Imprints: Finding His Voice
Student uses poetry to speak his mind
Chelsea Anderson
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: News
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With a button up shirt, sideways hat and a pin-striped blazer, Dekker's style fits his personality. Exuding confidence, originality and creativity, he comfortably speaks above the ambiance of the coffee shop on Monroe.
Dekker, 22, spent a large portion of his life in Denver, Colo. During middle school, he moved to Cloverdale, Ore. He is an only child and was raised by a single mother.
"She did so much for me and is the reason I am where I am today," Dekker said. "She ... worked so hard. She is the reason I want to do well, to make her proud."
Dekker's mother, Cynthia Vargo, resides in Salem.
"I've always known he has a gift for writing," Vargo said. "Teachers would make reference to his abilities back when he was in grade school. He's the kind of kid that always had a journal. I thought it was great when he joined [the Black Poets]. He's always been very open and giving. He was a natural leader."
Vargo has been to many of her son's shows in Corvallis.
"The first one I went to, he read a poem he'd written about me that referenced Mother Nature, and the beauty of nature," Vargo said.
Dekker, who was president of the OSU Black Poets Society for the past three years, said he went from being a terrified public speaker to someone who readily shares his words with the world.
The organization, whose members use their words as a catalyst for emotion and expression, is comprised of about 10 students who organize one poetry event each term and perform at local cafes, open mic nights and campus events.
The nine-year-old program has a reputation for focusing around slam poetry that is based on taboo issues.
"People write just as many love poems," Dekker said. "The readings containing taboo issues just seem to be the ones people remember the most."
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