I am working with a few poets who speak to what the project is about, so that will be Derron Sandy, Kyle Hernandez, Muhammad Muwakil, Arielle John, Brandon O’Brien, and Majeed Karim.”

Thomas said while she has been performing spoken word for a while, what she has not seen is people doing their own personal storytelling, and so she has decided to tell her own stories.

“We feel compelled a lot of the time to tell the stories of others with spoken word or we get corporate gigs and those companies give us themes, and we don’t really get the chance to be artistes and just create.

“The idea behind a lot of the poems that I’m doing and the artistes I choose to collaborate with is that at no point in time are any of the artistes telling their own stories. I tell them a story and those poets use their art and how they express themselves to complement what I’m trying to say in the poem. I think the cool thing is, even when you hear another voice, it is me, it is definitely my story and I have given those poets permission to talk about that experience if somebody asks them. They will be performing as different parts of me.”

Thomas said her poems explore her relationships with her parents and herself and added: “I explore the story about my father, it was a very difficult and complicated relationship which has had a lot of effect on who I am today. I speak about my relationship with my mother, who’s been this very ethereal element of my life. A lot of queer exploration because that’s who I am. The overall theme is this idea of things happening prematurely but it definitely just speaks to things that you wouldn’t know about Deneka on a regular day. There will definitely be a lot of aha moments for a lot of people.”

Thomas said she wants the audience to appreciate the stories of artistes, because, “it’s these very stories that make us even interested in creating art or even bring us to the point of being so good at creating the art that we create. I want artists to feel they have permission to do whatever they want with their art, to tell their own personal stories and not feel compelled all the time to be in that box of capitalism and commercialism.

“I would enjoy hearing a lot more personal storytelling and narrative, which is why my work shifted entirely. This year I told myself I’m not going to write anything my heart doesn’t sit well with, and also do more storytelling, so if you ask me for a topic, you’re going to hear some Deneka in that, and it’s either you take it or leave it.”

Tickets cost $120 and showtime is at 6 pm. For tickets, WhatsApp or call 344- 2036 or 465-1767.