Joi Fisher
Joi Fisher entered the SCORES world fifteen years ago as a poet-athlete at Visitacion Valley Elementary School in San Francisco. Always an energetic child, Joi thrived in SCORES soccer programming and uncovered her creative voice as a young writer. Today, after graduating from Sonoma State, she works for an aviation company and volunteers with the same youth development programs that nurtured her as a child. SCORES is thrilled to have her back.
Do you remember your earliest experience with poetry?
In first grade, my teacher gave me a poem to recite onstage. The poem was very powerful. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes. I was extremely nervous and I practiced saying it over and over and over again. My worry was probably unnecessary – I was so young – but when someone sees potential in you, you want to live up to it. At the time, I didn’t understand the poem at all, I was just trying to recite it. But now I understand the power of the moment.
“The Negro Speaks of Rivers”
BY LANGSTON HUGHES
I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.
I’ve known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers
You’re 26 now. As a fifth grader, fifteen years ago, you were selected to perform at the America SCORES National Poetry Slam in New York City. What do you remember from that experience?
What I remember most was the audition process. I remember being in a room with all the other kids. The coaches told us to relax, to be natural, and to audition from where we were sitting. Something in my mind told me to stand up. I don’t know why, but suddenly I had to do something that made me different from everyone else. So I stood up, recited my poem, and sat back down. I didn’t know how it was going to go, but I did my best.
Later, I was sitting in the kitchen at home with my mom and the phone rang. It was a program director from SCORES, and she told me I was going to New York. “We chose you,” she said. It was a total joy.
You’ve talked about the poetry program at SCORES helping to shape the writer and person you’ve become. How so?
The structure of the poetry program definitely influenced my connection and relationship with writing. When we were writing poems, it wasn’t just like doing an assignment. It was more about thinking creatively and critically, even at that young age. I remember one of the assignments was to write a story about something that had happened in your life, something that was important to you. Learning how to think that way and to move through that whole process helped me develop my skills as a writer, especially in creating and understanding narratives.
What’s something about you that people might not know, but that says a lot about you?
When I was a kid, I loved watching professional wrestling – the WWE – which back then was the WWF. I loved the storylines and the continuity. No matter what was happening, wrestling was going to be on TV on Monday and Friday, and they were going to put on a show. The characters were really funny and you’d pick your favorites. There were narratives. All the characters had their own background stories, and when they interacted with other characters, there was a story behind that as well. Summertime was when all the stories would wrap up.
When my sister told me wrestling was fake, well, that was devastating. She got in trouble with my mom because wrestling was the only time my mom got some peace. I was a very hyperactive child, a very curious child, 1000 questions kind of kid. So my sister kind of ruined that for me (laughs).
You’ve been on both sides of nonprofits. As a kid, you were supported by several nonprofits, not only SCORES but also Real Options for City Kids, a SCORES partner. As an adult, you’ve come back as a volunteer, supporting a new generation. What observations can you offer from your vantage point straddling both sides?
In nonprofit work, and I say this as both a participant and a volunteer, everybody’s part matters. It’s so important to buy into the idea, the structure, the mission, and the goal. You have to do your part because it makes so much of a difference. You may not see the results immediately, but later, down the line, they will be there. It’s just like planting seeds – they bear fruit at the most unexpected times. Do the work. It’s so important. It will all make sense, and it matters. I believe that with support, all youth can reach unimaginable heights.